Serie A is not a league for old managers

No Country for Old Men. The title of Cormac McCarthy’s famous novel, which was adapted into a film directed by the Coen brothers, is particularly apt for our Serie A. Indeed, with the exception of Gian Piero Gasperini and his Roma side, the ‘old guard’ on the touchline are going through a difficult spell.

First and foremost, Luciano Spalletti. Fresh from his clash with the young Fabio Pisacane last Sunday, Luciano finds himself at the helm of a team that, in six matchdays, has managed to scrape together just eleven points. That’s fewer than Thiago Motta and Igor Tudor managed to amass over the last two seasons during the same period, when they secured one more point. That is even fewer than Allegri’s final spell at Juventus, when he secured thirteen.

Of course, the squad is what it is. For some time now, there has been a lack of a technical leader – the Baggio, Del Piero or Zidane of the team – to whom the ball can be entrusted in the hope that he might resolve the most tangled situations. There is no such player in this Juventus side. All the more so now that Yildiz is out for three months. But even with the Turkish player on the pitch, the Bianconeri have not exactly set the world alight. The problem under this management has always been the same: against teams that sit deep, the Bianconeri struggle terribly. The defence remains fragile, and the uncertainty over who should form the core of the team—with McKennie as the only player yet to take up goalkeeping duties—further complicates the picture. The Europa League provided some respite, yet the victory over Celta Vigo does not dispel concerns about the team’s slow start to the league campaign.

However, it is not only the former Italy manager who is struggling amongst the tournament’s veterans.

What can one say, in fact, about Maurizio Sarri? He has been entrusted with one of this year’s most intriguing managerial projects: that of Atalanta. After nine years of man-to-man marking and ferocious pressing under Gasperini, the Bergamo side have thus found themselves faced with a new tactical approach: Sarri’s ‘integral zone’ system. A shift, then, from individual to collective football. A more complicated transition than the one Inter underwent thirty-five years ago when they switched from Giovanni Trapattoni to Corrado Orrico. It was a given that the start would require patience. But how much longer will it take before we see Atalanta playing the way Sarri wants them to, with tight passing and the ball moving forwards, backwards and then into space?

Finally, Massimiliano Allegri, the third most experienced manager of the four at the start of this 2026–27 season. After six matchdays, Napoli are already three points adrift of fourth place. And yet, according to many, the Neapolitans are the only side with a squad capable of rivalling Inter in terms of quality and depth. Here too, as in Turin, alongside tactical issues (the team is at times too passive) there are problems relating to the positioning of certain players. Where should De Bruyne be placed? How should the attacking players be arranged, now that McTominay has returned? The fallback to the 3-5-2 – the ‘security blanket’ of every good Italian manager – smacks of déjà vu and only serves to reinforce the initial idea: even though there is more open play in this Serie A season, thanks to the latest rules, there have been few, if any, real innovations.

Consequently, in a world that remains conservative, experience no longer seems to be enough to succeed.