by Anton Johan
Unlike Spain's premier football league, La Liga, where only two teams
(Barcelona and Real Madrid) are in contention for the title, in Serie A,
Italy's premier football league, one of three teams will likely win the
championship, Inter Milan (63 points), Roma (62 points) or (60 points).
With so few points between these top three teams, and fourth place team Palermo
sitting far away on 51 points, it's unlikely this season's Serie A champions
will be any other team but Inter Milan, Roma or AC Milan. And so for the fans of
these clubs the next few games will obviously be crucially important.
TThey will be hoping, and no doubt some even praying, that their respective sides
continue to play like they played on the weekend. For instance, Inter Milan held
on to its slight Serie A lead by beating Bologna 3-0, thanks to a pair of goals
from Thiago Motta sandwiched between a goal from Mario Balotelli.
Roma, meanwhile, also celebrated a victory over the weekend when they dispatched
Bari 1-0. Despite 90 minutes of harried play, Roma's Mirko Vucinic scored the
only goal of the match in the 19th minute. After the game Bari coach Giampiero
Ventura told reporters that he felt his side deserved a draw.
And last, but not least, AC Milan had to work a little harder to chalk up a
victory on the weekend in their match against a determined Cagliari. While AC
opened the scoring Cagliari replied, and again. But with the score tied at 2-2
and everything to play for, AC Milan clinched it 3-2 thanks to Davide Astori.
So with business taken care of in Serie A for the time being, Inter Milan has
another fish to fry in the form of the UEFA Champions League, which according to
the team's coach, Jose Mourinho, it's on track to win this season given the
side's strong mentality, confidence and ability, which should get it to the
final.
'The mentality is right. We are a team with confidence and ability,' explained
Mourinho. 'Anything can happen in the semi-final or final, but next year the
first foot Inter will put in this competition will certainly be full of
confidence. If we don't win this year, Inter will win in a few years time
because this is the path.'
