The surprise packages of the Serie A

Last season, there were a number of teams who defied the odds by achieving more than expected before the 2006/07 campaign got underway.

These teams represent the most pleasant aspect of the game.

True, those clubs buoyed by a strong financial muscle are the likely ones to claim the honours at the end of the season. It has always been like that and it will remain so forever.

However, there are some cases when money alone does not guarantee success. In this regard, Lazio and Empoli led the way in last season's Serie A.

With the appointment of Delio Rossi as coach, Lazio had actually started their recovery trail way back in the summer of 2005.

In 2004/05, the team from the capital was on the verge of bankruptcy. They had made sure of survival only on the last day of the league. But with the arrival of Rossi, Lazio experienced a remarkable change of fortune.

Even though he had to rely on a shoestring budget, the ex-Salernitana and Atalanta coach assembled a formidable team that by the end of 2005/06 had booked a place in the UEFA Cup. Last month, they went one better and qualified to the lucrative Champions League after finishing third in the final standings.

Few would have thought that Rossi was going to lead Lazio to such dizzy heights with a modest team decimated by the notable departures of Fabio Liverani (Fiorentina), Ousmane Dabo (Man. City) and then valid defender Massimo Oddo (Milan) in the January transfer window.

To make matters worse, Lazio were docked three points last summer for their involvement in the match-fixing scandal. Unfortunately for the club, they were barred from playing in Europe.

Lazio's start to the season was far from encouraging as Rossi's men went down to Milan and Palermo in their opening two matches.

But then, they started playing better and coming more into the picture as the competition intensified. Eventually, they hit peak form in the second round of the championship.

Lazio's revival coincided with Palermo's nose-dive in the standings. By May, Rossi's side leapfrogged the Sicilians in an exciting run-in for the last-remaining Champions League slots.

Many are now thinking that with some minor adjustments to his squad in the transfer market, Rossi could easily keep Lazio on the right track next season and, perhaps, aim higher.

Rossi may have done a pretty good job in his first two years in charge at Lazio but Gigi Cagni did wonders at Empoli, particularly last season.

Touted by many as prime favourites to go down, Empoli not only made sure of survival very early in the season, but they also produced an admirable challenge in the upper reaches of the top flight.

In the end, their entertaining play was rewarded with a UEFA Cup berth, obtained at the expense of more quoted sides like Udinese and Sampdoria.

When veteran Cagni took over at Empoli in the midst of 2005/06, Empoli were languishing in the bottom half of the standings... relegation beckoned for the modest Tuscany club.

However, in the space of a few months, Cagni transformed Empoli from a modest outfit into a team that played some of the best and most pleasant-to-watch football in the Serie A.

Indeed, that was no mean feat for a side largely formed of unknowns as Cagni's biggest job was to keep his players focused all the way.

The former Piacenza coach did an extremely good job in keeping his players motivated for a long stretch even though they had reached their pre-determined objective to avoid the drop several weeks in anticipation.

Cagni's task will be more daunting next season as Empoli are likely to sell some of their best talent to raise much-needed cash.

Fiorentina, besides Juventus of course, were the team to be penalised most in the wake of their involvement in last year's soccer scandal.

They resisted all offers to sell top marksman Luca Toni after the World Cup finals.

The lanky ex-Brescia and Palermo striker was hit by injuries in the pre-season but Fiorentina's decision not to let him go was a clear sign that they had ambitious plans for 2006/07.

Like Lazio, Fiorentina's start to the Serie A campaign was far from ideal. But soon, Cesare Prandelli's side started gaining momentum and eventually climbed to a remarkable fifth place, level on points with Palermo.

Had Fiorentina started the season without a hefty -15 points penalty, then they would have finished with 73 points (just two points behind second-placed Roma) and in a Champions League spot.

Prandelli is doing an awesome task in charge of young and emerging players in Florence. He is convinced that within three or four years, Fiorentina will mount a serious challenge for the league title.

Atalanta's season

Atalanta were by far the best newcomers to the Serie A last season. They were never threatened with relegation and would have probably produced a bolder challenge for a place in Europe had they been more consistent.

Cristiano Doni was Atalanta's key player. He was always there when the team needed him and scored vital goals. The Bergamo club played open football and delighted their fans on their way to finishing seventh, just four points behind Empoli.

Before Claudio Ranieri took over at Parma, the former UEFA Cup holders were simply going round in circles and heading straight to the Serie B.

But the ex-Chelsea and Valencia coach, also aided by the goals and inspiration of U-21 international Giuseppe Rossi, did a great job in eventually helping Parma chart a safe, but exhausting, course out of troubled waters.

One cannot talk of great escapes without mentioning Reggina. The southerners will surely be remembered for their bold comeback in 2006/07.

Walter Mazzarri's side emerged from the death and fought hard to collect enough points to prolong their stay among the elite by another year despite having started the season with a massive -11 point penalty.

The key men behind Reggina last season were Rolando Bianchi (scorer of 18 goals) and Nicola Amoruso (17 goals).