After one of the most dramatic title races in history, Serie A is over. Napoli are champions of Italy for the second time in three seasons and Antonio Conte is the first manager to claim the Scudetto with three different clubs.

As Conte celebrates, Simone Inzaghi, his successor at Inter Milan, is left pondering a season that is slowly slipping away. The Nerazzurri were on course for a first Treble in 15 years but now face the very real prospect of ending the campaign empty handed should they lose to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final on Saturday.

Speaking of European football’s premier competition, Atalanta and Juventus will join Napoli and Inter in the Champions League next season, with Roma and Bologna in the Europa League and Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League.

At the other end of the table, it’s goodbye to Monza, Venezia and Empoli.

Here, the Destination Calcio writers run through their season awards.

Best team in Serie A

Dan Cancian: Napoli are the obvious choice as they won the league, but I’m going with Bologna. Following in Thiago Motta’s footsteps was a tall order for Vincenzo Italiano after the Rossoblu reached the Champions League for the first time in their history, and the task was made even harder by the departures of Riccardo Calafiori and Joshua Zirkzee.

It is fair to say that Bologna didn’t hit the ground running under their new manager, winning just one of their first 11 games in all competitions, and the sight of Italiano pleading for time became a common refrain throughout the first two months of the season.

Where some clubs may have twisted, Bologna stuck with Italiano and their decision was more than vindicated. They lost just twice between the end of November and the beginning of April, the dull fare they had served up earlier in the season replaced by the progressive, attacking brand of football Italiano had promised.

Far more importantly, it delivered Bologna’s first trophy in 51 years and a second consecutive season of European football.

David Ferrini: We’ve been treated to a rarity: this is the first time since 2000-01 that two teams outside the big three have won Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the same season. Back then, it was Roma and Fiorentina. In 2025, Napoli and Bologna defied the odds.

Bologna’s cup run is a fairytale in itself but their Serie A season – finishing ninth below a poor Milan side – has taken the shine off.

For me, it’s all about Napoli. Nobody saw them as a legitimate threat to Inter and Juventus, not even with serial winner Conte in their ranks. Moreover, the Partenopei had to deal with their second superstar exodus in two years – this time it was Victor Osimhen, Piotr Zielinski and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – only to replace them with unknown quantities.

Conte, Scott McTominay and Romelu Lukaku all deserve the keys to the city, alongside Giovanni Di Lorenzo who equalled Diego Maradona’s Scudetto captaincy record.

Emmet Gates: Napoli will, rightly, get all the plaudits considering their season and one of the least-expected title wins in living memory, but my choice is Roma.

It’s easy to forget now, but the Giallorossi were in a state before Claudio Ranieri took charge for a third time. They had gone through two managers by late November.

Sir Claudio not only steadied the ship but went on a Scudetto-worthy run over his 26 league games in charge, losing just four times.

In the end, Roma were pipped to fourth spot by Juve with just a point separating the pair. The fact they got so close to qualifying for the Champions League is testament to the job Ranieri did in the second half of the campaign.

Player of the season

Emmet Gates: Mateo Retegui earned the Capocannoniere award after exploding at Atalanta, and he is my player of the season.

This was only the Argentine-Italian’s second season in Europe. His first with Genoa brought seven Serie A goals and it was far from certain that he could find the gears to move to the next level.

Working under Gian Piero Gasperini helps.

Retegui finished the season with 25 goals and became the first Atalanta player to top the scoring charts since Pippo Inzaghi in 1996-97. Then, Inzaghi scored 24.

Aside from his goals, Retegui offers energy and movement. He is still not the finished article but he is morphing into one of the best strikers in Serie A. I believe he will only get better.

Dan Cancian: Can you really look past McTominay? He may not be the best player in Serie A, but the league’s award is given to the most valuable and there can be little doubt the Scotsman was Napoli’s MVP in his debut season in Italy.

With 12 goals and six assists McTominay was their second-most prolific scorer behind Lukaku and claimed the second-highest number of assists, also behind the Belgian centre-forward. But the cold numbers barely scratch the surface when it comes to the contribution of McTominay, who developed into Conte’s jack of all trades following a £25m (€30m) move from Manchester United last summer.

McTominay forced Conte to abandon his favoured 3-5-2 for a 4-2-3-1, with the Scot almost playing the role of an auxiliary striker alongside Lukaku with Kvaratskhelia and David Neres tucking in.

He then operated as the most advanced in the midfield trio alongside Stanislav Lobotka and Frank Zambo-Anguissa when Conte switched to a traditional 4-3-3 and then as a box-crasher behind a front two of Lukaku and Giacomo Raspadori following Kvaratskhelia’s departure in January.

Through it all, he has become a cult hero in Naples and emphatically silenced those who questioned whether he would be good enough for Serie A. His goal against Cagliari last Friday night will be painted on walls across Naples for decades to come.

David Ferrini: McTominay is the obvious choice but Dan beat me to it. But right up there alongside him, in terms of impact, I must mention Nico Paz at Como. 

