It’s hard to believe that only as far back as April 22, 2018, Napoli beat Juventus 1-0 in Turin to move top of the table with only four games remaining. Maurizio Sarri — himself now in charge at Juve — had broken the club record points total in each of the previous two campaigns, and would do so again in 2017-18, but the Naples men ultimately finished second, albeit with yet another unseen total of 91 points.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

With the action in Italy heating up both on and off the field, it’s time to get you caught up with what’s been happening in the world of Serie A and, as always, “10 Things” is here to bring you right up to date.

“This is a new situation for me, something I've never experienced before.”

As always, there has been plenty of action over the last seven days in Serie A, so let’s get straight into this week’s edition of “10 Things” and get you caught up with what has been happening in the world of Italian football. 

The second international break of the year has arrived and the Concacaf Nations League is set to bring a healthy serving of drama on Matchdays 3 and 4. 

Vincenzo Montella’s second spell at Fiorentina was being billed as a disaster already, the results on paper not looking good at all. Although owner Rocco Commisso had insisted that Montella’s role as coach was not under threat, many pointed to poor results in ill-fated spells elsewhere as a reason why this would not work out.

With the normal round of games plus a full midweek slate in Serie A, there was plenty happening in the Italian top flight over the last seven days. Let “10 Things” get you bang up to date with the most important news and noteworthy incidents from the peninsula.

For a club that has been near the top of the league for several years — while also producing magic on the European stage — Roma could not have ended the 2018-19 campaign in a much worse fashion. 

Three matches, three victories. 

The opening two rounds of the Concacaf Nations League are in the rearview mirror, and when action resumes we will see the likes of Mexico, the U.S., Costa Rica, and Honduras join the competition. For many of the region’s top players, next up is a healthy serving of UEFA Champions League fixtures beginning Tuesday. 

As usual, the action on the field struggled to keep up with the incredible news happening away from the pitch, but fear not, because “10 Things” is here to keep you up to date with the most important moments from the last seven days in Italian football.

Serie A is back, which means “10 Things” is, too.

This summer has seen a raft of star signings arrive at new homes in Serie A, the excitement palpable as Italian clubs unveiled their latest big-name acquisition. Radja Nainggolan has returned to Cagliari, while his international teammate Romelu Lukaku left Manchester United to join Inter Milan, and he will be joined there by former Atletico Madrid captain Diego Godin.

Five thousand, four hundred and forty-nine miles west of Turin, Italy, in the 100-degree summer heat of Austin, Texas, I see something I’ve never seen before in this city: multiple Juventus jerseys in a single day. There’s a guy at a downtown coffee shop reading a book, his back against the concrete wall of the bottom floor of a skyscraper; I can’t make out the title of the book, but I can see the highlighter-yellow double-J of the Juve 2018-19 third kits. Hours later walking on a sidewalk, I see a guy on a scooter zoom by in a 2016-17 home kit.