A Serie A Title Race to Remember and Italy’s Return to The Big Stage: Destination Calcio’s Christmas Wishlist

Christmas is a time of lists. No, you don’t have to be a kid and believe in the big red fella with the white beard to have a wishlist. In fact, as close family members may well point out, having one makes their quest to source presents for the big day so much easier.

And, let’s be honest, what is better than the thrill of opening the presents on Christmas Day and finding out that the book we’d mentioned in passing we really wanted to read has in fact found its way into our hands, or that the vintage kit we’ve been eyeing for months is now waiting to be unwrapped?

Wishlists don’t come much bigger and more varied than in football. Some of us want a shiny new striker in the January transfer window, others would be content with a win away on Boxing Day, others still just want their club not to raise ticket prices for the umpteenth year in a row.

With that in mind, here’s what the Destination Calcio team would love to find under the tree on Christmas Day.

A close title race in Serie A

Let’s start with an easy one. While there is plenty to admire about a team swatting away everything in its path and marching to the Scudetto with clockwork efficiency, tight title races are what really set our collective pulses going.

And if the first half of the season is anything to go by, Serie A could be set for one of the closest sprints to the finish line in memory with just nine points separating league leaders Atalanta and sixth-placed Juventus.

Common wisdom suggests one or two clubs may fall off the pace as the calendar turns to January and February, but there should be enough contenders close together come the home straight of Serie A to set up a grandstand finish.

Time for Serie B to shine

There’s some beautifully chaotic about Serie B. From the convoluted play-offs format to the slightly haphazard nature of the coverage of the league, there’s never a dull moment in Italian football’s second tier.

And really, that is what makes Serie B so appealing, a wonderful cocktail for calcio lovers.

Serie B has it all, from big clubs fallen on hard times like Sampdoria, Bari and Palermo to surprise packages punching above their weight like Spezia and Juve Stabia to the likes of Pisa and Cesena, both backed by ambitious American owners who have Serie A firmly within their sight.

As for names to keep an eye on, how about Cesena striker Cristian Shpendi and Spezia counterpart Francesco Pio Esposito who have 10 and eight goals so far respectively? Aged 21 and 19 respectively, theirs are names you should expect to hear far more about over the foreseeable future and the same goes for Sassuolo midfield general Kristian Thorstvedt, a relative veteran at 25 years of age.

And what of the managers? The current league leaders Sassuolo are managed by Italy’s World Cup Fabio Grosso, while Filippo Inzaghi, one of the greatest strikers of his generation, is in charge of Pisa, the Neroverdi‘s closest rival in the race for promotion.

The football is always unpredictable – eight points separate fourth-placed Bari from 18th place Frosinone – often spectacular and played in arguably the most varied collection of stadiums you’ll see – from historic grounds such as Marassi, to cavernous bowls like the Stadio San Nicola right down to small jewels like the Stadio dei Marmi in Carrara.

All of which is to say, it’s time for Serie B to get the recognition it deserves. It may not be as polished a product as the Championship, but try it and you won’t be disappointed.

And you can start with a bumper set of Boxing Day fixtures. Not forgetting, Serie C is available to watch for free via FIFA Plus.

A decision on San Siro

Five years since Inter and Milan first floated the proposal for a new and shared San Siro, the saga surrounding Italy’s biggest stadium continues to tediously rumble on.

Both clubs have rejected out of hand plans to refurbish the current structure and plans for Inter and Milan to move to their own stadiums have long been dead in the water.

Last month, Corriere della Sera reported that the clubs will have to present their offer to purchase the stadium and the land around it within the first three months of next year, noting the clubs must finalise the sale by July to circumvent the impending restrictions on the stadium’s second tier, which are set to take effect in October 2025.

The Italian Revenue Agency has set the price tag for the San Siro area at €197 million. Proceeds from the sale of the Meazza stadium will be allocated to revitalise the San Siro neighbourhood, address the affordable housing crisis, and improve sports facilities in the city’s outskirts.

The saga surrounding San Siro presents calcio and Italy at their very worst, an already convoluted process slowed down at every corner by political brinkmanship and egregious self-interest.

Let us hope next year marks a significant change of gear in this particular matter. With the venues for Euro 2032, which Italy is co-hosting along with Turkey, time is running out.

