Massimo Moratti's 10 years at the helm of Inter

Tonight, Inter take on defending champions Porto in the European Cup, the match coming up after yet another dismal performance in the league against Udinese.

It was all there - defensive negligence, a squandered lead and confirmation that the team's failure to win decisive games has hindered them from making a more creditable challenge to the Serie A crown.

The game in Udine was a special one for Inter because it coincided with club supremo Massimo Moratti's 10th anniversary since he took over from former owner Ernesto Pellegrini.

Inter were so close and yet so far in beating Udinese and edging nearer to Milan and Juventus in the standings. They were leading 1-0 until the last minute of normal time when substitute Henok Goitom hit a dramatic equaliser for the home team to deal Inter a harsh blow to their ambitious aspirations.

The draw, coupled with Milan's last-minute home win against Cagliari on Saturday, left Inter 11 points adrift of the top placing.

Although an emphatic victory would have been more appropriate to commemorate Moratti's first decade in charge, the outcome of this game depicted in a perfect manner Inter's fortunes since Pellegrini left the club.

Like his late father Angelo in the 1960s, oil tycoon Massimo Moratti has put his immense financial resources behind the building of a super team.

Over the years Moratti signed several top quality players and hired some of the best coaches in circulation to help him fulfil his dream. The championship has been eluding Inter since their record 1989 title-winning side coached by Giovanni Trapattoni.

Season after season, Inter have always been among the main protagonists on the transfer market.

In his first years in office, Moratti used to think money could buy success. But this was never the case as the more money he forked out to sign new players, the bigger were the underachievements of his club.

The only moment of joy and honour came in May 1998 when Inter trounced Lazio in an all-Italian UEFA Cup final in Paris.

That season, Inter came within a whisker of winning the scudetto. But in an epic title race with eternal rivals Juve, in which referees' blunders played a determining factor, the Nerazzurri had to be content with a runners-up slot.

Mediocre position

Instead of building on an already-strong base, Moratti preferred to start all over again and in the following season he changed no fewer than four coaches.

Inevitably, this left a devastating effect on the team as Inter finished in a mediocre mid-table place and out of all Euro competitions.

In 1999, the appointment of Marcello Lippi and the arrival of a host of international players, including Christian Vieri, Luigi Di Biagio, Laurent Blanc, Clarence Seedorf and Ivan Cordoba, were seen as an ideal remedy for such a poor season.

But it was not to be. Under Lippi, Inter could only finish fourth (after a play-off with Parma) and lost the Coppa Italia final to then newly-crowned champions Lazio.

The sacking of Lippi after the first day of the 2000/01 season was yet another twist in Inter's strategies. World Cup 1982 hero Marco Tardelli represented a stop-gap solution for Inter before Hector Cuper took over in 2001.

Under the shrewd Argentine, Inter came closest to end their long wait for the scudetto as it was only on the last day of the 2001/02 season that they bowed out to Juventus (again) in a race which they had led for most of the season.

Cuper resisted two-and-a-half years with Inter without winning anything. Then it was Alberto Zaccheroni's turn to try his luck. He led Inter to a creditable fourth-place finish last season but this was still not enough to earn him the confirmation.

Mancini, a player who Moratti had always wished to sign for his club, is now in charge. Great things were expected this season. Results until now have been mixed... Inter have never been in contention for the title albeit they are the only top division side still unbeaten!

With Mancini, Moratti is acting differently than he has done with his predecessors in that he is defending the coach's operate and seems to be willing to give him time to prove his credentials.

A few months ago, Moratti stepped down from the club presidency. It seems he still needs to convince himself that results are directly related to long-term planning and not excessive spending on the transfer market.

The search for success continues.

Serie A statistics

1st ever win for Lazio in four Serie A visits to Chievo as Giuseppe Papa-dopulo's side left it late to hand Chievo their first home defeat since the 1-3 setback to Siena on January 6. Lazio recorded their second successive win courtesy of a late Tommaso Rocchi goal. Luigi Del Neri's Roma found little, if any, difficulty in beating minnows Livorno at the Olympic Stadium to remain within sights of the fourth place. Roma only made sure of the three points after their second goal in the 70th minute. It was their first home win over Livorno since January 6, 1952 (3-0 in Serie B). From 14 league visits to Rome, Livorno have come out of the capital undefeated on two occasions - 0-0 in 1933 and 1-0 in 1947.

