From another Scudetto triumph for Juventus to Crotone’s miraculous escape, we revisit Papu Gómez’s armbands, Joe Hart’s gaffes and the grace of Totti

This might have been another year of European heartbreak for Juventus, but domestically it was the same old story. The Bianconeri won Serie A for the sixth consecutive season, and collected their third straight Coppa Italia as well. No team had ever won either trophy so many times in succession. They have made the unprecedented look routine.

And yet, this season was not lacking in drama. To the contrary, there was something wild about this campaign right from the start. There were 32 goals scored (not to mention three red cards) on the opening weekend alone. The final tally of 2.96 per game was highest among Europe’s top five leagues.

Quantity is not synonymous with quality, and the gulf between Serie A’s haves and have nots has rarely appeared more stark. Yet there was scintillating football to be found outside of a Juventus team that fell one game short of the treble. Roma and Napoli each broke the 90-goal mark while setting club-record points tallies for a top-flight campaign.

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Despite finishing third, the Partenopei might have been the most entertaining team in all of Europe. A side that began the season fretting about how to replace Gonzalo Higuaín first discovered Arkadiusz Milik, and then unleashed Dries Mertens into a new centre-forward role. We called him a ‘false nine’ to begin with. Thirty-six goals later: not so much.

Then there was Atalanta, a defiant example of what can be achieved with a well-run academy and a dash of trust. Lazio sparkled under Simone Inzaghi before an end-of-season fade. Torino gave us helter-skelter entertainment and a breakout season for the prolific Andrea Belotti.

Some of the best stories, though, unfolded at clubs further down the standings. This season will be remembered for Crotone’s miraculous escape – claiming 20 points from their last nine games after previously having scraped together just 14 in 29. Over at Sampdoria, lifelong fan Christian Puggioni went from third-choice goalkeeper to dominating the Derby della Lanterna at 35 years old.

And how about Fabio Pisacane, The Guardian’s inaugural Player of the Year in 2016? Paralysed by Guillain-Barré syndrome at 14, then feted for reporting a director’s attempt to fix a third-tier match in 2011, he finally made his top-flight debut in September. His tears at the end of that 3-0 win over Atalanta were an abiding image of this campaign.

It was a season of farewells – from Francesco Totti to Silvio Berlusconi, but also one for new beginnings. Giovanni Simeone emulated his dad, Diego, with an iconic headed goal against Juventus. Moise Kean became the first player born this century to score in one of Europe’s top-five leagues, and then was trumped by the even-younger Pietro Pellegri.

Play Video 0:56 Francesco Totti brings 24-year playing career to an end – video

If those were the positives, then we must also acknowledge some of the negatives. Senad Lulic avoided a racism charge for suggesting that Antonio Rudger had been “selling socks and belts” before he came to Roma, but many perceived a malicious undertone to his words. The Italian Football Federation then drew international condemnation for its initial failure to support Sulley Muntari when he walked off the pitch in protest at abusive chants in May.

Although the player’s suspension was eventually rescinded, the lack of coherence on such matters is dispiriting. If Juve’s hegemony on the pitch has become predictable, then so has the absence of strong leadership from Italian football’s governing bodies off of it.

Player of the season

Just call him Diego Armando Mertens. Or, actually, don’t, because he’s really not keen on those comparisons to Maradona. But do recognise that Dries Mertens has had an astonishing season at Napoli, adapting to his new centre-forward role with such ease that it is tempting to wonder how nobody thought to try him there sooner.

Drafted in to replace the injured Milik, the Belgian took a few games to hit his stride, but by December he was flying. Mertens followed up a hat-trick against Cagliari by sticking four past Torino a week later. His eventual tally of 28 league goals came at a rate of one for every 91.6 minutes played. He finished one strike behind Edin Dzeko in the race to become Capocannoniere, despite starting five fewer games.

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Nor were goals the sum of his contribution. We can debate the semantics of whether or not he should still be called a ‘false nine’ (he believes that he has done enough to shed such a label) but in practical terms he was effective both playing off the shoulder of the last defender and dropping deep to direct play.

Napoli’s 2-1 win away to Milan was a case in point, Mertens providing both assists – the first a brilliant no-look pass, and the second a slick through-ball round the back of Davide Calabria to Lorenzo Insigne. Above all, from one week to another, Mertens just looked like a man who was having way too much fun.

He is the first to acknowledge the contribution of his team-mates to his success. Insigne, José Callejón and Marek Hamsik all had excellent seasons, as did a rotating cast of midfielders. It was Mertens, though, who shone the brightest. Who would have imagined, last summer, that this was the man to make Napoli forget about Higuaín?

