Inter - a season to remember

Inter started their 2009/10 campaign on the wrong foot as they were beaten by Lazio 2-1 in the Italian Super Cup final in Beijing.

Although Inter's Champions League campaign did not really take off until they knocked out favourites Chelsea in the last 16, their Serie A leadership was hardly ever in jeopardy bar the last few weeks of the season when they seriously risked surrendering the title to Roma.

After the winter break, Inter had built a seemingly unassailable lead at the top of the table. But as their focus turned on Europe, they went through a bleak patch in the Serie A, which enabled Roma to bridge the gap.

Eventually, Inter made sure of their 18th scudetto on the final day as Roma proved to be no pushovers. Earlier this month, Inter had also secured their sixth Coppa Italia at the expense of Claudio Ranieri's team.

On the continent, Inter were a completely transformed outfit after the winter break. Their marked improvement was there for all to see in a 3-2 aggregate win over holders Barcelona in the semi-finals.

In the group stages, Inter could only manage a goalless draw against Barca at home. Away they were comprehensively beaten by the Catalans 2-0.

Fast forward five months and the tide changed in Inter's favour. They peaked at the right time and went on to end a 45-year wait to win their third European Cup after beating Bayern Munich 2-0 in the final.

The fear factor, which had characterised Inter's poor performances on the continent in previous years became something of the past as Mourinho's men displayed zeal and tactical acumen like never before.

Moreover, their approach to crunching games improved significantly as Inter upped their game to knock out the champions of England, Spain and Germany on their way to the Champions League title.

In so doing, Inter erased the tag of being strong with the weak and weak with the strong. At the same time, their success over Bayern enabled the Serie A to keep its current four Champions League berths beyond season 2011/12. This sounds rather ironic in that Inter are considered to be the least 'Italian' among Serie A teams.

Defender Marco Materazzi, who came on as a very late substitute on Saturday, was the only Italian player to feature in the showdown at the Bernabeu.

Victory over Bayern was the climax to Mourinho's short, but winning, stint with Inter. This triumph was particularly sweet for the self-acclaimed Special One because he succeeded where all his illustrious predecessors on the Inter hot seat, including Marcello Lippi, Hector Cuper, Alberto Zaccheroni and Roberto Mancini, had failed.

The Portuguese coach's second European Cup, following his triumph with Porto in 2004, also meant that Inter became the first Italian club to win the treble - the Champions League, scudetto and Coppa Italia - and only the sixth club, after Celtic (1967), Ajax (1972), PSV (1988), Man. United (1999) and Barcelona (2009), to complete the feat.

In season 1964/65, Inter, led by current president Massimo Moratti's father, the late Angelo, and coached by Helenio Herrera, had won the scudetto and the European Cup. Fabio Capello's Milan were the only other Italian club to have won both titles at home and in Europe in 1994.

The Inter fans were ecstatic on Saturday night and more could be in store for them if they emulate Barcelona last year by winning six major trophies.

However, if the Nerazzurri are to lift the Italian Super Cup (vs Roma), the European Super Cup (vs Atletico Madrid) and the FIFA Club World Cup, they will have to do it without Mourinho.

Over the weekend, Mourinho has been reported as saying that he relishes the prospect of winning an unprecedented third Champions League with three different clubs.

In the past few months, he made no bones of his intention to win the Primera Liga because to date, no coach has ever won all three major domestic leagues in Europe - in England, Italy and Spain.

Mourinho will leave on a high. His move is understandable as many reckon a coach should always quit after having reached the pinnacle. Mourinho feels he has accomplished his mission in Milan and cannot take Inter any further.

Life without Mourinho will be different for Inter. Club chief Massimo Moratti has to be tactful in choosing a suitable replacement.

Mourinho's substitute has to be capable of keeping Inter at the top.

There is no two ways about it - Inter's next challenge is to keep winning and to achieve this Moratti has to keep hold of all his best players and appoint a coach capable of taking Inter to the next stage.