Serie A: Juventus-Lazio-Inter title race could be one for the ages

Juventus, Lazio and Inter Milan find themselves neck-and-neck in a race for the Serie A title, meaning it will be a must-watch season until the very end.

It’s obvious that Juventus don’t need to spend time and energy on trying to win another Serie A title. If that sounds familiar it’s because I warned about the very same thing earlier this season. Back then, Juve were leading the league. This time, they find themselves in a tight race with second-place Lazio and third-place Inter Milan.

For everyone’s sake, let’s hope Juventus stay interested, while Lazio and Inter Milan remain competitive. That’s because a neck-and-neck, three-way scudetto race will mean that Serie A is a must-watch until the very end of the season. Such a scenario is good for the league’s global brand as well as for neutrals looking to watch competitive matches until the last day of the season.

Serie A has seen its fair share of tight races over the decades, including as recently as the 2017-18 season when Juventus edged out Napoli for the scudetto. But Juventus’ general dominance in winning the past eight titles has given the league a lopsided reputation.

Where does that leave us in 2020?

Juventus have been in poor form as of late, losing to Napoli and Verona in the new year. Inter Milan, meanwhile, had been surging just at the right time before a stunning 2-1 defeat to surging Lazio on Sunday that put Lazio in second place just a point behind leaders Juve.

That leaves us with three teams vying for the title just as they prepare to enter the spring, a time when the schedule gets busier and tougher.

It could very well be a sprint until the end for Juve, Lazio and even Inter. The reality is that Juventus have made winning the title a cakewalk over the past decade. Winning eight straight league championships will do that. Not this season.

Having Juventus lose twice in such a short amount of time lends credence to the possibility that this could be a tough slog and a race for the ages. Adding to that, both Juventus and Inter Milan are also alive in the Coppa Italia and could very well meet in the final. Those two clubs are also still alive in European competition – Juventus in the Champions League and Inter in the Europa League – while Lazio have been eliminated from the Europa League and can focus solely on Serie A.

All three teams – now separated by just three points – have been involved in competitive Serie A races in the recent past.

In 2000, Lazio won the league, edging out Juventus by a single point on the final day of the season. The finale is still fraught with controversy. It was the last matchday of the season and Lazio had defeated Reggina 3-0. At the same time, Juventus’s match with Perugia had been delayed 80 minutes due to heavy rain, but the game was eventually played despite the harsh weather. Perugia pulled off a 1-0 shocker and Lazio were champions.

The 2001-02 season, featured an epic contest between Inter and Juventus, one Juve eventually won. In the end, Inter Milan would collapse before reaching the finish line, only to end up in third place behind Roma.

The most indelible image from that day was Inter Milan and Brazil star Ronaldo crying on the bench.

“I wept because of that defeat,” the former Brazilian superstar said afterwards. “It hurts even more because we had the title within our reach.”

For Ronaldo, it was one in a string of many disappointments at the club. Juventus, however, have also suffered some setbacks in recent memory.

The Calciopoli match-fixing scandal that engulfed the Italian game in 2006 resulted in Juventus being demoted to Serie B as punishment, in addition to stripping the club of two league titles. The title won in 2005 was left vacated. The one Juventus captured in 2006 was awarded to Inter Milan. The lone survivor of that Juventus team, legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, is still a member of the team.

Tight title races are what every soccer fan hopes for. Often, and Italy isn’t alone here, European league races end up being lopsided affairs with one team running away with the title by Christmas. Not this year in Italy, where Juventus, Lazio and Inter Milan look set to battle the very end.