In the 2022/23 season, Italian football has left a deep impression on the outside world.
On the domestic stage, a superb Napoli returned to the top of the Apennine after 33 years, while Juventus, who were struggling internally and externally, were severely punished with points.
In Europe, the two giants of Napoli and Milan in the quarter-finals of the Champions League have revived the style of the "mini World Cup" in Serie A, but Rome, Fiorentina and Inter Milan, who have reached the three major European finals, have hated the finals, but the outside world has also seen some gap between Serie A teams and other European league teams.
After a summer of adjustments, the 2023/24 Serie A season officially kicked off last weekend, and although the giants have changed dramatically this summer, the "Big Four" pattern has been highlighted since the first round of the season.
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Although Napoli won the title by a landslide of 16 points last season, the defending champions are not the number one favourites when the outside world is now predicting the new Serie A title.
As the least Serie A powerhouse during this summer's transfer window, Napoli's only blockbuster deal was to sell last season's defensive core Kim Minya to Bayern Munich for 50 million euros, and Napoli also netted 32 million euros in this deal because the team spent only 18 million euros when they signed him in the summer of 2022.
Although this amount of money was enough for Napoli to find a replacement for Kim in the transfer market, the team ended up signing 22-year-old Brazilian defender Natan from Red Bull Bragantino in the Baja for only 10 million euros, and the young defender who debuted in European football took over the No. 3 shirt left by Kim Minya, but whether it can replace Kim Minya will obviously take time to answer.
In addition, Napoli's primary goal this summer is to maintain the stability of the squad, with last season's Serie A best player Kvarac Helia and goalscorer King Osmeen remaining in the squad for the new season, while Napoli also bought out Raspadori and Giovanni Simeone, who were loaned to the team last season.
However, the biggest change for Napoli this summer has been the change of manager, after winning Serie A last season, Napoli parted ways with manager Spalletti, along with general manager Joan Toli, and took over the whip of Napoli by Rudi Garcia, who left Riyadh in April.
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For Rossoneri fans, this summer's off-season has been a "bittersweet and sad day", and AC Milan fell apart from Maldini and Marsala at the end of last season, which also made Rossoneri fans extremely angry.
After that, the Rossoneri sold last season's top star, Tonali, to Newcastle United for a transfer fee of 64 million euros, a deal that disappointed Milan fans.
However, after the change of management structure, AC Milan accelerated the pace of signing in the transfer market, relying on the huge transfer fee left by Tonali, AC Milan signed three new midfield signings, Reindes, Yunus Moussa and Loftus Cheek, which also allowed manager Pioli to complete the restructuring of the team's midfield during the pre-season.
In all competitions last season, AC Milan relied more on the play of Portuguese winger Rafael Leo, and after the two sides renewed their contracts this summer until 2028, AC Milan brought in Chucueze and Christian Pulisic to share the attacking pressure of Leo, and the arrival of Okaforr also gave AC Milan more options in the front.
However, after the off-season squad changes, AC Milan still has certain shortcomings, in the case of Bennasser's long-term absence due to injury, AC Milan has only one person left in the back position, and in the new season, the central defender combination of Tomori and Malik Jaff is bound to bear more defensive pressure.
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In the 2022/23 season, Inter Milan had ups and downs, and coach Inzaghi Jr. was on the verge of leaving class, but after leading Inter Milan through difficulties, Inter Milan won this season's Champions League main stage place as the third place in Serie A, in addition to the Italian Super Cup and Coppa Italia, Inzaghi Jr. also led Inter to two trophies, although he lost to Manchester City in the Champions League final of the season final, but Inter's performance last season was enough to satisfy fans.
During this summer's off-season, Inter Milan's squad changed significantly, with Romelu Lukaku returning to Chelsea after loan loan, Dzeko joining Fenerbahce on a free transfer after his contract expired, and Pinamonti, Brozovic, Gosens and Onana all moving away.
While the transfer market received a transfer fee of 126 million euros this summer, Inter Milan also brought in a number of players this summer to supplement the depth of the squad, and after beating many rivals to bring in Sassuolo midfielder Vlatesi to succeed Brozovic, Inter Milan successfully cut French international Marcus Thuram from arch-rivals AC Milan.
With the summer transfer window drawing to a close, Inter Milan are currently netting a transfer fee of 92 million euros, the highest figure among Serie A teams, and Inter Milan have completed the squad replacement under careful calculation, and the team is expected to bring in Pavard, who has only one year left on his existing contract from Bayern before the summer window closes.
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Unlike the Napoli and Milan duos, who will play in the Champions League for Italian teams in the new season, Juventus will focus on domestic competition this season, and due to financial problems, Juventus was penalized for deducting league points last season, although the penalty was reduced from 15 points at the beginning to 10, but Juventus still finished in 7th place in the league.
Although 7th-placed Juventus can qualify for this season's UEFA Europa League qualifying round due to Serie A's European seat allocation rules, the Bianconeri were fined a one-year European ban plus a fine of €20 million by UEFA in July this year due to the Bianconeri's breach of the Financial Fairness Act, and the Europa League qualification was also extended to Fiorentina last season, who finished eighth in Serie A.
While missing European games means Juventus' season revenue will shrink further, it also gives the Bianconeri a good chance to focus on their league spot next season.
Juventus have been unable to agree with Chelsea on a swap for Vlahovic and Romelu Lukaku during this slightly lull summer, but the Bianconeri have the likes of Chiesa Junior, Milik and Moise Keane available in addition to Vlahovic for the new season.
Veteran Bonucci has been abandoned by Juventus, Danilo, Bremer and others will become the new generation of leaders in the Bianconeri's backline, relatively speaking, Juventus' biggest shortcoming of the new season is in the midfield, the departure of Rovira and Paredes has caused the depth of Juventus' midfield position to decline, while keeping Rabiot in the squad in a short one-year contract, Allegri needs to hope that Pogba can stay healthy in the new season.