Serie A newcomers have different objectives
Juventus, Napoli and Genoa, three Italian clubs with great history and all former Serie A champions, will be back among the big boys next season.
Despite starting the campaign with a handicap of points for their involvement in last year's soccer scandal, Juve only took one year to get back to the top flight as the revival of ex-giants Genoa and Napoli started from the doldrums of the Serie C.
Juventus have been very busy in this summer's transfer market as they seek to bridge the gap with title challengers Inter, Milan and Roma. Genoa and Napoli also look ambitious in their plans with their prime objective, however, being long-term stays in the Serie A.
As expected, Juventus found little, if any, resistance to win a place back in the Serie A. After a shaky start, they soon found their feet and made sure of promotion with several matches to spare.
It was not easy for their star players to adapt in the Serie B but Juve won the championship in style with club stalwart and veteran captain Alessandro Del Piero finishing the division's top scorer with 20 goals (two from penalties).
Regaining Serie A status was not that difficult for Juventus but they had to struggle along the way to convince their most prized assets - Gianluigi Buffon, David Trezeguet, Mauro German Camoranesi and the ever green Pavel Nedved - to stay.
Buffon's case was reputedly the most difficult for the Juve directors as the Italy World Cup-winning goalkeeper was not prepared to play for a club without ambition. Like Trezeguet and Camoranesi, he wanted Champions League football. However, in the end, Buffon was persuaded to stay put and that paved the way for other big names to pledge their future to the club.
Juventus signed some quality players, but, perhaps, their best move so far was to retain their most experienced players. Along with Del Piero they will constitute the backbone of a team that next season could make a creditable quest for the league title.
For once, Juventus will not start as favourites though. And this for a number of reasons.
First, hot favourites Inter and Milan still seem a cut above the rest. Juve, however, will only focus their play on the Serie A.
Second, Inter and Milan will remain largely unchanged with respect to the past season whereas Juventus will surely go through some initial bumpy periods of transition until the new players and coach settle down.
Surely, new Juventus trainer Claudio Ranieri - who replaced Frenchman Didier Deschamps - has an arduous task ahead of him in trying to shorten this period by as much as possible.
Ranieri has a squad of great quality at his disposal and the club could easily target one of Italy's four Champions League berths.
However, if Juventus peak at the right moment and figure consistently well throughout the campaign, they could play the role of the dark horses... you can never rule them out of contention.
The Champions League will surely distract Inter, Milan and Roma some time or another and Juventus might make wise profit out of this.
Furthermore, the players would want to prove that in the recent past, they were crowned champions because they were the best team in the country and not because Luciano Moggi and co. used their influence on match officials to Juve's advantage.
In this regard, Juve's thirst for success is probably second to none.
Although Napoli have been quite active on the transfer market, there is still much to be done.
During the presentation of new signings Marek Hamsik and Ezequiel Lavezzi on Monday, around 400 supporters fiercely contested club owner Aurelio De Laurentis for not investing heavily to bolster the squad.
In recent weeks, Napoli were very close to signing Rolando Bianchi from Reggina. But in the end, Bianchi, scorer of 18 goals last season, signed for Sven-Goran Eriksson's new-look Man. City.
Only in these last few days, Napoli were reportedly to be after the signature of Man. United's Giuseppe Rossi. The Italy U-21 striker would undoubtedly be a valuable addition to Edy Reja's young side.
But even if Rossi signs on, this might not be enough to satisfy the demanding Napoli supporters, who still use Diego Maradona's team of the late 1980s as their benchmark for success.
Critics reckon Napoli can do well only if the team is given enough time to settle down in the Serie A. If the fans are not behind the team, then Napoli could head back to the doldrums of the Serie B.
Genoa, like Napoli, can bank on a strong supporters' base. The side is back in the Serie A after being relegated at the end of a penalty shoot-out in a decisive play-off against Padova in 1995.
Club president Enrico Preziosi is determined to take Genoa to new heights. Their transfer market still has to take off but the omens look good.
Preziosi told reporters that he will give coach Gian Piero Gasperini a squad solid enough to stave off any relegation worries.
Genoa are very strong in attack, where they have Marco Di Vaio, Marco Borriello, Ndiaye Papa Waigo and Martins Adailton all within their ranks.
By Antoine Dalli
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Imagine if Del Piero made a tattoo everytime he won something. 
