Before the start of the 2006/07 season, there were few doubts that Inter would go on to win the Serie A title. Club owner Massimo Moratti had, at last, assembled a strong and balanced enough squad at Inter.

Milan, Inter's city rivals, began the season with a handicap of minus eight points for their involvement in the match-fixing scandal. The Rossoneri also had to contend with an unstable pre-season which had a negative effect on their first-round performance.

In these circumstances, Roma were widely considered as Inter's only realistic challengers in the title race, despite the fact that their squad lacked depth.

As Fiorentina were hit by a 15-point penalty, no great things were expected from them. In a nutshell, this was the scenario in which the 2006/07 Serie A got underway last September.

Inter were so consistent in the Serie A that they turned the championship race into a mere one-team show. The number of records Roberto Mancini's men shattered along the way are various and indeed remarkable.

Inter finished the season with an amazing 97 points. They won 30 of their 38 league outings, drawing seven and losing only once (vs Roma 1-3 at home).

Inter improved their end-of-season total over the previous year by 21 points. The Italian champions also boasted the most prolific attack with 80 goals in favour and finished with the third best defensive record. But, more significantly, Inter's title triumph was never in doubt as they were clearly a cut above the rest.

Although Inter achieved their pre-set target for 2006/07 in style, their exit from the Champions League at the hands of Spanish side Valencia and the shock 2-6 defeat to Roma in the first leg of the Coppa Italia final blotted an otherwise unforgettable campaign.

The debacle at the Olympic Stadium is somewhat easier to analyse.

Roma, losing finalists to Inter in this competition in the previous two years, showed more passion in the cup final whereas Inter looked too casual after making sure of the league title a couple of weeks earlier.

European woes

In Europe, Inter were not up to their best. The absence of some of their first-team players is no excuse because Mancini had adequate replacements. Following the abrasive duel with Valencia, it became clear that Inter needed to sign top-quality players in certain areas to improve their chances of success in the Champions League.

Last season, Inter's prospects of progressing to the final stages of the European Cup looked encouraging. By the end of February, Inter had already built a strong lead at the top of the Serie A. Many assumed that Mancini would devote more attention and energy to Europe at that stage but they were wrong.

If Inter did extremely well in the Serie A but faltered in Europe, Milan did exactly the opposite.

Until December, Milan were still in the bottom half of the standings. Their sloppy start was attributed to three main factors.

First, the points penalty hampered the morale of the team. It took most of the Milan players quite some time to realise that they had enough power and quality to make up for those eight points. In the previous season, Milan had amassed over 80 points.

The second factor was Milan's failure to find suitable replacement for Andriy Shevchenko. With veteran Filippo Inzaghi, the inconsistent Alberto Gilardino and novice Ricardo Oliveira, Milan's attack looked blunt on many an occasion. No wonder Brazilian Ricardo Kaka, a schemer, finished as Milan's top scorer in the Champions League.

The third factor, perhaps the one that had the most negative impact, was Milan's poor pre-season build-up.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti and high-ranking official Adriano Galliani have been widely credited with Milan's revival in the second part of the season, particularly after their fruitful training camp in Malta in January.

With the team out of the reckoning for the Serie A title, Milan did well to focus on the Champions League. Milan always rank this competition among their top priorities and they have proved time and time again that they are a great cup team.

As in 1989, Inter won the scudetto in 2006-2007 and Milan landed the European Cup. Which was the most significant success?

The two competitions are different and fascinating in their own ways. Winning the home championship is a huge accomplishment for Inter after years of under-achievement.

As for Milan, the 2-1 victory over Liverpool in the European Cup final in Athens helped them gain revenge over a team that had beaten them in an extraordinary manner two years earlier.

Needless to say that both Inter and Milan achieved great feats last season. And any one team would be wrong to underestimate the success of the other.

What one augurs is that Milan and Inter remain strong competitors at the top level, both in Italy and on the continent. By doing that, the two Milan giants continue to contribute towards improving the image and credibility of Italian soccer beyond the country's shores.