1) Italy On The Up
By the end of June 10, the day the football season in Europe ends with the final of the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League in Istanbul, Italy could very well have the reigning Champions League, Europa League and Conference League winners in its ranks.
The Champions League is certain to have one Italian club in the final, owing to the Milan derby that will make up one of its semifinals, and the Europa League final could be an all-Italian affair due to the presence of Juventus and Roma in its last four.
The Conference League, meanwhile, has Fiorentina in its last four, and the Tuscans will be favourites to progress in their semifinal tie against Swiss side Basel.
The last few years have been tough for Italian football: the victory of Jose Mourinho’s Roma in the inaugural edition of the Conference League last season was the first European title won by an Italian club since Mourinho himself led Internazionale to the Champions League title in 2010.
Prior to Roma’s win, Italian sides had played in only 3 of the 24 finals played in the Champions League and Europa League between 2010 and 2022 (2 by Juventus, 1 by Inter Milan, all defeats).
This unfortunate run perhaps reflected the decline of Italian football in general, as the Azzurri, Italy’s national team, failed to qualify for two successive World Cups, in 2018 and 2022.
This season, however, has proved to be a pleasant surprise for fans of Italian football and they will hope that its bounty is not short-lived.
2) Liverpool Will Be Lucky To Sign Nicolo Barella – If He Will Have Them
Barella, along with Jude Bellingham of Borussia Dortmund, has been one of the midfielders linked with Liverpool as Jurgen Klopp tries to rejuvenate his midfield the coming summer. With Liverpool choosing to drop their interest in Bellingham due to the finances involved, Barella has emerged as a more realistic option.
According to media reports, Inter allegedly need around €60m before the end of June in order to balance the books for the current season. As a result Barella, one of Inter’s most valuable assets, could be sold.
The Italian midfield general, who is expected to cost around €80 million in the market, is fresh off leading his team into their first Champions League semifinals in 13 years. Barella scored once each in Inter’s two-legged quarterfinals against Portugal’s Benfica.
His goal in the Italian giants’ second leg at home, when he curled a left-footer into the far corner of the net after dropping a shoulder to outwit Antonio Silva and Chiquinho inside the box, gave watchers a reminder of his ability to turn matches on a dime.
Barella, who led Italy to victory in the Euro 2020 tournament alongside his midfield partners Marco Verratti and Jorginho, has tireless work rate, and always puts in a shift in defence whenever his team lose the ball.
“Clearly Nicolò has grown, he is giving us a great hand and his growth, together with that of his teammates, is very important for us,” said Inter coach Simone Inzaghi after his side’s wild 4-3 over Fiorentina in a Serie A match in October 2022, in which Barella scored once and assisted another.
“Last year he created a lot of assists, he was very high in the rankings as he is now for goals: today he could have had another one. He has to continue like this, everyone has to keep playing like this and Barella is one of them,” Inzaghi said.
Barella, who currently has 9 goals and 6 assists for the season, might also have doubts over signing for a Liverpool side that is unlikely to qualify for the Champions League next season.
When Barella was 21 years old and playing for Serie A side Cagliari, he was asked about his future. “If and when I was to leave Cagliari, it would never be for money, but only for ambition,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport’s SportWeek magazine. If Klopp can convince Barella that a move to Liverpool would be beneficial to his career in the long term, he would have secured himself a bargain. Even at €80 million.
3) Mike Maignan: Second Best Goalkeeper In The World
“The number one position belongs to Mike Maignan. There will be a hierarchy. It’s important,” said Didier Deschamps. The France coach was speaking ahead of the Les Blues’ UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers against the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland. Hugo Lloris, France’s long-time captain, had announced his retirement after the 2022 World Cup, leading to questions about who would succeed him as the goaltender.
In the qualifiers against Holland and the Republic of Ireland, Maignan vindicated Deschamps’ faith in him, helping France to 2 clean sheets and 6 points, including an astonishing save against Ireland in the 90th minute that ensured a 1-0 win.
Just as Maignan assumed the number one position for France once Lloris hung up his boots, one gets the sense that the Frenchman will assume the mantle of the world’s best goalkeeper from Thibaut Courtois of Real Madrid whenever the splendid Belgian suffers a dip in form.
