Inter pole position - but not by much - Thursday, 18 April 2008

Most would say this hasn’t been the most compelling title race to grace Serie A in recent years. For the most part, the media’s “favourites” Inter have been the only side consistently achieving wins week in week out with Roma, and for the most part Juventus, having remained close on their tails desperately waiting for the Nerazzurri to slip up – hardly captivating. But, cast your minds back to Week 23 - 17th February to be more precise – Inter had just recorded a 2-0 home win over Livorno to go 11 points clear of Roma, but after Week 32’s results, that lead has been cut to just 4 points. Hope yet for a thrilling finale.

Post Calciopoli, there has been only one team to have played like champions, sweeping aside most teams in their way, winning when perhaps lesser challengers would draw, and otherwise dominating the league – Inter Milan.

Before summer 2006, Serie A had been controlled (in more than one way it turned out) by two clubs - AC Milan and Juventus. Traditionally, each year would see these two giants, alongside an oft-considered unlucky Roma, fight it out to the wire. Every year nothing was predictable (except maybe the refs) and despite the title having gone to the Rossoneri or Bianconeri in 10 of the past 12 years, there was always a race.

Last year it was been all about the chase, with everyone trying to catch the blue and black blur left by the shirts of the Nerazzurri as they powered through the league with their new look superstar squad. However, things having gone according to plan this year and despite Roberto Mancini’s team sitting at the summit, things don’t look quite so rosy at the top. Four points behind with six games to go – Roma will not want finish runners-up for the fourth official season in a row.

ATALANTA 0-2 INTER MILAN As unpopular now as Juventus were when the Bianconeri could do nothing but win every Sunday afternoon, Inter Milan have had few challengers to the crown controversially awarded them in 2006 and audaciously won with a staggering 22 point margin over their nearest rivals in 2007. They started the 07/08 campaign in now typically fine form, winning for the most part and not losing until March. But since the turn of the year, it hasn’t been all plain sailing for the Nerazzurri. They have struggled to recapture the form that so effortlessly befell them week in week out last season and have often relied on the heroics of their back line. Last season may have belonged to the emphatic attacking and efficiency of their strikers and wing play, but this year Inter can thank Julio Cesar for the fact they haven’t dropped more points than perhaps their recent performances have merited. With Roma and Juventus having maintained a fairly consistent form that a pre-Calciopoli title race would have seen both still in with a shout at the title coming up to the final few rounds of matches, Inter will be nervously looking over their shoulder in the next few games.

Up against the mecca of superstar talent that is the Nerazzurri, both have struggled with smaller, more inexperienced squads to keep pace. But keep pace they have, just, with Roma in particular matching Inter game for game and now just 4 points behind the current champions and with real hope that they could snatch what would be a surprise title from under the noses of Mancini’s men.

ROMA 3-2 GENOA Roma will be ruing the capitulation they suffered against the league leaders in Week six when they lost 4-1 at home to the reigning champions. Luciano Spalletti’s men have been on the back-foot ever since and despite that game being played in September, many will look back at the 10 crazy second half minutes that saw them ripped apart by an on-song Inter strike-force. As crucial when the prizes are handed out this May (no pun intended Giuly, whose crazy handball in the aforementioned top of the table clash left the Giallorossi with ten men for more than an hour).

Roma have remained as close to Inter as possible throughout the year but have failed to fully capitalise on the rare occasions that Inter have dropped points – Roma themselves guilty of more than a few bad days at the office. Inter may have dropped a massive 12 points over the past eight games, but Roma have also dropped 7 of their own - the recent derby defeat and the draw away to Cagliari in March just recent examples of the times throughout the year that the capital club’s fans have been left frustrated. If anyone can catch Inter, it’s Roma, but if anyone can drop points like Inter, it’s Roma.

PALERMO 3-2 JUVENTUS Juventus have gone about their return to the top league in relatively quiet and unspectacular fashion, over-achieving with what both fans and pundits viewed as a lightweight squad. A shadow of their former selves, a smaller transfer budget meant they could only flesh out the squad with nearly-made-its of footballing talent – Tiago, Iaquinta, Boumsong, Andrade, Salihamidzic, Cristiano Zanetti – they were viewed as a side preparing for a fair cop at a UEFA Cup place. And with the unexpected departure of Didier Deschamps and his replacement with a relative underachiever at the larger clubs, Claudio Ranieri, Juve fans were perhaps hoping for nothing more than a top-six finish. But the boys in black and white have done their fans proud – the Bianconeri owe it to them after recent events – and they have more than competed with sides with stronger forces in their ranks. A solid defensive unit and the ability to score goals saw them briefly mount a serious challenge to both Inter and Roma, but have since fallen back after a few off-nights. 13 points dropped in the last two months have put pay the pre-Christmas title challenge aspiration and this has now faded away to what will still be a dream-like top three finish in their first season back.

And finally…

MILAN 3-1 CAGLIARI AC Milan were out of the running even before Christmas with a startlingly poor start savaging their hopes of a first Scudetto since 2004 with indifferent results against teams that they really should beaten with ease. Unable to record a win at home until January 13th, last years title race may have been hampered by an eight-point penalty, but this year’s premature submission has been 100% self inflicted. Aging, injury-hit and fast becoming solely reliant on the shining talent of World Player of the Year Kaka, Milan have a long summer to look forward to, perhaps looking towards Euro 2008 for a few, younger stars to bolster their squad and keep their Number 22 happy.

So who will win this year’s most coveted prise in the peninsula? Well, it’s Inter’s title to lose and realistically Roma are clinging onto the faint hope of what would have to be an astonishing slip up from the champions. But, as the past few seasons have shown us, stranger things have happened in Italian football.

2004/05 season was declared null and void after Calciopoli.

Rob Paton