The Decisive Week of the “Campione d’Inverno” in the Italian League

MILAN, TUESDAY – The 2025-2026 Italian League enters its midseason, or week 19, midweek. The top three teams will compete for the title of campione d'inverno, or mid-season champion. Holding this title is crucial for a club to gain confidence in their pursuit of the scudettocome May.

Inter Milan, the current league leader, will visit Parma's home ground, Ennio Tardini Stadium, on Thursday (8/1/2026) at 02:45 WIB. At the same time, Inter's school rival, AC Milan, sitting in second place, will host Genoa at San Siro Stadium.

As for Napoli, currently in third place, they will host Verona at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium on Thursday at 00:30 WIB. By playing first, Napoli can apply pressure on the Milan duo if they manage to secure three points.

Although all three still have one postponed match from week 16, the title of mid-season champion has already been awarded when the matches of week 19 concluded. The postponed matches will be held on January 14 and 15.

Being the mid-season champion doesn't guarantee a team will win the Scudetto at the end of the season. However, it does increase their chances of becoming the Italian champions.

Since the turn of the century, from 2000 to 2021, 20 teams have won the Scudetto, a record that includes Juventus's achievements in 2004-05 and 2005-06. Both titles were annulled due to the Calciopoli scandal.

There have only been seven seasons where the mid-season champions have failed to win the title. As a result, the Scudetto chance for the team holding the title of champion of the winter reaches 80 percent.

The figure is significantly higher compared to similar situations in the Spanish and English leagues. The success rate of mid-season champions securing the league title in Spain is 75 percent, while in England, it is only 63 percent.

Inter, Milan, and Napoli have all experienced mid-season champion status in the 21st century. Inter has topped the standings at mid-season six times: 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2021-2022, and 2023-2024. In that time, Inter has only failed to win the Scudetto once, which came in the 2021-2022 season.

At that time, they were overtaken by AC Milan, who won the Scudetto. Inter's success rate in winning the Serie A title when they were champions halfway through the season is similar to the Italian League average, around 80 percent.

Meanwhile, AC Milan and Napoli have both been mid-season champions for three seasons. The Rossoneri achieved this feat in 2003-2004, 2010-2011, and 2020-2021. They won the Italian League title in 2003-2004 and 2010-2011. In 2020-2021, Inter snatched the Scudetto from Milan.

Napoli were champions of the mid-season in 2015-2016, 2017-2018, and 2022-2023. After their first two Champions League titles failed to yield a Scudetto due to Juventus' defeat, "The Little Donkey" finally managed a perfect season in 2022-2023 under Luciano Spalletti.

The opportunity for one of Inter, Milan, and Napoli to become the mid-season champion opens the possibility of intense drama in the championship race until the end of the season. A different situation would arise if Juve were to become the mid-season champion.

In the last 25 seasons, Juve has managed to become the mid-season champion 11 times. "The Old Lady" concluded the season by topping the standings.

This situation could be an exception for two seasons, 2004-2005 and 2005-2006. In 2004-2005, the Italian League had no champion. Meanwhile, the 2005-2006 Scudetto was awarded to Inter.

However, Juve still considers themselves the true champions of those two seasons. At the midpoint of the 2025-2026 season, Juve is in fourth place, trailing Inter by six points.

Inter Milan assistant coach Aleksandar Kolarov said the Nerazzurri are on the right track to challenge for the Serie A title. He believes maintaining consistency is crucial, as the battle for the Scudetto will become increasingly difficult after the mid-season break.

"When the second half of the season begins, it will be a very different situation. To stay at the top, we'll have to work hard," Kolarov said, as reported by Corriere dello Sport.

According to Kolarov, Inter coach Cristian Chivu isn't aiming for a major transformation compared to last season's performance. Inter failed to win a trophy in the 2024-2025 season, despite being a Scudetto contender and reaching the Champions League final.

"This team was very close to winning many trophies last season, which unfortunately fell short at the end of the season. We are trying to fix a few things and work harder on the training ground," he stated.

AC Milan striker Rafael Leao is ambitious about maintaining his team's position in the Scudetto race. While there's still much room for improvement in both collective and individual performance, Leao said the Milan squad is focused on achieving this season's goals.

"Everyone in the team knows the club's targets. We are Milan and we must strive to win important trophies," Leao, who has scored six goals in Serie A, told Sky Sport Italia.

Meanwhile, Fabio Capello stated that the Scudetto race hasn't completely come down to the top three teams. He stated that his two former teams, Juve and AS Roma, who sit in fourth and fifth place with equal points, each with 33 points, still have a chance to surprise the title race.

"For me, they (Juve and Roma) are still dangerous and still competing in every competition. A direct duel between the top teams would close the gap in the standings," Capello told La Gazzetta dello Sport.