Gasperini to win a Scudetto

It would take someone with a heart of stone to begrudge Gian Piero Gasperini a Scudetto. One of the best Italian coaches of the last 15 years, Gasperini’s extraordinary work at Atalanta warrants a title.

Moreover, few fans of calcio would also begrudge La Dea securing a first-ever title. Atalanta have been tremendous servants to the Italian game in the last decade: trusting in youth, playing excellent football, running a profit more often than not and renovating the Gewiss Stadium to bring it in line with other modern stadia across Europe.

They’re the example for every Italian club to follow, and it would be the capping moment in Gasperini’s career should he manage to deliver a Scudetto.

Atalanta’s achievement, should it happen, wouldn’t be as miraculous as Verona’s in 1985 or Sampdoria’s in 1991 because Serie A was a very different beast then, but it would still be a magnificent achievement. It would be yet another different title winner in Serie A, continuing its reputation as the most unpredictable of the top five European leagues.

And Gasperini could sail off into the sunset after nine years fantastic years in Bergamo.

Balotelli and Vieira to bury the hatchet

Serie A was gifted an early Christmas present this year when one of football’s greatest entertainers returned to Italy’s top flight.

In their bid to escape the relegation scrap at the foot of the table, Genoa turned to Mario Balotelli to add some much-needed firepower to their frontline.

The 34-year-old had been without a club since leaving Turkish side Adana Demispor in the summer and so needed a bit of time to get up to speed as boss Alberto Gilardino searched for answers.

Unfortunately for Gilardino – and Balotelli – his bid for match fitness didn’t come quick enough and the head coach was sacked, only to be replaced by a familiar face.

Patrick Vieira and Balotelli have history and there are few individuals around that the forward would have been less enthused by to see walk through the door as his new head coach.

Teammates at Manchester City, it was at Nice in Ligue 1 where their relationship really fell apart. as their feud – which included Vieira admitting he wanted to “slam” his player up against the wall – resulted in the player terminating his contract.

Reunited, little has been said by the pair, although it was noticeable that Balotelli wasn’t even given a cameo appearance during the 0-0 draw at San Siro during Milan’s 125th anniversary celebrations – a match he would have loved to have been involved in.

He was called upon from the bench at the weekend against Napoli and was inches away from opening his Genoa account, hitting the post late on in their 2-1 defeat. Hopefully there is more of Balotelli to come. Italian football will be better for it.

Italy to host Euro 2032

Italy were handed the keys to Euro 2032, along with Turkey, 14 months ago, and so far stadium renovation progress has been slow, very slow.

Aside from Fiorentina, who have started demolishing one end of the Stadio Artemio Franchi, all of Italy’s stadium projects are still languishing in development hell, a place where great ideas go to die.

Uefa has set both Italy and Turkey a deadline of October 2026 to get things in order and nominate five cities each to host the tournament. Turkey will have little trouble in naming five. Italy, on the other hand, will.

2025 is the year when the pace needs to quicken up. Hosting Euro 2032 could be stripped from Italy, putting the nail in the coffin of the country ever seeing the kind of stadiums calcio fans deserve.

Moreover, missing out on Euro 2032 would cost the Italian economy tens of millions of euros, and deny football fans enjoying a tournament in one of the most football-mad countries on earth for the first time since Italia ’90.

The political quagmire has to end, as the situation is becoming truly embarrassing.

Italy to qualify for World Cup 2026

If there really is a Santa, he’s certainly been grumpy with the Azzurri over the past decade.

Indeed, Italy fans have been deemed naughty since 2017, and then again in 2021, with two consecutive qualification campaigns down the gurgler.

If there is one particular World Cup that Luciano Spalletti’s side wants to be at, it’s one hosted in the USA, and for a number of reasons.

Firstly, Italy want a chance to trap the ghosts of Pasadena and cross them over to another nation – preferably Brazil (vengeance). We all know they’re going to have Roberto Baggio’s penalty miss on loop. The only way to silence the naysayers is to qualify and then go deep.

Secondly, Italian football is eager to increase its popularity in North America. The rise of the MLS is a good thing for Calcio, considering its affiliation with American hedge funds and the birth of Serie A USA.

Then, there are millions of Americans, Canadians and Mexicans sentimentally attached to Italy, and North Americans who share one of the twenty bloodlines extending from Sicily to Trentino.

Lastly, Italian football is screaming out for more coverage in the English speaking territories. World Cup 2026 is where the Azzurri must be.