Serie A teams show signs of revival

In 2007, Milan were crowned European champions for a seventh time after beating Liverpool in the final but these past two years Italian clubs had virtually played second fiddle to the more enterprising outfits from Spain and England.

The trend remained unchanged at the start of the new season as Inter, Juventus, Milan and Fiorentina were off to stuttering starts in their quest to reach next May's final in Madrid. However, a feeling that all four Italian teams could turn the tide in their favour emerged following the latest round in Europe's premier club competition earlier this month.

Although none of them are home and dry as yet, they all stand a realistically good chance to make it to the last 16 and the first round of the knock-out stages.

In the Serie A, Inter had their lead at the top of the standings reduced to five points last weekend as they were held by Roma 1-1 at the San Siro while nearest pursuers Juve trounced Atalanta 5-2 away.

The Nerazzurri looked tired and bereft of ideas on Sunday night but coach Jose Mourinho still pronounced himself satisfied with the outcome following the massive Champions League tie the Wednesday before in Ukraine.

In a crucial Group F tie, 'old foe' Andriy Shevchenko put Dynamo Kiev in front but Inter fought admirably and scored two very late goals to secure the points. It was their first Champions League win in over a year.

Barcelona were held to a 0-0 draw by Rubin Kazan on the same day in freezing conditions and now Inter need to beat the Russian champions at home in December to qualify. Before that, Mourinho's men must travel to the Nou Camp to play holders Barcelona on November 24.

Rubin will be no pushovers though and the two results obtained against Barcelona are testament of their intentions to make inroads in a tight group that includes four national champion clubs.

Fiorentina's upcoming home fixture against Lyon could be decisive. The Ligue 1 team are already through but will surely battle it out to finish top in Group E.

Assuming Liverpool beat non-starters Debrecen on Hungarian soil later on this month, a draw against Lyon will be useless for Cesare Prandelli's side who stayed on the winning track after beating Udinese away on Sunday.

But the Viola have to secure qualification in Florence and avoid a tense 'decider' in the last match of the group against Liverpool, so formidable in Europe on such big occasions when playing in front of their own fans.

Milan are slowly, but surely, regaining their status as major contenders at home and on the continent after a hot streak that culminated in a 2-1 away win at Lazio on Sunday, lifting the Rossoneri to third place in the Serie A standings.

In the Champions League, Milan made up for their shock upset at home to Swiss unknowns Zurich on the second day by grabbing four points from their two clashes with Kaka's Real Madrid.

Now, a home win over Marseille on November 25 will see Milan advance. They have already beaten the French team in September and a repeat of that slim, though significant, victory will enable them to reach the last 16.

Juventus are currently second in Group A, two points adrift of Bordeaux and four ahead of crisis-hit Bayern Munich.

The Bianconeri seem to have a good enough margin over the Germans, albeit their remaining two fixtures - away at Bordeaux and home to Bayern - seem to be tricky.

German teams should never be written off but the odds are heavily stacked on Juve to join the European elite when the competition resumes in February.

The last round of matches from the Champions League was a boost for Serie A clubs. After two years of underachievement, it seems they have finally got their act together and started to make their presence felt once again.

The possibility of seeing Inter, Juventus, Milan and Fiorentina all progressing to the last 16 is now likely. On the other hand, England and Spain seriously risk losing one representative each.

By all means, this does not imply that we shall have three Serie A teams in the semi-finals or an all-Italian Champions League final, like we had in 2003, this season. But, at least, Italian clubs have finally started to show clear signs of recovery on the continent.

Serie A statistics

1st draw for Inter after five straight wins as they were held by Claudio Ranieri's Roma (1-1) at the San Siro on Sunday. These are the first points dropped at home by the champions since the 1-1 draw with Bari on the first day.

3rd straight upset for struggling Atalanta. Last weekend, they were annihilated 5-2 by Juventus at home. This setback follows defeats to Livorno (0-1) and Cagliari (0-3). For Juve this was a second successive away victory after edging Siena 1-0.

3 home wins on the trot (vs Siena 1-0, Bari 2-0 and Chievo 2-0) saw Parma preserving their place in the top half of the table. Their latest victims at the Tardini Stadium were Chievo, who were unbeat-en on the road since going down to Juventus 0-1 on the opening day.

4th successive win (vs Genoa 3-2, Lazio 1-0, Atalanta 3-0 and Sampdoria 2-0) for in-form Cagliari who left it late on Sunday to beat 10-man Sampdoria. Luigi Del Neri's side have now slipped to fourth place. From their last three outings, Samp only managed a 0-0 draw with Bari.

10 winless games in a row (five draws and five defeats) have seen Super Cup winners Lazio taking a nose-dive in the standings and are now just two points above the drop zone. On Sunday, the team from the capital were beaten at home by Milan, who thus extended their positive streak to seven games (four wins and three draws).

28 goals were scored on the 12th day to push the total amount so far to 302. Foreigners contributed with 14 goals while there were 12 first-half nettings. Mauro German Camoranesi (Juventus), Marcelo Zalayeta (Bologna) and Hernan Crespo (Genoa) grabbed a brace each to help their respective sides to victories. Sampdoria's Marius Stankevicius was the only red-carded player. Udinese's Antonio Di Natale again failed to find the opponents' net but is still the Serie A top scorer with nine goals.