Serie A opens its 2026/27 campaign this weekend with more fresh faces on the touchline than at almost any point in recent memory. ONE's season preview counts nine of the twenty top-flight clubs starting the year under a new head coach, part of a wider reset after a domestic season that left several traditional powers unsatisfied.
The most eye-catching change is at Napoli, where Massimiliano Allegri has taken over from Antonio Conte at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. Allegri, a serial title-winner with Juventus and Milan, returns to a club that won the Scudetto only two seasons ago and now wants a manager who can keep it competitive on two fronts.
Allegri's old job at Milan has gone to Ruben Amorim, hired away from Manchester United on a contract running to 2029. The club backed the appointment with a record outlay, bringing in French forward Gonçalo Ramos from Paris Saint-Germain as it tries to end a run of underwhelming league finishes.
There has been a domino effect further down the table. Maurizio Sarri left Lazio to take charge at Atalanta on a three-year deal, reuniting with sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli, while Lazio turned to Gennaro Gattuso — fresh off his spell in charge of the Italy national team — to succeed him in Rome.
Not every club felt the need to change course. Champions Inter Milan are sticking with Cristian Chivu, who became only the fifth coach to win the Scudetto in his first season in charge of the club after guiding them to the title in 2025/26. Roma likewise kept faith with Gian Piero Gasperini following a third-place finish last term.
Como offer the feel-good story of the off-season. Cesc Fàbregas stays on after leading the club to a record-equalling fourth place and a first-ever Champions League qualification, an extraordinary rise for a side that plays its home games at the 12,000-seat Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia on the shore of Lake Como.
There is an Israeli thread running through the new campaign too. Midfielder Omri Gandelman, who joined Lecce from the Belgian club Gent in January, begins his first full season in Serie A colours as the Salento club looks to consolidate its place in the division.
With so much change on the benches, ONE frames the coming season as one in which Italy's leading clubs are effectively hitting reset — hoping fresh voices in the dugout can translate into sharper football and a stronger showing in Europe than the division managed a year ago.
The opening round kicks off this weekend, with Allegri, Amorim, Sarri and Gattuso all set to take charge of competitive matches for their new clubs for the first time.
