Italian football historically has had some of the most fascinating storylines over the 21st century. You can create more with your Italian sides in FM20. At the turn of the millennium, Italian clubs were outspending their other European counterparts. The likes of Juventus, Lazio and Inter, amongst others, spent large amounts of money on bringing the top stars to their teams. In the mid-nighties, Calcio was plagued by the infamous Calciopoli saga; various clubs were found guilty of match-fixing.

More recently, the country has been the centre of attention. Cristiano Ronaldo, arguably one of the greatest footballers of all time, moved to the league last summer to join Juventus; whilst this summer has seen plenty of fascinating storylines, including a whole range of big transfers and managerial changes.

For this reason, the 2019/20 season promises to be extremely interesting for fans of Italian football. Hopefully, it will also garner the attention of more fans from around the world. What could this mean? The newest edition of Football Manager is bound to have some rather fun teams to try out in the world of calcio; so if you haven’t delved into it before, now is the perfect time.

1. Inter Milan

I only wanted to include one really big club in this list and just couldn’t resist to pick the Nerazzurri. The club brought in Antonio Conte as their new head coach over the summer and made an array of huge signings: the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Diego Godin, Alexis Sanchez and more all arrived in Milan. This, in combination with a plethora of talented young signings.

The club have slipped in recent years, long-wishing to relive the years of dynasties past; most recently with Jose Mourinho’s treble-winning era. A save with Inter in FM20 has all the ingredients for a successful tenure and it will surely be a go-to campaign for many this season.

2. Brescia

Brescia promise to be an exciting team to watch in Serie A this season. Newly promoted from Serie B, the team have a number of fascinating elements that make them a potentially fun save in FM20.

Firstly, the club have an array of high potential prospects, most notably Sandro Tonali; the Italian teenager caught the eye of many last season. The media compared him, albeit prematurely, to legendary Italian central mid Andrea Pirlo.

Aside from this, a certain Mario Balotelli also graces the side with his presence this season. Having been born in the region, Balotelli has returned home ready to set Serie A alight!

It’s guaranteed to be a challenge!

3. Empoli

Gli Azzurri had a tough time last season and it continued in the summer since. They were relegated last season, despite a spirited fight-back. If this wasn’t bad enough, a whole host of the side’s top performers left the club this summer. The likes of Ismael Bennacer and Rade Krunic joined Milan, whilst Hamed Junior Traore also left. They joined head coach Aurelio Andreaozzili who took the reins at Genoa.

Empoli present one of the fascinating picks for FM20 in Serie B. Newly relegated, the flux of departures left their squad in an interesting place. It will be exciting; that’s for sure. As Italian sides traditionally struggle to make an instant return post-relegation, the club will be a challenging save for the upcoming game.

4. Bari

Bari are back in the playable leagues this season. The Apulian side have history; they played in Serie A as recently as 2011, before relegation and financial troubles loomed. This saw the club change names and become excluded from Serie B twice. Last season, owned by Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis, Bari finished top of their Serie D group. They’re now ready to fight for a place back in the second flight.

After making some strong signings this summer, the club are looking to be amongst the favourites to win promotion. They should, all things considered, be back where they deserve next summer.

5. Monza

Another somewhat fallen giant, akin to Bari, are Monza. The club were Serie B frequenters up until the turn of the century but have since struggled in the lower reaches of Italian football.

The club’s purchase by former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi should’ve led to a change of fortunes. That said, the club now look amongst the favourites to win promotion from group A of Serie C.

Can you handle the pressure of having Berlusconi and his brother Paolo in charge of the board in FM20? And can you please them with a promotion?

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