Roma were considered among the top favourites to end Juve’s dominance in Serie A at the start of the 2015/16 campaign in Italy, particularly after the Bianconeri had taken off to a stuttering start.
However, Roma’s aspirations gradually faded as the season progressed.
The sacking of Rudi Garcia in January came after a mixed record of nine wins and seven draws from 19 matches… hardly enough to ensure a top-three finish let alone a challenge for the scudetto.
But Roma improved significantly after the appointment of Luciano Spalletti, the man who led Roma to back-to-back Coppa Italia triumphs in 2007 and 2008.
Under the former Udinese and Zenit St Petersburg coach, Roma fired on all cylinders… 14 wins, four draws and only one defeat. That meant the Giallorossi had finished the season third, just two points behind runners-up Napoli.
Roma rivals, Lazio, also resorted to a coaching change as Stefano Pioli was shown the backdoor in April with his record reading 11 wins, nine draws and 11 losses.
Instead, the two-times Italy champions appointed novice Simone Inzaghi, brother of former Milan coach Filippo.
Lazio only managed four wins after Pioli left and finished eighth… a notable decline from the third-place finish of the previous year.
Even Spalletti’s former club, Udinese, changed hands in the off-season as Stefano Colantuono took over from Andrea Stramaccioni.
Colantuono was determined to start a new chapter at the northeastern club after losing his job at Atalanta.
A 1-0 away win at Juventus on the opening day augured well for Colantuono.
However, Udinese never got going after that and Colantuono was sacked on the 29th day (eight wins, six draws and 15 defeats).
Under the former Udinese and Zenit SP coach, Roma fired on all cylinders... 14 wins, four draws and only one defeat
Udinese opted for their former coach Luigi De Canio. But there were no big improvements as Udinese flirted with relegation for the rest of the campaign, only managing to avoid the drop by a single point.
Sampdoria were a complete flop in 2015/16.
With Walter Zenga on the hot seat, Samp were ousted prematurely from the Europa League and never really found their feet in the domestic league.
Former Italy and Inter goalkeeper Zenga was eventually sacked after 12 matches (4 wins, 4 draws and 4 defeats). He was replaced by Vincenzo Montella.
Much was expected from Montella but Samp’s season never really took off. They only stayed up after finishing just two points away from the drop zone.
Bologna, too, endured a tough season. They sacked Delio Rossi after the side conceded eight defeats from the opening ten matches.
Former Italy coach Roberto Donadoni proved to be an instant hit at Bologna as he steered the side away from trouble.
In February, Bologna were good enough to halt Juve’s winning streak. However, towards the end of the season they experienced a dip in form and settled for a disappointing 14th place.
On match-day 32, and with a Coppa Italia final coming up, Sinisa Mihajlovic was unexpectedly relieved of his duties by Milan who then appointed Cristian Brocchi as interim coach.
Mandorlini sacked
Andrea Mandorlini never got the best out of Verona.
The former Inter defender was eventually sacked after failing to lead the side to a single win in the opening 14 matches.
Although Verona showed signs of recovery when the seasoned Luigi Del Neri replaced Mandorlini, their belated efforts were still not enough for them to avoid the bottom spot as they slid back to Serie B after three successive years in the top flight.
Carpi’s maiden season among the Italian elite started and ended on the wrong foot.
They were the first club to change coach as they sacked Fabrizio Castori after two draws and four defeats in their opening six matches.
Giuseppe Sannino filled Castori’s void and Carpi could not have aspired for a brighter start as they recorded their first ever Serie A win after beating Torino 2-1 on October 3.
However, that was Sannino’s only moment of glory on the Carpi bench.
In fact, his team only managed a draw in their next four outings. The club soon turned back on Castori who, however, failed to stop the side from forfeiting their status at the end of the season after losing a tight race with Palermo.
In terms of coaches’ merry-go-round, Palermo, and their chief Maurizio Zamparini, were the real protagonists as they went through seven changes last season.
Even though the moves destabilised the team, the Sicilians fought bravely to keep their heads above water and condemn Carpi to the dreaded drop along with Frosinone and Verona.