Inter start from pole position

The past few days have been quite turbulent for Italian soccer in general. The tapped telephone conversations scandal has spread like wildfire and, in the process, Italian football has lost much of its credibility and prestige.

FIGC chief Franco Carraro, who stepped down from his job on Monday, became one of the first victims of this scandal. Other possible resignations are expected to follow in the next few days including the ones of Luciano Moggi and Antonio Giraudo from the Juventus board.

Meanwhile, the true lovers of the game in Italy tomorrow will shift focus on the San Siro as Inter take on Roma in a repeat of last year's Italian Cup final.

The first leg 1-1 draw at the Olympic Stadium makes Inter favourites to retain the cup.

But, Roma will be no pushovers as this will be a very different final from that of last year. Roma look sharper this time, definitely more than last season when at this stage they were still engaged in a battle against the drop.

The Coppa success last year was thought to represent the beginning of a new dawn for Inter. But it was just another mirage as once again they fell off the pace for the major honours at home and in Europe.

Juventus and Milan dominated the Serie A and in the Champions League, Inter were surprisingly ousted by outsiders Villarreal in the quarter-finals.

Without diminishing the Spaniards' merits, it was a huge disappointment for Inter to be eliminated by a team that was only figuring in the Champions League for the first time.

In a nutshell, Inter's season was very similar to the past two - very near yet so far from glory.

The Coppa Italia can make Inter's season less sour though... but just a bit less. Surely, they cannot afford to lose the honour they won so convincingly last year.

With a Coppa Italia success, coach Roberto Mancini and a good chunk of his players could be retained in summer. But a barren campaign could mean Mancini can pack up his bags and leave Appiano Gentile.

The same cannot be said of Roma. They are still at a stage where coach Luciano Spalletti is building a winning team.

The foundations are already there. However, Roma need to increase their options.

One of Roma's most evident shortfalls is their lack of strength in depth.

To complicate matters for them this season, Roma had several key players, including Francesco Totti, who missed a number of matches through injury.

Also, the fact that Roma started the season very slowly and had to win a record 11 consecutive matches to make up for lost ground implies that at this stage of the season, the players could be beyond their peak having given their best between January and March.

Another important factor ahead of tomorrow's second leg in Milan, is that Inter are sure of third place.

Against Siena last Sunday, Mancini could afford to rest some of his best players. The same could not be said of Roma, who had to beat Treviso at all costs to stay within sights of Fiorentina.

Also, Roma have a difficult league match coming up on Sunday - away at Milan. The latter need a win to stay in contention for the scudetto.

Indeed, it is a rather complicated jig-saw puzzle for Roma.

Statistics

0 defeats for Udinese since Giovanni Galeone took over from Nestor Sensini as coach. On Sunday, Udinese were simply superior to a Cagliari side that had already made sure of survival. A Vincenzo Iaquinta early goal paved the way for Udinese. They made sure of their second successive home win over the Sardinians midway through the second half with a Paulo Barreto goal. A draw between these two sides has been missing since January 16, 1994 (1-1) whereas Cagliari's only win in 17 league visits to Udine dates back to October 7, 1962 (3-1 in Serie B).

1st positive result for Siena in three Serie A visits to Inter's Giuseppe Meazza stadium as the Tuscany side came from a goal down to collect their second successive away draw. Inter, sure of third place, were not up to their best and probably already focusing on tomorrow's Coppa Italia final against Roma. Roma, meanwhile, kept their slim chances of booking a Champions League slot alive as they edged Treviso by a solitary Damiano Tommasi first-half goal. This was Roma's second win - the first since October 7, 1951 (2-1 in Serie B) - in as many home league meetings with Treviso who have not won an away fixture since beating Reggina 2-1 in October.

2nd win for Lazio in 11 league visits to Ascoli as the team from the capital consolidated their sixth place thanks to an emphatic 4-1 success. Lazio had already made sure of their second successive win by the end of the first half as they were leading 3-1. After the break, Delio Rossi's side controlled well and made the final score even more comprehensive thanks to Tommaso Rocchi's 15th goal of the term. Ascoli's most recent of four home wins against Lazio dates back to April 6, 1986 (3-2 in Serie B). Livorno and Sampdoria shared the spoils for the first time in over three years. Samp are now without a win in their last 12 outings (four draws and eight defeats).

4 penalties were awarded by referees last weekend. Massimo Oddo doubled Lazio's lead against Ascoli. Later on in the same game, Marco Ferrante had a golden opportunity to pull one back for Ascoli but to no avail as 42-year-old Lazio keeper Marco Ballotta - currently the oldest player in the Serie A - blocked his effort from the spot. Milan's Kaka grabbed his 13th goal of the season by converting his second penalty so far. Nicola Amoruso restored some lost pride for struggling Reggina as he reduced the arrears from a penalty against fourth-placed Fiorentina. On Sunday, two players - Nicolas Burdisso (Inter) and Giuseppe Scurto (Chievo) - received their marching orders.

5 wins in a row have enabled Milan to remain within sights of Juventus. With only 90 minutes from the end of the season, Milan are still in the hunt for the scudetto even though it is hard to believe that Juventus will finish on the losing end against an unmotivated side like Reggina. On Sunday, Milan cruised to their second straight win in Parma to hand Mario Beretta's side their second consecutive defeat. This was Parma's first home defeat since going down to Fiorentina 2-4 on February 25. Empoli continued to show signs of improvement as they recorded an unprecedented away win against already-relegated Messina. For the Sicilians this was their fourth straight defeat. Lecce and Chievo shared the spoils at the Via del Mare stadium for the first time in over seven years. Thanks to this result, Chievo have booked a UEFA Cup berth next season.

28 goals were scored on the 37th day: 15 coming from the hosts and the remaining 13 from the visitors, who managed three wins. Foreigners contributed with 10 goals and there were 13 first-half goals. Total number of goals scored so far amount to 968. Neither own goals nor hat-tricks were recorded. Luca Toni grabbed his umpteenth brace of the season to consolidate his leadership in the goalscorers' list. So far, the ex-Brescia and Palermo striker has managed 30 goals. No Serie A player had scored 30 or more goals in one season since Inter's Angelillo (33 goals) in 1958/59. Apart from Toni, Nicola Pozzi (Empoli), Nicola Amoruso (Reggina) and Bernardo Corradi (Parma) were the other three players who notched a double last weekend. There were no goals by subs.

33 years had to pass for Juventus to return to winning ways against Palermo in Turin. The under-pressure Bianconeri, playing for the last time at the Delle Alpi stadium before it is renovated, had to win at all costs to keep nearest pursuers Milan at bay. Fabio Capello's men were always in the driving seat as they were a constant menace to Palermo's goal. Not that Palermo did not have their scoring chances, but the way Juve played on Sunday brought to memory the formidable team that took the Serie A by storm in the first round. The final 2-1 score in favour of Juventus confirmed Palermo's truly dire record in Turin, where they have won only once - 4-2 in February 1962 - in 19 Serie A visits. Juve need only one point from next Sunday's clash with Reggina, in the neutral venue of Bari, to be crowned champions for the 29th time. They are undefeated in their last 27 outings.