source : unsplash.com
The 2022/23 football season has only just concluded, but already preparations are underway for
the new campaign. On the continent, the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference
League qualifiers are all imminently about to get underway, barely a month on from Manchester
City’s triumph over Inter Milan in Istanbul. The Blues’ maiden lifting of the famed ‘Big Eared’
trophy was the final elite club campaign of the season, but we are merely weeks away from a
new term getting underway.
Last season, there were shocks aplenty throughout Europe. In England, Arsenal announced
their return as a major force within English football as they pushed Pep Guardiola’s winning
machine all the way in the Premier League title race. In the same league, Brighton secured
European qualification for the first time in the club's history, while Aston Villa also secured a
return to the continent for the first time in well over a decade.
Over in France, Lens stunned everyone as they ended up finishing just one point behind
powerhouses Paris Saint-Germain in the battle for Ligue 1. In Germany, Union Berlin qualified
for the Champions League for the first time in their history despite being a non-league team just
15 years ago. In Spain, heavyweights Valencia were shocking everyone for all the wrong
reasons, narrowly avoiding relegation to the Spanish second tier by just two points on the final
day of the season.
Each and every year, there are teams that stun everyone throughout the course of a season.
Here are some outfits we think you should keep an eye on next season.
Sheffield United
Last season, Sheffield United secured a return to the Premier League after two years away.
They finished as runners-up to Vincent Kompany’s Burnley in the Championship last season, as
well as defeating the likes of Wrexham, Tottenham Hotspur, and Blackburn Rovers en route to
an FA Cup semifinal. Despite that, however,
popular betting sites Canada make them the 9/2
second favorites to finish bottom of the English top flight next season, and we just can’t see that
happening.
When the Blades returned to the Premier League after over a decade away back in the 2019/20
season, they stunned everyone. They picked up a string of impressive victories and when the
league had to be postponed due to global events, they were flying as high as sixth place, just
two points off Champions League qualification. One of the South Yorkshire outfit's biggest
strengths though is that raucous home crowd at Bramall Lane, and when the campaign got back
underway in June 2020, it did so with empty stadia.
The 2020/21 season continued in the same vein, and without their greatest asset, the Blades
were relegated with a whimper. This season however, they will return, and they do so with a
number of players in their squad who are all ready for the hustle and bustle of the Premier
League. Bosnian defender Anel Ahmedhodžić,
Norwegian midfielder Sander Berge and
Senegalese striker Iliman Ndiaye are all fully-fledged internationals, and the former two are
regular starters on international duty.
If manager Paul Heckingbottom can continue to get the best out of them, as well as add some
strength in depth elsewhere across the pitch, there’s no reason why the Blades can’t push for
the top half once again next season.
Genoa
Just like Sheffield United over in England, Genoa also secured a return to the top flight of
football in their country last season, namely Italy. However, they did so after one season away
from Serie A, not two. And they did so amongst
scenes of absolute jubilation from the home
faithful.
Throughout the 2021/22 season, Il Grifone looked a shadow of their former selves as they were
relegated with a whimper alongside Venezia and Cagliari. That ended their 15-year stint in Serie
A, and with attendance dwindling, many wondered what the future may have held for the club.
However, when their club needed them, their fans came out in their droves.
Throughout the course of the campaign, Genoa averaged 26,000 supporters at the Stadio Luigi
Ferraris, the most in the league. The scenes that followed their 1-0 victory over Ternana will live
long in the memory, and they are primed and ready for another shot at Serie A next term.
Admittedly it won’t be easy, the Italian top flight is getting back to its best and the top eight
teams in the division - namely Napoli, Lazio, Inter, Milan, Roma, Atalanta, Juventus, and
Fiorentina - are head and shoulders above the rest.
But that doesn’t mean that Genoa should be fearful. With a squad containing the likes of
Scandinavian stars Albert Gudmundsson and Morten Frendrup, former Reading attacker
George Puscas and experienced Croatian midfielder Milan Badelj, they already have a strong
core to their team. Add to that the new additions of Radu Dragusin from Juventus and Aarón
Martín from Mainz, and the future certainly looks bright in Emilia-Romagna.