Serie A champions Milan have already given a clear demonstration of a good doze of determination to extend their winning streak as earlier this month they came from behind to beat rivals Inter in the Italian Supercup.
The Rossoneri have kept their squad largely intact with coach Massimiliano Allegri now in his second year at the helm.
Although Milan’s chief objective should be to end a five-year Champions League drought, they still look strong enough to add a 19th scudetto to their honours’ list.
Alberto Aquilani and Philippe Mexes were Milan’s most notable signings in summer.
However, one would not be surprised if further acquisitions are made before the transfer window shuts tonight.
Rodney Strasser (Lecce), Nicola Legrottaglie (Catania), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus), Onyewu (Sporting Lisbon), Marek Jankulovski (Banik Ostrava) and Sokratis Papasthato-poulos (Werder Bremen) all left Milan this summer.
However, notwithstanding the departure of these players, Allegri can still count on reserves of strength with his attack touted the strongest department.
This time last season, Inter were still ruing the departure of Jose Mourinho to Real Madrid.
This year it was prolific striker Samuel Eto’o’s turn to wave goodbye as the Cameroon goal-getter joined cash-rich Russian club Anzhi.
Any club that lets its best players move elsewhere is not issuing the right message in terms of com-petition and vying for success.
Perhaps this was also the main reason why former coach Leonardo decided to leave Inter abruptly and take an administrative job at crack French side Paris SG.
Goran Pandev (Napoli), McDonald Mariga (Real Sociedad), Houssine Kharja (Fiorentina), David Suazo (Catania), Marco Materazzi (out of contract) and Obinna (Lokomotiv Moscow) have also left the Nerazzurri in this transfer window.
Media reports in Italy are saying that following the treble of 2010, Inter supremo Massimo Moratti is now looking to recover some of the capital outlay he has invested over the years.
In 2009, he offloaded Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Barcelona in a mega deal involving Eto’o and cash. With hindsight, one can say that Inter did benefit from that move.
Inter have just added veteran Diego Forlan to their fold but Eto’s move to Russia means that the gulf between champions Milan and Inter has continued to widened even further.
Even when he came to choosing a replacement for Brazilian Leo-nardo, Moratti opted for a man with virtually no experience at a top team like Inter.
Gianpiero Gasperini could be a valid coach but one still has to see where he could lead Inter both in Serie A and Champions League next season.
Surely, life without Eto’o will be anything but easy for Inter and they should not take anything for granted next season because competition for the top three spots will be intense, with Milan, Napoli, Juventus, Lazio and, perhaps, Udinese and Roma all vying for Champions League football.
As already highlighted, Napoli did remarkably well last season and the omens are still good for them to continue with their rise to stardom.
Last week, Napoli were pitted in the most difficult Champions League group with the likes of Bayern Munich, Villarreal and Roberto Mancini’s Manchester City.
Their season will very much depend on how the team will handle the double challenge of having to compete on two fronts.
In particular, the September-December period will be quite taxing for Napoli as for most of their players this will be a baptisim of fire in the top European competition for clubs.