No doubt, Milan were the biggest under-achievers of the Italian Serie A last season. True, the Rossoneri won the European Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup but the early exits from the Champions League and Coppa Italia, coupled with their fifth-place finish in the Serie A, made Milan's campaign a poor one by their own standards.
Milan could not have aspired for a brighter start last summer as they came from behind to beat Sevilla to claim their fifth European Super Cup. Their primary objective was winning the FIFA Club World Cup (formerly known as the Intercontinental Cup), a trophy which they had last won in 1990.
Carlo Ancelotti's Milan fulfilled their ambitions but at the expense of bowing out of the title race in Italy prematurely and, even worse, they were ousted from the Champions League as early as the second round.
Whoever thought that it was going to be a mere formality for seven-times European Cup winners Milan to make a top-four finish were proved wrong as Fiorentina turned out to be a hard nut to crack.
The club from Florence reached the UEFA Cup semi-finals and despite showing signs of strain and fatigue towards the end of the campaign, held on firmly to claim Italy's last-remaining Champions League berth.
Lazio's season never really took off as the team from the capital stuttered badly and in the end finished with 19 points less with respect to the previous term.
Lazio's participation in the Champions League and their prolonged involvement in the Coppa Italia cost them dearly as they finished 12th in the final Serie A standings.
Apart from the fact that coach Delio Rossi could not count on reserves of strength, Lazio were also hindered by several injuries to key players throughout the season.
Torino's season was full of promises but the Granata avoided the drop only on the penultimate day of the season as they had done the previous year.
Big signings Alvaro Recoba, Eugenio Corini, David Di Michele and Nicola Ventola, who were supposed to lead Torino to a trouble-free mid-table position, did not settle in their new surroundings.
Much was expected of Walter Novellino but the ex-Sampdoria coach let Torino down big time.
Towards the end of the season, Torino owner and president Urbano Cairo recalled Gianni De Biasi, who thanks to back-to-back wins over Napoli and Livorno steered the team out of troubled waters.
In 2007/08, Torino were the only club in Serie A to collect the same number of points as the previous season.
Empoli were left to rue their participation in the UEFA Cup as they lost their way in Serie A and ended up relegated at the end of the season. The Tuscany side collected 18 points less than the previous year despite having changed their coach twice during the season - Alberto Malesani on for Gigi Cagni and then vice-versa.
Parma and Livorno had several exciting players within their ranks but still failed to retain their status in the top flight.
Both teams never really got going and their relegation to the Serie B came as no surprise.