What happened in Serie A 1959-60

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In the previous season Milan had won the scudetto ahead of Fiorentina and Inter. At the end of the first half of the campionato, the Rossoneri had a one-point lead over the Viola and three more than the Nerazzurri. With five games to the end the situation was almost identical but two games later Fiorentina lost at Udine and Milan crushed Genoa, paving the way for victory which arrived with one game to spare.

Milan were among the favourites this season along with Inter and Juventus, as usual, with Fiorentina a possible outsider.

September

In the first game of the season came a shock defeat for Milan who lost at Alessandria. Juventus, Spal and Fiorentina, who had won both of their September games, were leading.

In the European Cup, Milan eliminated Olympiakos 5-3 on aggregate in qualifying for the first round.

The first round of Coppa Italia took place. Padova, Spal, Reggiana, Atalanta, Sampdoria, Napoli, Palermo and Como qualified for the Round of 16 where they would meet the eight teams that had qualified for the quarter finals in the previous edition.

Juventus 4, Spal 4, Fiorentina 4, Bari 3, Alessandria 3, Bologna 3, Roma 3, Inter 3, Lazio 3, Sampdoria 2, Palermo 2, Milan 1, Atalanta 1, Vicenza 0, Padova 0, Udinese 0, Napoli 0, Genoa 0

October

Juventus continued to lead followed by Bologna and the Milanese clubs. Roma crushed Lazio 3-0 in the derby.

Juventus 11, Bologna 9, Inter 9, Milan 9, Fiorentina 8, Spal 8, Sampdoria 7, Roma 6, Lazio 6, Alessandria 6, Palermo 5, Bari 5, Vicenza 4, Padova 4, Udinese 3, Atalanta 3, Napoli 3, Genoa 2

November

Bologna beat Juventus at home in game 8 only to fall to Sampdoria in the next match. The Milanese drew their derby, Samp won the Genovese clash.

Milan crashed out of the European Cup thrashed by Barcelona 7-1 on aggregate.

In the Coppa Italia Round of 16, Atalanta, Torino, Venezia, Fiorentina, Juventus, Bologna and Lazio qualified for the quarter finals. There was just one game left to play, Inter-Reggiana.

Juventus 15, Bologna 13, Sampdoria 12, Inter 12, Milan 12, Fiorentina 11, Roma 11, Spal 10, Lazio 9, Atalanta 8, Alessandria 8, Udinese 7, Padova 7, Napoli 7, Vicenza 6, Palermo 6, Bari 5, Genoa 3

December

In Game 10 Juventus lost in Naples, and Inter beat Bologna taking second place, just one point behind the Bianconeri. But in the next game Juve beat the Nerazzurri and ended the year with a two-point lead. Below, Genoa were in trouble having already lost 9 times this season, but, with two points per victory, it was all very close with 11 teams within four points.

In Coppa Italia, Inter beat Reggiana and qualified for the quarter finals. The latter would take place in April.

Juventus 20, Inter 18, Fiorentina 16, Milan 16*, Spal 16, Bologna 15*, Atalanta 13, Sampdoria 12*, Roma 12, Napoli 12, Padova 12, Lazio 12, Udinese 11, Palermo 10, Bari 10, Alessandria 10, Vicenza 9*, Genoa 6

* one game in hand

January

Juventus beat Milan away and consolidated their lead which was now +4. Inter fell back a bit and were overtaken in second place by the Rossoneri.

Juventus 28, Milan 24, Inter 23, Fiorentina 22, Spal 21, Padova 19, Bologna 17, Roma 17, Atalanta 16, Vicenza 16, Udinese 15, Lazio 15*, Sampdoria 14, Napoli 13, Palermo 12, Bari 12, Alessandria 12, Genoa 8*

* one game in hand

February

Still a four-point lead for Juventus over Milan who were now flanked by Fiorentina. Below, Genoa picked up and joined Bari and Alessandria in last position with Napoli and Lazio only two points away.

Juventus 34, Fiorentina 30, Milan 30, Inter 28, Padova 24, Bologna 23, Spal 22, Atalanta 21, Vicenza 20, Udinese 19, Roma 18, Sampdoria 18, Palermo 17, Napoli 16, Lazio 16, Bari 14, Genoa 14, Alessandria 14

March

Fiorentina beat Juventus, reducing the gap with the Bianconeri to just two points. Milan were just a point behind the Viola, Inter had lost touch. In the relegation battle, Lazio were in deep trouble as they lost the derby and were now third from last.

Juventus 38, Fiorentina 36, Milan 35, Inter 29, Padova 28, Spal 28, Bologna 25, Atalanta 23, Roma 22, Vicenza 22, Udinese 21, Sampdoria 21, Palermo 18, Napoli 18, Bari 18, Lazio 18, Alessandria 17, Genoa 15

April

Juve won all four of their April games, including a win away to Inter, Fiorentina and Milan were unable to keep up the pace. Padova and Spal crept up to fourth place overtaking the Nerazzurri.

Three quarter finals of the Coppa Italia were played. Juventus, Fiorentina and Torino eliminated Atalanta (on penalties), Inter and Venezia. One last game, Bologna-Lazio, would be played in June.

Juventus 46, Fiorentina 41, Milan 38, Padova 32, Spal 32, Inter 30, Roma 30, Bologna 28, Sampdoria 28, Atalanta 27, Vicenza 26, Udinese 25, Bari 23, Lazio 22, Napoli 21, Palermo 20, Alessandria 19, Genoa 16

May

Fiorentina fell further behind and Juventus by beating Milan won the scudetto with three games to spare. Genoa collapsed and were relegated as were Alessandria. The final place would be between Udinese and Palermo. One match left.

Juventus 54, Fiorentina 45, Milan 43, Inter 38, Bologna 35, Padova 35, Sampdoria 34, Spal 34, Roma 33, Vicenza 31, Atalanta 30, Bari 29, Lazio 29, Napoli 29, Udinese 27, Palermo 26, Alessandria 24, Genoa 18

June

Palermo drew with Juve and Udinese got their much-needed point against Roma, so the Rosaneri joined Alessandria and Genoa in Serie B. Genoa’s attempt to bribe an Atalanta player gave them an 18-point docking for this season plus another seven for the next.

In Coppa Italia Lazio qualified for the semi-final but lost in the latter to Juventus. In the other game Fiorentina beat Torino. In the final, Juventus won 3-2 in extra time to win their fourth title. Lazio and Torino played for third place and the Biancocelesti prevailed 2-1.

Juventus would play the European Cup, Fiorentina the Cup Winners Cup, Inter and Roma the Fairs Cup. Torino, Lecco and Catania were promoted from Serie B.

Omar Sivori (Juventus) was top scorer with 28 goals.

Final table: Juventus 55, Fiorentina 47, Milan 44, Inter 40, Bologna 36, Padova 36, Spal 36, Sampdoria 35, Roma 34, Vicenza 32, Atalanta 31, Lazio 30, Bari 29, Napoli 29, Udinese 28, Palermo 27, Alessandria 25, Genoa 0*

* 18 point docking