Teams that did well in 2010/11

Milan were by far the most consistent side in Serie A last season. So, their first Scudetto in eight years came as no surprise.

Napoli, Udinese and Lazio also did well, beyond expectations I must say. However, whereas the first two managed a top-four finish, Lazio missed out on a Champions League slot only by a whisker.

Further down the table, there were some teams, the likes of Fiorentina, Genoa, Chievo, Parma, Cagliari and newcomers Lecce and Cesena, who, overall, did well even though not all of them achieved their pre-season objectives.

It was always going to be difficult for any side to dethrone Inter last season. Five titles on the trot, under two different coaches, denoted the side’s considerable strengths.

Besides, in 2010, Josè Mourinho’s Inter completed an unprecedented treble. However, as the campaign got underway, Inter’s success of late did nothing but inspire Milan to bigger efforts.

The Rossoneri did not take too long to ignite and gel under new coach Massimiliano Allegri.

By season’s end, the seven-times European champions not only managed to collect six points more than Inter in the league but also completed the double over their bitter city rivals.

Milan deserved to win the title as they were the more entertaining side and won the highest number of matches (24), conceded the least number of defeats (four) and with only 24 goals against, possessed the best defensive record in the division.

Before the season got underway, few would have predicted that Napoli and Udinese were going to make a top-four finish and that Lazio rank so high in the standings.

Indeed, these three sides proved the pundits wrong and managed to achieve what other more-quoted clubs, like Roma and Juventus, failed to do.

There were times when Napoli and Udinese were also involved in the title race. It is an open secret that the key men behind these three sides’ drive were their res-pective coaches.

Walter Mazzarri (Napoli), Francesco Guidolin (Udinese) and Edy Reja (Lazio) proved that they can deliver the goods despite restricted financial budgets.

It is always tough for the ones winning promotion the season before to establish themselves in the top division.

But Lecce and Cesena did enough to stave off the relegation threat.

Many reckoned Fiorentina could have done better than their ninth place finish.

However, one has to take into account the cruel run of injuries the Viola endured all season.

Genoa and Chievo did reasonably well all season and were never in the mire of relegation.

Unlike Chievo, Genoa resorted to the change of coach – Davide Ballardini instead of the long-serving Gian Piero Gasperini.

Parma were heading nowhere until Pasquale Marino was in charge up to the 31st day.

Then, Parma amassed 14 points from their last seven games under new coach Franco Colomba to stay away from troubled waters.

Cagliari were off to a slow start under novice Pierpaolo Bisoli but the team improved by leaps and bounds ever since former Italy national team coach Roberto Donadoni took over.

The Sardinians experienced a dip in performances and results towards the end of the season, at a time when they had already made sure of survival.