A lot of Italians enjoyed the World Cup more than they expected. Without a team to cheer for, again, a country turned its attention to different sports. And found its athletes dominating them.
On the day Spain defeated Argentina in New Jersey, Kimi Antonelli, the first Italian to win a Formula One race in 20 years, extended his lead in the standings by triumphing again at the Belgian Grand Prix. A week before that, Jannik Sinner defended his men’s singles title at Wimbledon. Since then, Italy has finished top of the medal table at the European Athletics Championships, and second in the European Aquatics Championships.
Manila Esposito took floor exercise gold at the European Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Championships. Glancing over the front pages of La Gazzetta dello Sport this past week, you could almost miss that a new Serie A season is upon us. The transfer gossip that typically gets top billing at this time of year has faded into the background of a medal parade.
Perhaps that is a reflection of an underwhelming mercato. The best signing of the summer may be Como paying €60m to reclaim Nico Paz, who they bought for far less money in 2024. Real Madrid triggered their buy-back clause in June, only to immediately sell him to Como.
The new deal also has a buy-back clause. In practical terms, this is an overelaborate loan extension. Milan did drop a club-record €74m to land Gonçalo Ramos from Paris Saint-Germain, an astonishing figure for a player who has not started regularly at club level for three years.
That is not to diminish his talent, but competition at PSG is fierce. Ramos was prolific for Benfica before moving to France in 2023 and, according to Gazzetta, his goals-to-minutes ratio has been third-best of any under-25 in Europe’s top-five leagues in the past three seasons. Ruben Amorim, Milan’s new manager, believes he knows how to get the best out of his compatriot, highlighting the player’s aptitude for breaking down the low blocks his club will face.
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