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Wild offseason Italian campaign poised to begin -- perhapsPosted: Thursday September 05, 2002 12:49 PM
ROME (AP) -- Maybe Ronaldo made the right move in leaving Italy. With the Serie A season scheduled -- but without any assurance -- to begin Sept. 14-15, soccer is in a sorry state in this "calcio"-crazy country. After a championship decided only on the final day of the season, fans have had to suffer through a sour summer of World Cup disappointment, an ensuing outcry over perceived biased officiating, and a financial crisis that has extended summer to the brink of fall. When all is said and done, it appears the two teams in Milan -- the city Ronaldo just left -- will be the favorites for the upcoming season. The season was slated to begin the weekend of Aug. 31-Sept. 1 until league executives decided to delay the start by two weeks to allow eight teams without TV contracts time to find deals. Some of the teams are still dissatisfied, and a further delay was a possibility. Whenever it does start, the Italian league will be the last major league in Europe to do so. And Ronaldo could already be playing with his new club in Spain by then. Ronaldo's much publicized exit from Inter Milan for the riches of Real Madrid was preceded by Brazilian teammate Rivaldo's arrival from Spanish side Barcelona to AC Milan, Inter's cross-town rival. When former Lazio defender Alessandro Nesta also joined AC Milan, the five-time champion of the 1990s was hailed as an odds-on favorite for another "scudetto." But on the same night that Ronaldo's transfer became official, Inter announced it had signed Argentine striker Hernan Crespo from Lazio. Inter also has a new top defender on its roster, having acquired Fabio Cannavaro from Parma. All the moves point to another title for a Milan club after Juventus of Turin won the "scudetto" last season and Rome's two clubs -- AS Roma (in 2001) and Lazio (2000) -- won the previous two years. "Now Milan has two top squads, but sometimes you can stumble when expectations are so high," said Milan striker Filippo Inzaghi. "We need to stay concentrated and accept the coach's choices, which won't be easy." The addition of Rivaldo gives Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti another weapon in attack, but the Brazilian's preferred role as a playmaker could mean some lost playing time for the club's two other stars -- Portuguese international Manuel Rui Costa and 23-year-old Andrea Pirlo -- who like that role. "The internal competition will be good for everyone, it's part of the structure of a great team," Ancelotti said. Ancelotti seems more relaxed than his counterpart across town. Inter's squandering of a lead in the standings on the final day of last season only increased coach Hector Cuper's reputation for coming up just short. Before joining Inter in 2001, the Argentine coach lost consecutive Champions League finals while at the helm of Spanish side Valencia. "I have no excuse, this year I must win something," he said. Among the league's top teams, Inter has gone much longer than any of the others without a title. Its last title was in 1989. Juventus' record-extending 26th "scudetto" last season gave it three titles since 1989. The Turin-based club didn't change much since last season, although leading striker Alessandro Del Piero did alter his haircut (to a shaved look) and with fellow striker David Trezeguet limping as the season begins, he'll also have a new partner in attack: Marco Di Vaio from Parma. "We made fewer moves because we're already the strongest," said Juve goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. "We're the champions of Italy." Buffon conceded that Inter and Milan had "made up the disadvantage" though. "We're all at the same level," he said of the three clubs. That leaves out the two Roman teams. Roma captain Francesco Totti is expected to miss the first few matches of the season with a knee injury. But Argentine striker Gabriel Batistuta seems to have regained his old goal-scoring form in the extended pre-season, giving Totti reason to believe in his squad. "It's true that Inter, Milan, and Juventus have re-stocked," he said. "But that that doesn't mean we can't win." Until the end of August, Lazio fans had reason to believe also. But when the club sold Nesta and Crespo on the same day to bolster a struggling budget, the highest echelon of Serie A seemed to narrow even further, from five top clubs to just four. Although the surprise run last season by Chievo, which led the league in the initial stages of its Serie A debut and finished fifth, should be enough to make all 18 clubs believe in their chances. Chievo added Milan's former standout striker Oliver Bierhoff to support its debut in Europe's UEFA Cup, which it earned a birth in thanks to its high Serie A finish. Brescia's two wily veterans, coach Carlo Mazzone and legendary striker Roberto Baggio, will give it plenty of support as an underdog also, while Parma and Bologna look poised for another top-half finish despite losing some key players. Serie A newcomers Como, Empoli, Modena and Reggina will simply be hoping to avoid going back down to Serie B, while Piacenza returns with one of last season's top goalscorers, 35-year-old Dario Hubner, who tied for the league lead with Trezeguet at 24 goals. Inter's Christian Vieri scored 22 times last season and four more times at the World Cup, but his play went for naught as Italy suffered a shocking overtime loss to South Korea in the second round. |
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