Who will win Serie A?

Who do we think will win Serie A?

It is hard to look any further than Inter who have won the league four seasons in a row. They have lost Zlatan Ibrahimovic but the arrival of Samuel Eto’o arguably makes them no less strong.

Suspects

Who else will feel they have a chance to take the title? The usual suspects of Juventus and AC Milan are probably the only two other teams with a realistic chance of challenging although Fiorentina, Roma and a few others will be angry to hear me say that.

Let’s look at the credentials of each of the likely three teams.

Optimism

Juventus finished second last season, level on points with Milan and some ten points back from Inter. So far this summer Brazil international midfielder Felipe Melo has arrived from Fiorentina together with his international team-mate Diego. The evergreen Del Piero has signed a new contract and coach Ciro Ferrara will be looking forward to the new season with some optimism.

It is seven seasons since Juventus last lifted the Serie A trophy but this season could be their best chance of making a serious challenge for some time.

Kings

What about AC Milan, for so long, the kings of Italian football. Six Serie A titles in the 1990s and early 2000s, together with four domestic cup wins and three Champions League triumphs. That all seems a long time ago when they have only one Serie A title since 1999.

Last season was pretty grim. Having failed to qualify for the Champions League they were expected to easily win the UEFA Cup. That dream ended with an away goals defeat to Werder Bremen in the round of thirty-two and their Serie A hopes were dashed very early on in the season, losing their first two games.

Loss

Carlo Ancelotti has moved on to Chelsea and the Brazilian Leonardo has stepped into the hot seat. Movement to and from the club has been minimal but the loss of Kaka to Real Madrid is a really significant loss. Well as he may have played in the Confederations Cup, I don’t think the signing of USA defender Oguchi Onyewu is likely to turn them into potential champions.

There is no doubt that Milan will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season, but I think that without a very strange course of events, they are likely to be thereabouts rather than there.

Inevitable

The question is whether it is inevitable that Jose Mourinho will continue his remarkable record to take Inter to their fifth Serie A title in a row and his fifth league title in a row in three different countries.

The arrival of Lucio will strengthen their already strong defence and the arrival of Eto’o in place of Ibrahimovic should replace the goals they have lost and probably add to them in Europe.

Best team

When you look at the facts I think it actually is inevitable that Inter and Mourinho will win the league. They have the best team which has been improved and they have the best manager. I simply cannot see how anyone else can stop them.

It might be a different story in Europe, but I wouldn’t bet against them doing better in that competition this year as well.

What do you think?