Italian football : Italian Serie A 2008/2009 season preview

Inter claim crown, Milan out of Champions League

Inter secured their third straight Italian title with a 2-0 win at Parma on the final day of the 2007/08 season. Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, returning from a six-week injury layoff, scored both goals to help Inter finish the campaign with 85 points, three more than Roma, who tied 1-1 at Catania. Juventus finished third with 72 points after a 3-3 draw with Sampdoria and were followed by Fiorentina with 66 and Milan with 64.

Fiorentina will join Inter, Roma and Juventus in the UEFA Champions League thanks to a 1-0 win over Torino. Milan finished fifth despite a 4-1 win over Udinese, and will miss out on the top European competition next season. Juventus forward Alessandro Del Piero finished as the Serie A scoring leader with 21 goals, teammate David Trezeguet had 20 and Genoa's Marco Borriello ended with 19. Empoli, Parma and Livorno were relegated.

• Champions: Inter (Champions League)
• Runners-up and Italian Cup winners: Roma (UEFA Champions League)
• Third place: Juventus (UEFA Champions League 3rd qualifying round)
• Fourth place: Fiorentina (UEFA Champions League 3rd qualifying round)
• Fifth place: Milan (UEFA Cup)
• Sixth place: Sampdoria (UEFA Cup)
• Seventh place: Udinese (UEFA Cup)
• Eight place: Napoli (Intertoto Cup)
• Relegated: Empoli, Parma, Livorno
• Promoted: Chievo Verona, Bologna, Lecce

Lecce held Albinoleffe to 1-1 in a playoff to gain promotion back into Serie A after a two-year absence. Lecce, who finished third in Serie B last term, won 1-0 in the first leg having overcome Pisa in a two-legged playoff semi-final in June. Chievo Verona and Bologna were also promoted after clinching the top two positions in the Italian second division.

This table shows the overall number of titles since 1896 for each club in Italian Serie A and their league standings in the last five seasons.

Inter hire the "Special One"

Inter have decided to sack coach Roberto Mancini just ten days after he delivered the club's third consecutive Serie A title. The 43-year-old joined Inter in 2004 and also led the club to four consecutive Italian Cup finals, although they were defeated by Roma in the last two of those. It was unclear what problems arose between club president Massimo Moratti and Mancini, who was the most successful Inter coach in the last 40 years. However, Mancini's future had been in doubt since Inter's defeat by Liverpool in the Champions League quarterfinals in March, when he said he would quit at the end of the season only to change his mind the next day.

So, one of the most fascinating moves this summer was Inter's hiring of Jose Mourinho as coach. The Portuguese has signed a three-year contract with the Serie A champions, ending his eight-month exile from management. It's his first job since leaving Chelsea last September. The 45-year-old Mourinho won the UEFA Cup with Porto in 2003, the UEFA Champions League with Porto in 2004 and led Chelsea to two straight Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006. The self-proclaimed "Special One" also twice took Chelsea to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. Giuseppe Baresi, currently in charge of Inter's youth system, will work as Mourinho's assistant.

This page is introduction to the 2008/2009 Italian Serie A season. Latest news, statistics, results and predictions you can find on our main Euro Football > Italy page.

Cagliari have appointed Massimiliano Allegri as their new coach. They parted company with Davide Ballardini, who led the club to a 14th place finish last term having taken over in December when they were bottom. Allegri, who has not taken on a management role in Serie A before, has signed a one-year deal with Cagliari. Siena have named Marco Giampaolo as their coach for the new season after deciding against renewing Mario Beretta's contract. Giampaolo has been without a club since he was dismissed by Cagliari in December. Meanwhile, Beretta succeeds Lecce coach Giuseppe Papadopulo, who also could not find an agreement with the club for a contract renewal despite leading them to promotion.

The final standings for the 2007/2008 Serie A season.

Ronaldinho and Shevchenko make Milan switch

Milan have strengthened their squad for the 2008/09 season by signing two-time World Player of the Year Ronaldinho from Barcelona. The 28-year-old has been seeking to leave the Catalan side since new coach Pep Guardiola said that the Brazil playmaker was not needed. Ronaldinho was under contract with Barcelona through 2010 but was coming off one of his worst seasons. He was limited to just 13 league starts last term because of injury and fitness problems. Barcelona said Milan will pay €21m for Ronaldinho and another €4m later if the Italian club clinch a place in the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League. The star player has agreed a contract through June 2011.

Ronaldinho is Milan's second signing from Barcelona this summer, having previously brought in Italy defender Gianluca Zambrotta. Andriy Shevchenko's miserable spell at Chelsea also ended after Milan agreed to re-sign the Ukraine striker. No details of the fee or the length of contract for the 31-year-old have been revealed. Shevchenko returns to the Italian giants after failing to live up to expectations during two injury-plagued campaigns in England. In seven seasons with Milan, the Ukraine international scored 127 times in 208 Serie A appearances, but registered just 9 goals in 47 games for Chelsea after an English Premier League record transfer of €45.5m in the 2006 offseason.

Inter favourites for "scudetto"

Many bookmakers anticipate that there are as many as five possible title challengers this year: Inter, Milan, Juventus, Roma, and even Fiorentina, who have spent big this summer. Naturally, after three consecutive Serie A titles, Inter remain the big favourites. A dismal fifth-placed finish last term means Milan will not be sidetracked by the UEFA Champions League this campaign. They last won the Serie A in 2004 and Milan have already confirmed that their focus will be on the "scudetto".

Juventus did well to finish third in their first season back in Serie A since their 2006 match-fixing demotion. Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri will now be looking for a further step up to challenge Italian champions Inter. Under the guidance of coach Luciano Spalletti, Roma have improved year-on-year and enter the new season with good chances. A last place among the favourites goes to Fiorentina, who will hope to at least repeat last season’s fourth place.