2nd win - the first since 1939 (3-0 in Serie B) - for Siena in as many home league meetings with neighbours Fiorentina. In a basement clash, where prestige and vital points were at stake, Siena were off to a flier as they took a seventh-minute lead through Tore Andre Flo. Although the home side were reduced to 10 men in the 35th minute, they were still good enough to collect a vital win which enabled them to leapfrog Brescia in the standings. Sampdoria joined Udinese in fourth place after they overcame Reggina at their Luigi Ferraris stadium in a five-goal thriller. The main protagonist of the game was Francesco Flachi. He scored Sampdoria's goals to help them beat Reggina for the second season running.

4 straight wins have propelled Milan to first place, level on points with Juventus. On Saturday, Messina played one of the best games so far to collect a precious point against Juve. It was only after the break that Juventus came out in search of a victory but Fabio Capello's team could not breach the hosts' tight defence. On the same day, Milan beat Cagliari at the San Siro with virtually the last kick of the game. The visitors did not deserve to lose but Milan, who have to do without 2004 Golden Ball winner Andriy Shevchenko for tonight's Champions League clash with Man. United and Sunday's derby against Inter, are to be admired for their strong willpower to claim victory even on an off-day. Inter, on their part, were undone by a last-gasp Udinese equaliser which dented their slim hopes of re-entering the title race. Roberto Mancini's side played well but still could not go beyond a 1-1 draw in Udine - their 16th draw out of 25 unbeaten league games this season. Following the weekend's results, 11 points separate Inter from the joint leaders.

7 years had to pass for Atalanta to return to winning ways against Bologna at home as they scored a goal in each half to keep alive their faint hopes of avoiding relegation. Bottom-side Atalanta were the better side on the day as they looked to collect a second successive home win. On their count, Bologna, unbeaten in their previous nine outings, simply sat back soaking up the pressure. Even after Atalanta's opening goal, midway through the first half, Carlo Mazzone's side failed to react. Bologna could not aspire for something better than a defeat because they were simply non-starters. Their most recent of six wins in 41 visits to Bergamo dates back to October 21, 1962 (3-1 in Serie A). UEFA Cup hopefuls Parma returned to winning ways after one draw and two defeats as they overcame Brescia in a vital end-to-end clash at their Tardini stadium. The visitors were reduced to 10 men from as early as the fifth minute as they had Maurizio Domizzi sent off. Parma attacked mercilessly and went on to chalk up their first home success against Brescia since November 6, 2002 (4-3).

23 goals were scored on the 25th day: 16 coming from the hosts and the remaining seven from the visitors. Foreigners contributed with only nine goals while there were 14 second-half goals. Total number of goals scored amount to 612. Vincenzo Montella consolidated his leadership in the scorers' list as he scored Roma's opener against Livorno. The former Empoli and Sampdoria hit-man has so far put in 19 goals (none from penalties). Francesco Flachi notched his first ever hat-trick in Serie A against Reggina. Alex Konan (Lecce) and Mario Santana (Palermo) were the only two players to grab a brace in the weekend's fixtures. Meanwhile three players, namely, Serginho (Milan), Giacomo Tedesco (Reggina) and Henok Goitom (Udinese) - came on as substitutes and found the net. No fewer than seven players - Matteo Brighi, Roberto Baronio (both Chievo), Fernando Couto (Lazio), Giuseppe Pancaro (Milan), Alessandro Agostini (Cagliari), Maurizio Domizzi (Brescia), Giovanni Pasquale (Siena) - received marching orders. Of the four penalties awarded in the past weekend, one went off target. Eugenio Corini could have grabbed an immediate equaliser for Palermo against Lecce but he saw his effort blocked by the visitors' goalkeeper. Elsewhere, Alberto Gilardino (Parma), Flachi (Sampdoria) and Luigi Di Biagio (Brescia) were all on the spot from the 11 metres.