Five teams aim to challenge for Champions League berth

Fiorentina, Genoa, Napoli, Palermo and Sampdoria all appear to have the potential to challenge for a top-four finish, especially if one or more of the four title hopefuls – Inter, Juventus, Milan and Roma – hit a rocky patch during the Serie A campaign.

In recent years, Lazio, Fiorentina and Sampdoria managed to break into the top four at the expense of Milan, Roma and Juventus. Will history repeat itself this season?

Sampdoria were one of the most entertaining sides in the 2009/10 Serie A campaign. The 1992 Champions League finalists got off to a brilliant start, only to suffer a dip in performances and results midway through the season.

Eventually, the Genoa-based outfit, led by coach Luigi Del Neri, now in charge of Juventus, made a bold comeback and ended their season on a high.

Having claimed fourth place in the Serie A, Sampdoria will qualify for the Champions League group stages if they have the better of Werder Bremen in a two-leg play-off.

In the close season, Del Neri and Beppe Marotta, who masterminded Samp’s revival of late, joined Juventus. Domenico Di Carlo, who managed Chievo last season, and Sergio Gasparin now have the arduous task of filling the huge void left by Del Neri and Marotta.

As usual, Sampdoria have been very cautious in the transfer market. Few signings of note, namely Guido Marilungo (Lecce), Daniele Dessena (Cagliari), Massimo Volta (Cesena), Gianluca Curci (Siena), Jonathan Rossini (Sassuolo), Angelo Da Costa (Ancona) and Stefano Guberti (Roma), mean that Sampdoria’s team will not differ much from last season.

Club owner Riccardo Garrone is determined to hold on to his most prized assets – Antonio Cassano, Giampaolo Pazzini and Angelo Palombo. This summer, apart from Marco Rossi (Bari) and Daniele Franceschini (out of contract), Samp have lost the services of goalkeepers Luca Castellazzi (Inter), Marco Storari (Juventus) and Matteo Guardalben (out of contract).

All in all, Samp still have enough quality to do well, albeit eventual qualification to the Champions League proper may put a strain on their limited squad.

In this context, Fiorentina and Genoa clearly have an edge over Sampdoria, Palermo and Napoli in that they are not involved in Euro club competitions this season.

After the appointment of Cesare Prandelli as Italy’s national coach, Fiorentina acted quickly to install the highly-rated Sinisa Mihajlovic as their new boss.

So far, the Viola have been quiet in the transfer market. They have parted company with Massimo Gobbi (out of contract) and De Souza Keirrison (Barcelona) and signed goalkeeper Artur Boruc (Celtic) and Gaetano D’Agostino (Udinese).

Fiorentina are looking to acquire a suitable replacement for talisman Stevan Jovetic, who will miss the first half of the season after rupturing his knee cruciate ligaments.

New signings

Unlike most Serie A clubs, Genoa have brought in a host of new players in the close season. Coach Gian Piero Gasperini will have more options at his disposal. Luca Toni (Bayern Munich) and Andrea Ranocchia (Bari) should prove valuable additions to an already-strong base.

Furthermore, Genoa have signed Gianmarco Zigoni (Milan), Chico (Almeria), Miguel Veloso (Sporting Lisbon), Franco Zuculini (Hoffenheim), Carvalho Eduardo (Braga), Mattia Destro (Inter), Gergely Rudolf (Debrecen), Angelo (Naval) and Rafinha (Schalke 04).

Napoli have done exceptionally well since Walter Mazzarri took over from ex-Italy coach Roberto Donadoni last season. Napoli’s sixth-place finish is testament to the good work of the former Livorno and Sampdoria mentor.

So far, Uruguay striker Edison Cavani (Palermo) is Napoli’s major close-season signing. If the southerners are to improve on last season, they must be more clinical in front of goal.

Like Napoli, Palermo went through a coaching change during last season. The Sicilians found the going tough under Walter Zenga but improved beyond recognition with Delio Rossi in charge.

Palermo were involved in an epic race with Sampdoria for fourth place and the final Champions League spot.

This summer, Palermo let go of a number of players, including Fabio Simplicio (Roma), Mark Bresciano (Lazio), Roberto Guana (Chievo), Simon Kjaer (Wolfsburg), Manuele Blasi (Napoli), Cavani, Giovanni Tedesco (retired) and Nicolas Bertolo (Real Zaragoza).

Palermo’s newcomers are Nicola Rigoni (Vicenza), Matteo Darmian (Milan), Santiago Garcia (Rosario Central), Massimo Maccarone (Siena), Mauricio Pinilla (Grosseto), Ezequiel Munoz (Boca Juniors), Pajtim Kasami (Bellinzona) and Kamil Glik (Piast Gliwice).

However, if club owner Maurizio Zamparini’s latest statements are anything to go by, then Palermo have unfinished business in this summer’s transfer market.