Goal of the season

5) There were not as many true overhead strikes in Serie A as we have seen in some recent campaigns (probably because Mauricio Pinilla was playing less often), but Andrea Conti pulled one out for Atalanta against Genoa …

4) It’s not just the smoothness of Mauro Zárate’s first-time finish, but the quality of the ball from Federico Bernardeschi that made this goal against Napoli so special (that said, Lorenzo Insigne’s finish in the same game wasn’t half bad, either) …

3) Did he mean it? Maradona reckoned that Mertens was only trying to cross the ball, rather than chip Joe Hart during his one-man demolition of Torino. Personally, I don’t really care …

2) Simone Verdi pays tribute to Marco van Basten …

1) Patrik Schick pays homage to Dennis Bergkamp …

Best introduction

Manuel Locatelli’s first Milan goal only narrowly missed the shortlist above. His second, a match-winner against Juventus two games later wasn’t far behind. These were the teenager’s first two shots on target ever in Serie A.

Worst introduction

Joe Hart was named as ‘John’ on the team-sheet for his first game at Torino, and wound up conceding a goal from a misjudged punch. Regrettably, despite winning the adoration of his club’s fans, there were one or two more mishaps to come (hough, for the record, he did have his brighter moments in a Torino shirt, too).

Save of the season

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Taken in isolation, Pepe Reina’s save from Diego Perotti this March was sensational. The keeper somehow reversed his momentum in a fraction of a second when the ball deflected off Kalidou Koulibaly right in front of him, tipping it on to the post before hooking the rebound away from another attacker with his leg. Context only makes the stop even more special. This was the 93rd minute, with Napoli defending a 2-1 lead at the Stadio Olimpico, where they had not earned a point in five years. This time, they held on to take all three.

Game of the season

In a season of seven, eight and even 10-goal thrillers, there is no shortage to choose from. But I’m going with Fiorentina’s 3-3 draw with Napoli just before Christmas. Twice the Partenopei had their noses in front, but in the end they were happy to scrape a point after Federico Bernardeschi turned things around with a sensational solo performance – evoking memories of great Fiorentina No10s such as Roberto Baggio and Giancarlo Antognoni.

After scoring twice, he set up a third for Zárate – a goal which, as you’ve already seen, made it into my shortlist for the best of the season. So did Insigne’s opener for Napoli. This was one of those days when the quality did match the quantity after all.

Team of the season (4-4-2)

Gianluigi Donnarumma; Dani Alves, Leonardo Bonucci, Mattia Caldara, Alex Sandro; Felipe Anderson, Radja Nainggolan, Marek Hamsik, Lorenzo Insigne; Dries Mertens, Edin Dzeko.

Subs: Gigi Buffon, Andrea Conti, Federico Fazio, Kevin Strootman, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, José Callejón, Mohamed Salah, Federico Bernardeschi, Andrea Belotti, Paulo Dybala, Gonzalo Higuaín, Diego Falcinelli. NB: Yes, 12 subs are permitted in Serie A. No, I haven’t picked a very balanced bench. But, boy, when we need a goal in the 90th minute …

Manager of the season

This was the toughest decision of the lot, for me, because I can see four or five outstanding candidates. Davide Nicola did an astonishing job to keep Crotone afloat, maintaining his belief that survival was achievable even when all evidence suggested otherwise. He transmitted that same conviction to his players, but also knew how to keep the mood light in the face of adversity. Eight points adrift in late March, he took them to train on the beach.

At the top of the table, Massimiliano Allegri again demonstrated that he is one of the best managers in the world. It was not a given that Juventus would proceed seamlessly after losing Paul Pogba. And yet, they led from start to finish.

Indeed, Allegri imposed a major tactical reshuffle despite his team still sitting top of the table after a defeat to Fiorentina in January – finding a formation that allowed him to get Gonzalo Higuaín, Paulo Dybala, Miralem Pjanic, Mario Mandzukic, and Juan Cuadrado into the starting XI all at the same time. In doing so, he galvanised his players and pushed them to reach another level – both at home and abroad.

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Maurizio Sarri also deserves credit for the way he remodelled his team’s approach to suit Dries Mertens, as does Simone Inzaghi for his work at Lazio. In the end, though, I think this award has to go to Gian Piero Gasperini.

It’s not just that he led Atalanta to fourth, their best-ever top-flight finish, but the manner in which he did it. He had inherited a bloated squad and lost four of his first five league games in charge, but thereafter put his faith in youth. Gasperini picked four Italy Under-21 internationals against Napoli in October and emerged with a 1-0 victory. He never looked back.

For such a young side, Atalanta showed remarkable resilience. Roberto Gagliardini, one of the most eye-catching performers during their pre-Christmas surge, was sold to Inter in January, and yet his former team-mates kept on winning all the same.

Together with breakout stars like Gagliardini, Mattia Caldara, Franck Kessié and Andrea Conti, Gasperini was also getting the best out of his veterans. Papu Gómez was reinvented as, in the player’s words, “a false second striker”, and went on to produce the best season of his career.

