Mourinho dismisses ghost of Lazio past

Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho has dismissed the significance of the club’s clash against Lazio this weekend, just short of seven years to the day since the Romans denied the nerazzurri the Serie A title.

In the 2001-02 season Inter arrived at the final day of the season on May 5 with a one-point advantage over Juventus as they sought to win their first title since 1989.

They needed to beat Lazio at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, but despite leading 1-0 and 2-1 they lost 4-2 and finished the season in third as both Juve and Roma overtook them with final day victories.

Those were the days when Inter had become the laughing stock of Italian football, the giants known as chokers who consistently flattered to deceive.

However, with three straight titles behind them and a seven-point advantage over second-placed AC Milan with only five games remaining, Mourinho insists that nothing should be read into that fateful day seven years ago.

“This May 5 doesn’t mean anything to me, what is this May 5? I will remember the day that we win the scudetto. Inter should remember the 16 titles they’ve won,” said Mourinho.

Lazio had been in good form recently, reaching the Coppa Italia final at the expense of Juventus and winning three games in a row before last weekend’s drab 1-0 home defeat to Atalanta hit their European qualification hopes.

And with the game being played on the Saturday and Milan not playing until Sunday, when they travel to Sicily to face Catania, Inter would open up a 10-point lead with victory at the San Siro.

That would go some way towards ensuring they retain the scudetto crown, an honour Mourinho is convinced Inter deserve despite Milan’s claims that they have been hampered by injuries.

“At the end of the season the best team always wins,” said Mourinho before adding confidently: “There’s only a little while longer to wait, we’re not lacking very much.”

While Inter are looking to sew up the title, the battle is on for second place with Milan holding a slender two-point advantage over Juve in that race.

Milan are the form team of the moment and with Kaka playing himself back into top form and veteran striker Filippo Inzaghi on an incredible run of 10 goals in his last seven matches, they look favourites to finish as runners-up.

Juve have stuttered a lot in recent times and have three draws and a defeat in their last four matches, but a home game against relegation-threatened Lecce should give them the impetus they need to get back to winning ways.

Elsewhere the race for fourth place and Champions League football next season is hotting up, with Fiorentina moving into that all-important fourth spot last week courtesy of a 4-1 thrashing of sixth-placed Roma.

Genoa lost 2-0 at Bologna to drop to fifth, a point behind La Viola, and have the Genoa derby at home to Sampdoria to distract them this weekend while Fiorentina host lowly Torino.

Roma face Chievo, who are being dragged back into the relegation dog fight after Lecce, Bologna and Torino all won last weekend while they lost at home to Udinese.

Roma, whose players were shut up in a hotel at the beginning of the week as punishment for their debacle in Florence, trail Fiorentina by six points and even winning all their remaining matches may not be enough to clinch fourth place.

Fixtures:

Saturday

Bologna v Reggina, Inter Milan v Lazio

Sunday

Catania v AC Milan, Fiorentina v Torino, Genoa v Sampdoria, Juventus v Lecce, Palermo v Cagliari, AS Roma v Chievo, Siena v Napoli, Udinese v Atalanta