No longer referred to as a starlet with big potential, Paz wooed us with his outstanding brand of football, well beyond his years, helping Como end the season in the top half of the table. 

An unknown quantity to most when he signed from Real Madrid, the 19-year-old excelled in Serie A as a box-to-box midfielder and was pivotal in transition, often carrying the ball 30-40 metres at a time. 

Statistics can often mislead or fail to illustrate the reality on the pitch, but not in this case. Paz ended the campaign as the league’s best when it came to shot-creating actions (144), successful take-ons (69) and goal-creating actions (16), according to FBREF.

In addition, the Argentina international finished second for through balls (15) and shots (109) and a credible seventh for blocks (49). With a football IQ this high, it will be no surprise if Real Madrid want him back.

Manager of the season

Emmet Gates: It has to be Ranieri. What the wily old sage of Italian football did with Roma was nothing short of remarkable.

Ranieri inherited a club in tatters, and calmed the waters. It was a smart move by the Friedkins, appointing a Roman legend following months of bad decisions.

The fanbase was never going to get mad at Ranieri, no matter the results. Yet the Premier League winner produced them, and had he taken over sooner they would likely have surpassed Juve for a Champions League spot.

Ranieri has replaced the legendary Carlo Mazzone as the loveable elder statesman of calcio. Being in the Stadio Olimpico for his final home game, and seeing the love of the Romanisti, remains one of the moments of the season. While Italiano and Conte deserve all the plaudits, Ranieri is my coach of the year.

Dan Cancian: Italiano and Inzaghi would be deserved winners and Ranieri deserves a mention, but Conte edges them all. Napoli were not meant to win the Scudetto.

Not after compiling what was effectively the worst title defence in Serie A history as they finished 41 points behind Inter Milan last term. Not without the likes of Osimhen, exiled at Galatasaray, and Kvaratskhelia, who departed for Paris Saint-Germain. And not when up against a juggernaut such as Inter, who had swept their rivals aside with ease last season.

But win the league Napoli did. And it is largely down to Conte, the only man to have won the Scudetto with three different Serie A clubs. Fabio Capello won with AC Milan and Roma but the two titles he claimed with Juventus were revoked because of the Calciopoli scandal.

In the past 13 years Conte has won six titles with four different clubs across two countries. Love him or loathe him, he is a winner. Perhaps the greatest in Serie A’s rich history from a managerial standpoint.

The 55-year-old’s all-consuming drive to succeed will, in all likelihood, lead to him leaving Naples, but he will do so having delivered the biggest prize of all at the first time of asking.

David Ferrini: Many expected Napoli to win their fourth Scudetto last year, but by November 2023 that dream was over. The club then staggered to a shock 10th-place finish under Francesco Calzona.

To exacerbate Napoli’s growing list of problems, outrageous demands made by Osimhen’s and Kvaratskhelia’s agents further tore apart the dressing room and any stability there was left following Luciano Spalletti’s exit.

Only one manager could have navigated a way through the tsunami of discontent on the shores of Castel Volturno. Having won the Serie A title at Juventus and Inter – clubs expected to win it – Conte risked everything to take the Napoli job. 

Hailing from Lecce, he has broken barriers by becoming the first southern Italian coach to lead a southern team to the title.

No other manager in the world could have pulled off a Napoli Scudetto in 2025, his 10th Serie A crown as player and coach, which takes him one clear of Capello at the top.

Under-achiever of the season

Dan Cancian: Yes, Motta’s short-lived tenure at Juventus was disastrous and Roma’s season flirted with calamity until Ranieri’s arrival, but when it comes to disappointment, AC Milan stand above the rest.

Dismally rudderless off the pitch, Il Diavolo have been dismally rudderless on it. Paulo Fonseca was a strange choice of replacement for Stefano Pioli and so it proved, with the Portuguese dismissed at the end of December with the Rossoneri in eighth place and no sign of the attacking football he had promised.

Sergio Conceicao delivered a trophy in his first week as Milan came back from two goals down to beat Inter in the Supercoppa Italiano, but he was soon bogged down in the same quagmire that had harmed his predecessor. A team lacking leaders, a reliable goalscorer and a clear identity.

All of the above can be traced back to RedBird’s Moneyball approach to signings, which has left more questions than answers. Milan did not break the €30m (£25m) barrier on transfers for two years and when they did spend, the returns on their investment were negligible.

Alvaro Morata arrived in the summer and was shipped out in January, to make way for Santiago Gimenez, who arrived from Feyenoord for €30m and has scored six goals in 19 appearances in all competitions. Fellow January signings Warren Bondo and Joao Felix have been similarly underwhelming, with the former playing 164 minutes of football and the latter scoring just three times in 21 outings with only 10 starts to his name.

With Milan losing the Coppa Italia final to Bologna and finishing outside the European places, Conceicao is expected to follow through the exit door. The fitting end to a forgettable season.

David Ferrini: Inter Milan in domestic competition. They failed to win one of the Supercoppa, the Coppa Italia and Serie A – all this after building a squad to repeat Jose Mourinho’s Treble of 2010.