It is enough to think that Atalanta had already smashed their top-flight points record when they still had nine games left to go. As one front page headline on L’Eco di Bergamo put it, the whole story was “Bonkers, incredible, but marvellously true.”

Best choreography

The farewell tribute to Silvio Berlusconi from San Siro’s Curva Sud turned out to be a few weeks premature, but was astonishing in its scale. It’s fair to say that the man himself was satisfied.

Best fan

Leonardo Bonucci’s oldest son, Lorenzo, was the one person looking glum at Juventus’s title celebrations. Understandable, really, since he supports Torino.

Best dad

Bonucci Sr, who made up for that ordeal by taking Lorenzo to meet favourite player, Andrea Belotti, a week later.

Honourable mention: Papu Gómez, teaching his four-year-old son Bautista tough life lessons with a savage two-footed challenge on the beach.

Worst planning

Whoever it was that signed off on Udinese wearing their black-and-white striped shirts away to Atalanta – who wear blue-and-black. The visitors wound up having to smother their tops in tape to mitigate the clash.

Best celebration

Dries Mertens, out for a walk.

Most honest

OK, so technically Roberto Mancini was never actually involved in this Serie A season, having left Inter before it began, but his response to speculation about Mauro Icardi’s future last July still bears recalling. “I don’t read newspapers or websites,” he insisted. “And I don’t watch pay-TV, if not for the odd porno.”

Best armband

Finding out what weird and wonderful design Papu Gómez would be wearing on his left bicep this season was a weekly treat. He celebrated everything from Halloween to the movie Frozen, but most iconic was his tribute to the original Pro Evolution Soccer Master League XI.

CALCIATORI BRUTTI (@CB_Ignoranza) La fascia da capitano del Papu Gomez per @acmilan - @Atalanta_BC

NON CE LA FACCIO. TROPPI RICORDI pic.twitter.com/I7wB2QJiw3

Best dance moves

Papu again, obviously.

Happiest marriage

Ciro Immobile, and his PlayStation.

Happiest panda

Patrice Evra has moved on to Marseille, but not before he brought us this moment of surreal Instagram joy.

Most exasperated

Luciano Spalletti, strolling into his press conference after Roma’s 4-1 win over Palermo only to be immediately confronted with a question about the negative atmosphere around the club (see also: We Will Rock You edit).

Best cake

Gianluigi Donnarumma celebrated his 18th birthday in style with an edible San Siro.

Worst editorial guidance

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Perhaps the greatest mystery of this season is how Mauro Icardi – Inter’s captain, no less – managed to publish an autobiography in which he bragged about being able to bring over “100 criminals from Argentina” to kill hostile Ultras without someone at the club pointing out that this probably wasn’t a very clever idea.

Lifetime achievement awards

I don’t know how much more there is to say on Francesco Totti, but it would be wrong to sign off without a final thought for one of the most iconic and brilliant footballers of my lifetime. Certain fixed images of him will live long in the memory – of stunts and selfies, of that cucchiaio against Inter and of course the 2001 Scudetto.

Most of all, though, what I will remember Totti is the simple pleasure of the little touches, the elegance in possession and the complicated passes made simple. He is one of those footballers who was so much more than can be told by any curated highlights package. To watch him in the flesh was to see this sport played in a whole different way.

He truly loved it, too. Indeed, his reluctance to announce a permanent retirement suggests he still does. If there is an iconic image of Totti to be taken from this season, it was not that of him crying at his farewell address but rather of him warming up all alone during an 80-minute rain delay during Roma’s win over Sampdoria in September.

His team-mates were all inside sheltering. Totti just wanted to play. And so he did, coming off the bench to set up an equalising goal and then convert the match-winning spot-kick.

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“Totti builds the ark, drives away the clouds, creates a rainbow and scores the penalty,” gushed Maurizio Crosetti in La Repubblica at the time. “Superstar and demiurge, and now a meteorologist, theologian and philosopher as well. Yes, the hurricane will end. Yes, there is life beyond life. Yes, immortality exists.”

Perhaps, but that is not the same as saying you can play on forever. Totti’s time had come, as indeed had that of Silvio Berlusconi at Milan. He, too, in a very different way, has been an icon of Italian football. Love him or loathe him, it was he who presided over the most successful era in the club’s history, a three-decade long stretch in which they won five Champions League titles and, for a time, called themselves “the most titled club in the world”.

No other team in Italy has ever enjoyed such success on an international stage. Whether Milan will ever do so again remains to be seen. This summer offers intrigue as both they and neighbours Inter press ahead under Chinese owners with apparently ambitious spending plans. They hope that this time next year, we will not be talking about the same old story atop Serie A yet again.