Serie A: When and how will Italy’s top flight finally start up again?

The pandemic has put sports around the world on pause. Now Italy is setting their sights on starting up Serie A once again.

August 2 is the date set by UEFA for European countries to bring the 2019-20 season to an end. While the end date has been set, the big question is when will the season resume?

Trying to predict the future during this pandemic has been impossible for national governments, health officials and sports executives. New start dates have been proposed for when to restart sports leagues, only to be pushed back.

Serie A has seen a series of dates put out there, only for nothing to happen given the virus’ death toll. Below is a timeline of what could happen over the next few months as the virus continues to spread and Italian officials scramble to try and put together a new start date.

League officials plan to meet with the clubs via video conference this Wednesday to discuss restarting the season.

The Italians have taken the bold step to try and restart the season after other countries, like neighboring France, ended the Ligue 1 season after the government deemed it too unsafe to play. The Premier League is also in talks to restart in June, while the Germans, after largely controlling the virus’ spread, plans to resume the Bundesliga on May 16.

Restarting Serie A training sessions

Players had been allowed to train individually at club facilities starting on May 4. While some training sessions are back (teams will officially start training together following a 14-day quarantine period), social distancing and other strict rules remain. That means teams won’t be able to gather until at least on or after May 18.

Juventus are in first place of the paused standings since March 27, with Lazio just a point behind them. Inter Milan, Atalanta, Roma and Napoli rounds out the top six of teams vying for one of four Champions League spots. The games to be played across Italy, one of the hardest-hit countries from the virus, would feature no fans.

Despite a tight timeline and the death of some 30,000 people because of the virus, Italian FA President Gabriele Gravina has said he wants games to resume in an effort to avoid “the death of Italian soccer.”

Resuming the Serie A season

The Italian government has said that May 18 is the day that “phase 2” of a national plan to reopen the country goes into effect after some stores and factory employees were allowed to return to work starting May 4. Phase 2 includes resuming of all sporting events across Italy, meaning the league could restart any time on or after that date.

A rough timeline could have league matches starting either the first week of June for a midweek slate of games, followed by matches on the weekend of June 6-7. This is the most optimistic timeline possible. The only caveat here is the timing of when the 20 teams in the league start their two-week quarantines.

This will determine the start date, pushing it potentially closer to mid-June after so many players scattered across Europe during the lockdown had to return to Italy.

Cramming in 12 matchdays

European soccer authorities have given national federations the next 13 weeks to conclude the season. That means, barring any more pauses, there is a very tight window of time to finish the competition.

The best solution is a matchday every three days with games on Wednesday evening and Saturday afternoon/Sunday morning and evening. That would place the final matchday into the final weekend of July, just days ahead of UEFA’s mandated end date. August would be reserved for European club competition, which also includes completing the Europa League.

Teams, as part of a FIFA directive, will be allowed to use five substitutions (two more than currently allowed) for the remainder of the season.

The season, however, could suffer setbacks should players test positive for the virus. There’s no guarantee that any flareups would result in another pause.

The country’s third division agreed earlier this month to end the season, promoting Monza, Vicenza, Reggina and Carpi to Serie B, while there will be no relegations. Serie B officials have yet to make a decision.

Rescheduling Coppa Italia semifinals/final

The Coppa Italia, the country’s 78-club cup tournament, was paused amid the semifinal round. The competition could be abandoned, but it is most likely that it could be played simultaneously to league matches.

The second-leg matches will need to be played: Juventus vs. AC Milan in Turin and Napoli vs. Inter Milan in Naples. Following the first leg, Juve and AC Milan are tied 1-1, while Napoli hold a 1-0 lead in the two-legged series. Juventus, still alive in three major competitions, are vying for the treble.

Should fitting in these fixtures become a problem, the league could easily abandon the tournament and declare no winner for the season.

Crowning a Serie A league champion

Juve, winners of the last eight league titles, hold a slim lead over Lazio in a two-team title race where anything can happen. Throw in a pandemic, a disrupted schedule and a halt to regular training and it can make for some interesting outcomes.

Predicting who will win the scudetto is an impossibility under normal circumstances, although there is no denying Juventus has a roster that’s stacked with talent. Led by Cristiano Ronaldo, the Bianconeri have a mix of veterans and youth players in what would be manager Maurizio Sarri’s first Italian league title. Juve also has an eye towards next season, looking to renew the contracts of several of their stars as well as bringing back Paul Pogba.

Lazio, on the other hand, are the Cinderella side and a favorite of neutrals and anti-Juve fans across the world. Led offensively by striker Ciro Immobile (who leads the league in scoring with 27 goals), Lazio had the momentum on their side before the coronavirus pause. Immobile was recently named team captain and a contract extension through 2025. Managed by Simone Inzaghi, a title would be the Rome-based club’s first since the 1999-2000 and only third in history.

As a result, two things are for sure: it could be a title race for the ages, while everyone waits for their beloved calcio to come back and bring some sense of normalcy in what has been a tough time for everyone.

For more information about COVID-19, visit the CDC’s website or the website for your state’s Department of Health.