Mourinho bids to start Inter stint with silverware

Jose Mourinho is looking to kick off his stint at Inter Milan by winning a trophy when his side tackle AS Roma at the San Siro in the Italian Super Cup on Sunday.

The Portuguese coach makes his competitive debut in the curtain-raiser to the Italian season thanks to his predecessor Roberto Mancini, who led Inter to their third consecutive Serie A title in May before being sacked.

Last season's runners-up Roma, meanwhile, qualify after beating Inter 2-1 in the Italian Cup final in what turned out to be Mancini's final game for the Milanese giants.

Former Chelsea boss Mourinho has a number of fitness headaches ahead of the match, with Brazil forward Adriano, France midfielder Patrick Vieira and defenders Marco Materazzi, Cristian Chivu, Ivan Cordoba and Walter Samuel all combating injuries.

But striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic should be available, according to Italian media reports, despite having to pull out of Sweden's midweek friendly against France after a recurring knee problem flared up.

Brazilian winger Mancini, a new signing from Roma, is likely to make his competitive debut as is Mourinho's other buy of the closed season, Ghana midfielder Sulley Muntari, for whom Inter reportedly paid English club Portsmouth Inter 16 million euros.

Roma's Brazilian forward Julio Baptista, who moved from Real Madrid last week, is expected to start for the Cup-holders, with captain Francesco Totti tipped to come off the bench for a slice of the action up front after recovering from knee surgery in April.

Roma keeper Doni and winger Rodrigo Taddei are doubts as the Brazilian pair are suffering from knee and thigh muscle problems respectively. Inter have been sound if unspectacular under their new boss in pre-season friendlies.

But their Brazil keeper Julio Cesar is happy to be part of a side built on strong defensive foundations.

“We are very solid, it's true, and just think that almost all of the defence is out,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “Last year we also conceded few goals, we always had the best defence.”

Roma have not had the greatest of pre-seasons and were thrashed 5-0 by London club Tottenham Hotspur in a friendly earlier this month.

But they will be keen to produce a strong performance on Sunday to honour the memory of president Franco Sensi, who died aged 82 on Sunday.

It is the third consecutive year that Inter and Roma have met in the Supercup. Roma won 1-0 last year, while Inter prevailed 4-3 in 2006.