Dramatis Personae: Your six stock characters of last day title drama
Who will step into these roles on Sunday?
For Silvio Pioli’s Milan, Sunday’s task is clear. Avoid defeat away at Sassuolo and Milan will win their first scudetto since 2011.
Should Milan slip up and local rivals Inter overcome Sampdoria at San Siro, Simone Inzaghi’s Inter will win a second successive championship. As in the case of Pioli, it will be Inzaghi’s first league success as a coach.
Now, there is a slight chance that the last day of the 2021-22 season will offer little in the way of suspense.
A determined and efficient Milan may take care of business early. After all, Sassuolo, with little to play for but pride, may not offer up much resistance.
However, if things do not go according to plan and complications emerge at Mapei Stadium—or indeed over there at San Siro— we will enter rarefied air for the football observer. That being final day drama in the race for the title.
Like any good drama, this age-old production has its tropes and it requires its players to play their part.
Here are examples of just some of the characters you may see influence the outcome of the Scudetto this Sunday.
1: The unlikely scorer for the team who has absolutely nothing to play for.
A good place to start because few characters and scenarios can make the blood drain quicker from the face of an opposing fan like this one. These harbingers of doom most often come in the form of defenders or your usually shot-shy defensive midfielder.