Serie A was the first major league to crown a champion this past weekend—as all the European leagues are reaching their home stretch. Inter Milan secured the scudetto on Sunday behind a brace of goals scored, of all people, by defender, Marco Materazzi.

With only a handful of games left, it will be interesting to see how Inter approach their remaining games, the toughest against Lazio, who started off in negative fashion and have pushed up into a Champions League spot for next year (just like AC Milan mind you).

Knowing that things will return close to normal by the beginning of next season, Inter will probably have to sell off their monopoly of players, as the gladiator’s field actually becomes competitive once again. 

Still Inter had a great season with their only loss (thus far) coming at the hands of Roma so late in the season. It really was their away form that paid the dividends though as they still remain undefeated on the road.

Perhaps the only blemish on the year was their demise in the Champions League (losing out to Valencia in the Round of Sixteen)! With two consecutive scudettos, one can almost see the Champions League as their guiding light for next season.

Sunday vs. Siena will see Inter Milan legitimate champions of the Serie A for the first time in a long time. I say legitimate, because they have finally proved on the field that they are champions.

You say, “Come on Mongoose, this will be their third title in three years.” Yes, but they received those titles only by default, when some other Italians got their hands caught in the cookie jar, and ipso facto Inter pulled down the crown.

As I check my stat book, the two top scoring Inter players in the league this season are Crespo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Both were not members of last year’s squad, but with 25 goals between them, Inter relied heavily on them. Things worked out great this season with a surplus of strikers to offset the big headed Brazilian attitude that ravaged Adriano. The stars were aligned for Inter to set records and destroy most all challengers.

Oh, the roses smell great right now, but what will happen when Juventus B rises to Serie A and A.C. Milan don’t have to start deep in the basement? Competition gets a lot more intense, and the noise will be turned up in this now quiet runaway competition. I say next year is business as usual, with phone calls and payoffs, all under the table of course, but anything for an Italian owner to get an edge on the competition!

Savages, do you think Inter was clean last year, or too good to be caught? Regardless, this year was a gimme—next year is when the nails get bitten, and the silencers get screwed back on!

The 265th historic match between Inter Milan and AC Milan featured a goal fest (though Inter was in the driver’s seat throughout the 90 min.). Inter opened a (2-0) lead in the 1st half behind goals from Crespo and Stankovic.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic added another for Inter right after half-time before Clarence Seedorf opened the scoring for AC Milan. Materazzi, Inter’s dubious defender, scored the 4th and pushed Inter back to their 3 goal cushion, but was then red-carded (2nd yellow) for taking off his jersey in celebration.

With 10-men, Inter looked less formidable, and AC Milan was able to put pressure on the Serie A leaders with two late goals from Gilardino and Kaka. This time the damage was not catastrophic for Inter, but Mancini must be both frustrated and cautious about his team’s lack of discipline.

Though the MLS is in a serious showdown this weekend to determine which teams will make their Conference Final, we interrupt this program to remind savages that this weekend will be spectacle to the most classic of Serie A derbies!

Though Inter Milan is King of the Mountain (level on pts. with Palermo, albeit), AC Milan will provide the first passionate test for Inter at the “old home” of the San Siro (dual grounds for both these Italian Giants) for the 265th time.

Coming off a (4-1) dominating victory over Livorno in the mid-week, Inter will look to add insult to injury by defeating their cross-town superiors. The resurgence of Recoba and Julio Cruz have added the scoring juice for manager, Mancini, and with Zlatan and Crespo as options, it is no wonder that Adriano has been sent home to lose some weight, as they had been calling him “The Bigger” Ronaldo around the training pitch. All joking aside, I hope that Adriano recovers his form quickly to remind all savages of his explosive striking power.

AC Milan meanwhile fought out a (1-0) victory on Wednesday against Chievo Verona, yet it appears they have a higher mountain to climb on Saturday. A lack of striking confidence in his side, Ancelotti looks set to pack his mid-field and lead his line with the lone striker Inzaghi, trying to sniff out the goals.

Inter Milan edged victory (4-3) against Chievo Verona in a goal-fest at the weekend that put the “Neri Azzurri” at the top of Serie A. Hernan Crespo struck for 2 goals while Dejan Stankovic and defender, Walter Samuel pitched in with a solo.

Manchini will be hoping that his Inter will be producing more goals as they face off against Bayern Munich at mid-week. Inter will be looking for all 3 pts. in the Champions League at home in Italy, as they lost their opening Group B match (1-0) on the road in Portugal to Sporting Lisbon.

Donadoni is a brave man to take over the management of reigning World Cup Germany 2006 Champions—sometimes when you are up, the only place to go is down. 

Donadoni definitely knows the heartbreak of defeat (remember the penalty anguish in the finals against Brazil at World Cup US 1990), yet Italy is banking on this bitter-sweet, Azzurri veteran, despite his limited coaching experience, to steer Italy on to more glory. 

Donadoni’s first move was as to call in the Italian no-names, who were defeated 2-0 in a politically charged warm-up match against Croatia. However, it was in their opening Group B 2008 European Championship Qualifier against Lithuania, when Donadoni fielded a return of World Cup winners, only to tie against the lowly side.

Inzaghi whitened the Italian blushes (thankfully) as he pulled a goal back to level the score, after Lithuania opened the scoring through Danilevicius, who finished off a neat passing sequence down the right that opened up the usually impenetrable Italian defense.

Italy’s next game against France is the perfect example of the beauty of soccer—pitting the Germany 2006 Finalists together again, so soon after their last histrionic final in July. 

France will feel somewhat avenged with their 3-1 dominance over a punch-drunk Italian side smarting from their World Cup hang-over. Playing at home in the Stade de France, Les Blues coasted to an easy victory behind a brace of goals from Govou and a single from Henry. Gilardino scored the consolation goal for Italy. 

The Italians, meanwhile, have pulled only 1 point from a possible 6 and find themselves in 6th place (out of seven teams), trailing behind the likes of France and unlikely upstarts, Scotland in the early days of Euro 2008 Qualifiers. 

The delayed start to the Italian domestic league has done little to give Donadoni fit players, which may prove to be another thorn in his side, as he looks to face a tough Ukraine side on October 7th, who opened with 3 points with a victory over Georgia.

Unfortunately, ex-Milan legend, Donadoni may have to wait until the following Wednesday, when Italy faces Georgia, to record his first victory for the Azzurri.

The Italians made it that much harder for the United States with their 2-0 opening victory over Ghana. Goals by Pirlo (off a 1st half blast from a corner) and Iaquinta (off a 2nd half one-on-one with the keeper from a defensive error) have put Italy in the driver�s seat�along with the Czech Republic. The U.S. must now win their second game on Saturday against Italy if they hope to have a chance in Group E.