The Case for Optimism Ahead of the 2026/27 Serie A | OneFootball

Three years ago the promotional arm of Serie A now infamously claimed that “Calcio is back!”, but this past season Italian football arguably fell the farthest it ever has from its illustrious peak in the 1990s.

This was recently capped off by the World Cup playoff failure, as well as the Maldini-Malagò-Pirlo debacle, which followed a European campaign in which just one Serie A side reached the last 16 of the Champions League. Embarrassing exits were highlighted by Inter, the runaway domestic double winners, being disposed of by Bodø/Glimt in the knockout playoff round.

Calcio got back to being not back.

And yet, on the cusp of a new campaign, a sense of optimism hangs in the air. If for nothing else than simply having the opportunity for a turnaround, a clean slate providing the chance for the lows of last year to be vanquished by success in the next.

Human nature calls for these ritualistic resets, whether it’s the relatively arbitrary New Year’s resolutions that roll around when the calendar turns over each January or the inevitable end of one sporting season and opening of another.

Anyone involved with Serie A, from the league’s administrators to passionate fans and calcio romantics, will likely harness this natural optimism as the 2026/27 curtain raises this weekend. But, there are plenty of concrete, non-ethereal reasons to believe that this year will see an upswing in fortunes for the Italian game.

For one, Inter held on to their core and brought in genuine quality to reinforce Cristian Chivu’s squad. The proven track records of John Stones and Curtis Jones should go a long way while Djed Spence’s dynamism gives the Nerazzurri a capable Denzel Dumfries replacement.

Inter maintaining their level is important for Serie A, as they’re easily the division’s strongest side yet again and the most poised for another deep run in the Champions League. Lautaro Martinez and co. will be determined to prove last season’s bizarre exit was an anomaly and that they belong among Europe’s elite.

Joining the reigning champions in Europe’s top table are, of course, runners-up Napoli, who can only improve upon last year’s abysmal showing on the continent as they finished 30th out of 36 teams in the UCL. Many fans are miffed with the decision to replace Antonio Conte with Max Allegri, but the latter has a long track record of successfully competing on multiple fronts.

Napoli have also held on to the spine of their team and reinforced the back line, so a respectable showing in the Champions League is expected.

Then come the wild cards, the surprise UCL sides from Serie A that arguably provide the most reason for optimism entering the new campaign. Roma finally return to the top tier of European football and are led by the manager who most recently delivered continental glory back to Italy.

Year two of Gian Piero Gasperini in the capital gives continuity to a club and fanbase that have been desperate to get back into the Champions League. No one should be shocked if the Giallorossi are Italy’s best representative in the competition, especially given that their transfer business is far from over after the signing of exciting Portuguese talent Rodrigo Mora.

And then there’s Como. The international story of last year’s Serie A, a side seemingly ahead of schedule yet deservedly finished fourth in 2025/26 on the back of the country’s most coherent project. Cesc Fabregas and Nico Paz remain, Trevoh Chalobah seems like an ideal defensive reinforcement, and the club have a clear, successful style of play that should translate very well to the UCL.

If the Lariani get the Moise Kean deal over the line, or simply bring in another proven striker to supplement the solid Anastasios Douvikas, look out for Fabregas’s men to not only compete in Europe but also challenge Inter for the Scudetto.

Meanwhile, the heavy reputational and financial disappointment for Juventus and Milan of both tumbling into the Europa League places on the final day last term actually provides more reason for optimism for the league as a whole. Both Italian giants have outlayed some serious cash this summer in hopes of not only returning to the top four, but also building towards hopeful title challenges.

Those long term goals are clear, but in the immediate both Milan and Juve must be considered favorites to win the Europa League and should go all out to win it. Especially given that the Premier League’s entrants to the tournament are Bournemouth and Sunderland, Serie A has as good a chance as ever to bring the trophy back to the Belpaese.

A similar situation is found for Italy’s Conference League representative, as Atalanta should fancy their chances of going all the way in the competition. Despite their scoreless draw against Hapoel at home in the first leg of the qualifying playoff, La Dea should still be backed to not only get into the league phase but also make a legitimate run for the trophy.

Serie A sporting directors as a whole seems determined to bounce back this season, as the league has dished out the second-highest transfer spend so far this summer (€1.01bn) only behind the Premier League. In the same vein, Italy’s top flight now boasts the second-highest total player market value as a league, according to Transfermarkt, of course trailing only England’s first tier.

Some genuine reasons for optimism surround Italy’s domestic league entering this fresh term. So, where can they be found for the Nazionale? Well, the first positive step is that the drama is over. Roberto Mancini is back, Claudio Ranieri is the technical director and that is how the Azzurri move forward.

To many, this may seem like a recycling of old ideas and a lack of progress. Valid. However, Mancini was the last coach to bring success to Italy and he has some low stakes yet high quality matches in the Nations League this fall to rebuild and kick on prior to Euro qualifiers.

In addition, many new, young managers have taken the helm throughout Serie A, Fiorentina have relaunched with a swath of fun, new signings, and the parity throughout the table will continue to provide exciting, unpredictable competition.

Patience needs to be exercised before once again declaring that calcio is back, but an upswing in fortunes for Italian football in 2026/27 looks to be in the cards.