Italian Football: Serie a Preview

The venerable Serie A, the highest professional league in World Cup Champion Italy begins its 2007-08 campaign on Saturday, with the lingering odor of the past two troubled seasons still in the air. Even as the triumphant Azzurri raised high the World Cup trophy, match-fixing allegations were bringing consequences to the biggest clubs, in the form of fines, penalty points and relegation. Then, as the offenders struggled through their punishments, violence again reared its ugly head, culminating with the death of a police officer in Sicily, and the suspension of all matches for a weekend.

This season will open with Milan supporters banned from attending its opening contest in Genoa, due to past violence, while elsewhere the league will resume a full schedule with all the major clubs restored.

Juventus, the 27-time champion, returns to the top rank after a season of relegation to Serie B. The Bianconeri responded to the humiliating loss of prestige and numerous defections by winning the league title, and enter the new season with eagerness. Recent matches have been uneven, including a 2-0 loss to archrival AC Milan for the Berlusconi Trophy, but Juventus stills fields a formidable side, despite a certain sense of vulnerability expressed in recent comments by Pavel Nedved, who emphasizes the need for consistent weekly effort rather than focusing on the treasured Scudetto. Juventus begins this year's season on Saturday against Livorno.

Internazionale, the Milanese powerhouse and defending champion, returns to prove their legitimacy as the best in Italy, though it seems as though they will doing so without the services of World Cup hero Materazzi, who suffred a ruptured vein in the thigh during Italy's recent match against Hungary. Otherwise, this is a perennial contender with plenty of incentive and lots of bench strength. They will begin the campaign against Udinese.

Inter will not have to look far for serious competition. The "other" team in Milan is Champions Cup holders AC Milan, who boast Brazilian superstriker Ronaldo, Kaka, and the always dangerous Pippo Inzhagi on a storied team that has a knack of appearing in the finals of whatever competition they enter.

Rounding out the elite of Serie A is Roma, winners of last season's Coppa Italia and conquerors of Inter in the recent Italian Supercup. Their hot breath will be felt on the necks of all the giants all season, and Coach Luciano Spaletti is not shy about putting out the word that his club has the personnel and desire to challenge for any and all cups this season.

In all, it adds up to an interesting several months in arguably the finest professional football league in the world.