But who is to blame for Inter’s failure? Inzaghi is a world-class coach, most probably in the top three. When fit, his star-studded squad delivered in big moments during the title race, and were outdone in the Super Cup final by a resilient Milan side who pulled off the mother of all comebacks – the same disappointing Rossoneri team that knocked them out of the Italian Cup in the semi-final and took four precious points away from Inzaghi in the league.

Who would have thought this incredibly bad Milan side could be Inter’s psychological hurdle?

Indeed, Milan could be held partially responsible for Inter’s cataclysmic failure in domestic competitions this season, an indirect triumph that Il Diavolo will take with open arms. Inter could stamp all that out though, should they defeat PSG in Munich at the weekend.

Emmet Gates: It has to be Thiago Motta.

Arriving on the back of an impressive season with Bologna in which he guided them into the Champions League for the first time, Motta had a lot of hype. But with that hype comes expectation.

He was supposed to be the antithesis of Max Allegri. Juve would be more exciting to watch, went the rhetoric. Motta would take the Bianconeri to another level with a more ‘modern’ way of playing.

Yet the end result was seven months of sterile, possession-based football that went nowhere. The club had spent over €200m on players last summer, yet what was there to show for it?

The manager used players in wrong positions, kept faith in underperforming ones and never utilised a plan B when A clearly wasn’t working. Motta’s reported coldness towards players did him little favours and while Juve did not lose too many games under his stewardship, they didn’t win too many neither.

Had Allegri been given €200m worth of new players, he would undoubtedly have done a lot better.

Until the very last game, there was no discernible identity under Motta. There was no vision of what he was trying to achieve.

He may become a top coach one day, but it will not be with The Old Lady.

Game of the season

Dan Cancian: Another category where we are spoilt for choice, from an eight-goal Derby d’Italia to two Derby della Madonnina that featured late drama, and Napoli coming back to beat Juventus at the Maradona. But there is one clear winner and that is Napoli’s 3-2 win at Atalanta on January 18, a match that had it all.

The notion of a Scudetto decider less than three weeks into the calendar year is risible, but this felt very much like the first proper test for two teams with title aspirations. League leaders Napoli travelled north on the back of five consecutive wins to take on third-placed Atalanta, who had drawn three games in a row after winning 11 on the bounce to charge their title tilt.

Without Kvaratskhelia who had agreed to join Paris Saint-Germain just a day earlier, Napoli trailed 16 minutes into the game as Retegui fired home the opener. It was a test of the Partenopei’s mettle and they responded emphatically, Matteo Politano drawing level with a thunderous finish before McTominay swept home at the end of a superb team move.

The goals kept coming in the second half, Ademola Lookman taking the roof off the Gewiss Stadium with a brilliant equaliser and as Atalanta charged forward again, Napoli not only stood their ground, but poured forward themselves, the two teams combining to produce a cracker.

Conte may have built a reputation as a risk-averse manager, but any caution was thrown to the wind here, Atalanta and Napoli trading blows like two heavyweights searching for the knockout punch. It was the visitors who found it, Lukaku heading home in front of a delirious away end. This was the mark of a real title challenger, Napoli had not gone away on the night and would not go away for the remainder of the season.

Emmet Gates: The 4-4 cracker between Inter and Juventus in the first Derby d’Italia of the season gets my vote. Historically, games between these two are often tense and cagey, not goal-fests with end-to-end chances.

Juve should have been dead and buried, with Inter missing chance after chance when the Nerazzurri were 4-2 up. Yet Kenan Yildiz in his best performance of the season came off the bench to score twice in nine minutes.

It was arguably the highpoint of Motta’s reign, and it did give a brief snippet into a potentially exciting future for the former Inter player in the Juve dugout. It wasn’t to last.

Inzaghi was furious with his players after the match, saying: “We had four or five chances to add the fifth. This is an experienced team, we know that those chances cannot be wasted.”

With Inter losing the title to Napoli by a point, those spurned chances did indeed prove costly.

David Ferrini: I’ll go with Napoli at home to Cagliari, the Scudetto clincher at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on the final day of the season.

Cagliari responded to the pre-match boos throughout their warm-up by playing a confident brand of football in the opening 20 minutes. Davide Nicola’s side had the 55,000 home fans worried as Napoli struggled to break through.

Tension built as Inter took the lead in Como and in the overall Serie A standings. Then, Matteo Politano’s surgical cross into the box was volleyed beyond the keeper by McTominay three minutes before the break, releasing a mix of pent-up relief and collective joy which rippled from Fuorigrotta to Piazza Plebiscito and beyond. Lukaku sealed it with a brilliant solo goal in the second half to bring Napoli a fourth Serie A title.

Privileged enough to attend such an historic event, I’ll never forget the eruption throughout the stadium when McFratm scissor-kicked in the opener, with fireworks lighting up the Neapolitan skies.

You can watch more on Napoli’s title celebrations below.