Italy. No miracles this season – Juventus was dominant, as it should have been. At the bottom – pretty much the expected. Verona dropped too low for reigning champion.
Lecce – pretty much the outsider. Last with 16 points and out.
Bari – 15th and out with 22 points. They scored the least goals in the championship – just 18.
Pisa – the third relegated team. 14th with 23 points.
Udinese – lucky 13th with 25 points.
Avellino – 12th with 27 points.
Sampdoria – 11th with 27 points. More was expected from this team, but… that was it.
Verona, as it was commonly known back than – Hellas Verona, actually. 10th with 28 points. Unfortunately, they were not able to build upon their success – the predicament of small clubs in any country. Losing players rather than gaining more talent.
Como – 9th with 29 points. Not bad – for them.
Atalanta – 8th with 29 points.
Milan – 7th with 31 points. Rather painfully coming back, but on the road to recovery.
Inter – 6th with 32 points. Something not quite right with this team. Most likely the age of Rummenigge and Brady.
Torino – 5th with 33 points. One of the three teams not winning away, even once.
Fiorentina – 4th with 33 points. Underachievers, in a way – this squad should have been a title contender.
Napoli – 3rd with 39 points. Slowly building strength. One expect a team with Maradona to be formidable champion, but Napoli really came out of nowhere and Maradona was pretty much alone. But slowly a strong team was gathering around him – all for the future.
Roma – the closest team to the champions, but not a real threat. Second with 41 points. More or less, running on the inertia from their earlier years. Still very strong, but somewhat they missed the moment to transform themselves into truly great team and now inevitably getting older.
Juventus – simply the best. 18 wins, 9 ties, only 3 lost games, 43-17 goal-difference – best defensive record, second-best strikers, 45 points and one more title. Consistency was the key – no matter what, Juventus had strong squads for very long time and there was no stopping to that. Starting with their coach – Trapattoni – they were the best squad in Italy and practically had no real challenger. It was coming to the point of considering occasional second place a huge failure…