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Serie A: Scudetto duels
We have had the pleasure of reporting on Scudetto parties for Milan, Inter, Juventus, Roma and Lazio, but also the pain of Calciopoli. Serie A has never been dull in our lifetime, as Susy Campanale reports



For the first seven years of our existence, the Scudetto race was more of a duel, as only Milan and Juventus managed to take the crown from 1992 to '99. There was a brief capital-centric respite, but the two giants went back to their dominant ways from 2002 up until Calciopoli cast a shadow of doubt over all those famous victories and swept in a new Internazionale era. Why did they control the calcio landscape for so long? The cynics out there would suggest help from the power structure of football that gave them all the breaks, both on and off the pitch, but the very fact Milan and Juve also won the Champions League in this period proves there is more to it. Although there were changes in management, the squads tended to maintain a clear and consistent face over the years, with key figures like Paolo Maldini, Andrea Pirlo, Alessandro Del Piero and David Trezeguet remaining in place to shepherd in newcomers. These clubs also made a point of balancing the books with targeted signings rather than complete overhauls, so when Zinedine Zidane was sold to Real Madrid in 2001 the £48m fee paid for the very best available in Gianluigi Buffon, Pavel Nedved and Lilian Thuram. This is why Juve and Milan kept themselves constantly in the running, but Roma and Lazio paid a heavy price for their Scudetto celebrations with near-bankruptcy. The Biancocelesti were the first to break the northern grip in dramatic fashion on May 14, 2000, as Carlo Ancelotti's Juve threw away a nine-point lead in the last eight games to crumble on that infamous rainy day in Perugia, giving Sven Goran Eriksson his only Serie A title. A year later the parade was again through Rome's streets, but the banners were red and yellow rather than blue and white, as Fabio Capello, Francesco Totti and summer signing Gabriel Batistuta took the Lupi to their first Scudetto since 1983, pipping Juve by just two points. Soon after, the financial strains of buying a title-winning side became apparent and the power shifted back up north. Although Roma have been Inter's nearest competitors since Calciopoli, they lack the strength in depth of the big three and tend to stumble in head-to-head battles. Will we have to wait another 17 years for another party in La Capitale? Inter certainly seem to have a grip on the proceedings after their record-shattering run in 2006 and finally seem to have discovered that consistency is the key to conquering Serie A rather than scrapping it all and starting again every 12 months. Yet while the scandals dulled the victories of Juve and Milan, they also prompted critics to argue Inter could only dominate when there was no real opposition. Now the clubs are back on a level playing field, we should see an intriguing era emerge in the near future. If there is one man who has dominated Serie A during our magazine's run, it has to be Capello. Since 1991-92 he has won seven titles with three different clubs, becoming the first tactician in history to take Milan, Juventus and Roma to glory. Of all his achievements, the ones that truly stand out are the three Scudetti on the trot at San Siro from 1992 to '94, which included an unbeaten run of 22 wins and 12 draws in his first attempt, and bringing the shield back to Rome after almost two decades. All this is, of course, not including the fact Don Fabio won La Liga with Real Madrid both times he tried his hand at Spanish football in 1997 and 2007. It is a shame that as we look back over our history, his name is inextricably linked with the Calciopoli scandal that saw both his Juventus Scudetti revoked by the courts. We will never know whether his team earned that silverware but, considering the man's record, one would be hard pressed to say they weren't the best side.

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