There are other contenders for the crown, with some more reputed than Maignan. However, they have all either suffered a drop in form (Jan Oblak – Atletico Madrid, David de Gea – Manchester United, Alisson Becker – Liverpool), do not play in elite European competitions (Nick Pope – Newcastle United, Emi Martinez – Aston Villa) or have been ruled out of the rest of the season because of injury (Manuel Neuer – Bayern Munich).
Other contenders such as Marc-Andre Ter Stegen (Barcelona), Andre Onana (Internazionale) or Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain) have not shown the form that Maignan has for AC Milan and France this season — despite missing 5 months of action due to a calf injury. PSG have been so impressed with Maignan that, according to Italian daily Il Giornale, they are considering spending €80 million to buy their former academy graduate from Milan this summer — but the Italian giants are unlikely to sell.
He really brings a lot of calm to the team. He’s a presence you can feel. He gives us so much when we are in possession, he allows us to get forward right away. And when he’s needed he’s always there, he makes great saves.
Fikayo Tomori, AC Milan centre-back, on what Mike Maignan brings to the team
Maignan, who sustained the injury in late September, returned to action only in February 2023. The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported that the former Lille man was so eager to play in the 2022 World Cup that he allegedly relied on the services of a physiotherapist known as a ‘muscle wizard’, but his efforts backfired.
“He was the best goalkeeper last season, he has given us so much in all sorts of situations,” said Milan coach Stefano Pioli in late February, ahead of Maignan’s return to the side after injury. “He hasn’t played for five months but he’s doing well both physically and mentally. He’s been like a caged lion, he’s very motivated.”
Without Maignan’s ever-alert, agile presence behind them, and the quiet confidence he inspires in the defence, the Milan back four shipped goals by the dozen. Since his return, the side have regained solidity, beaten the more fancied Tottenham Hotspur in Europe, defeated high-flying Napoli both in the league and in Europe and look well placed to qualify for the Champions League again next season.
“He really brings a lot of calm to the team. He’s a presence you can feel,” Milan defender Fikayo Tomori told CBS Sports after Maignan had helped the Rossoneri enter the semifinals of the Champions League by saving a penalty from Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaraskhelia in the second leg of their quarterfinal.
“He gives us so much when we are in possession, he allows us to get forward right away. And when he’s needed he’s always there, he makes great saves. He gives us great confidence, we can play high with the defence and be more aggressive,” Tomori said.
4) Fortress Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium (Conditions Apply)
When Sevilla were dumped out of this season’s Champions League in the Group Stages after finishing third in Group G, they had conceded 12 goals in 6 matches, including 8 goals at home, at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium. This included two 4-0 and 4-1 drubbings at home at the hands of Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund.
When Sevilla played their final group game of this season’s Champions League on November 2, they had already dropped to 18th in La Liga, in a strange campaign that has seen them battle against the drop and sack two managers so far.
Once the Andalusians finished third in the Champions League and dropped into the Europa League however, they seem to have become a different team transformed.
In 3 knockout ties, they have conceded 0 goals at home, seeing off the likes of PSV Eindhoven, Fenerbahce and most impressively, Manchester United. Since winning the Europa League for the first time in 2006 (in its previous iteration as the UEFA Cup), Sevilla have won it a record 6 times, the most recent being in 2020.
Ahead of Sevilla’s second-leg match against Manchester United in the quarterfinals, Sevilla coach Jose Luis Mendilibar was asked what he felt about the encounter. Sevilla had drawn the Manchester leg of the tie 2-2 and because of the Spanish side’s domestic form and United’s global presence, the English club were favourites to progress.
“It’s a big game,” said a modest Mendilibar. “Sevilla are used to these matches. The players too. Me, not so much. I’m going to have to learn from it.”
Mendilibar’s team proved him right, outclassing United and seeing them off with a 3-0 victory.
In May, Sevilla will take on Juventus in the semifinals of the Europa League. While the first leg will be in Italy, at the Juventus Stadium, the second leg, on May 18, will take place in Spain, at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium.
Sevilla will be ready.