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Crisis circus kicks off today

Atique Anam
The Serie A is a joke. Funny things happen there. A man goes on hunger strike chaining himself to the gate of the football federation headquarters, seeking justice. A coach slaps his own player during a game because he did not appreciate the coach's decision. A club owner bars his players from attending the medal ceremony protesting referee's decision. These instances only go to show how corrupt and morally unacceptable the league has become.
But amidst all that farce, the burden of match-fixing and the financial insolvency which hangs heavy on many of the clubs, there are things that make the Serie A lovers welcome the new season. The resilience of the Italian national team, the rise of a new crop of home-grown
talents and the stepping up of a new generation of tacticians make the Serie A faithful full of hope and enthusiasm.
Like the previous season, the new season is also expected to provide endless drama, tantrum, excitement, and most importantly quality. Yes, quality is one thing that will undermine all the negativities surrounding the game.
So, as the Serie A embarks on a new season, people are pondering whether Juventus can emulate last season's success without the on-field guidance from their talismanic coach Antonio Conte or a rejuvenated
Roma, under Zdenek Zemen wrestle the title back? Will the heavily indebted giants of Milan prove to be too feeble a contender having let go many of their biggest stars? Or will it be one of Napoli or Udinese that will roll back their glory years?Will the departure of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the last superstar of Serie A, make the league any more bleak? Will the Serie A be any poorer for the exodus of their long-serving stars Del Piero, Nesta Gatusso, Inzaghi and the likes?
Some of the questions can be answered right away while for others, you will have to wait for the time being.
For the moment Juventus, even without Conte at the touch-line look like the team to beat. He will surely be at the training sessions and that may prove to be enough. Milan look quite out of hope at the moment while Inter perhaps made the most of the preseason bargains, provided a slack purse. Napoli and Udinese will
surely give Juve and the likes a run for their money, but they don't have the knack of success in recent years. As far as the players are concerned, there seems to be a plenty to be hopeful about. There is a host of new talents emerging who have already taken up the mantle from their predecessors. Destro, Immobile, Giovinco, Insigne are some of the youngsters who have already been tipped as the successors to Del Piero, Totti and Pirlo. It's a shame thatVerrati and Borini have been let go to ply their trade out of the peninsula. But that's life. You win some, you lose some.
r FIXTURES 1
(kick-off times GMT): Saturday Fiorentina v Udinese (1600), Juventus v
Parma (1845) Sunday Milan v Sampdoria (1600), Siena vTorino, Roma v Catania, Pescara v Inter, Palermo v Napoli, Atalanta v Lazio, Genoa v