Inter win Scudetto 2008

By: Ian Rose | May 18th, 2008

Last week, we had “D-Day”, the last day of the Premier League season, when everything came right down to the wire. Today was the Italian equivalent, with one of the great comebacks (or great collapses) in recent history falling, in the end, just short. As late as the 62nd minute of the simultaneous Serie A matches today, Roma was beating Catania and Inter was locked in a 0-0 draw with Parma that would have seen Roma edge the title. The Scudetto that seemed wrapped up a month ago was suddenly in play once again. But salvation came from a familiar source, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. His strike put Inter up 1-0, and he added another in the 79th, to hand Inter their 16th domestic title and their third straight.

Roma fans knew the title was out of their side’s hands to decide. A Roman victory was all they could do, and they nearly did it, on the strength of an 8th minute goal from Mirko Vucinic, appropriate given the surprising season he’s had in Rome. But starting the day a point behind Inter, an Inter win would seal it, and thanks to Ibra’s strikes, that’s just how it ended. To twist the knife a little for the Romans, Catania scored a late equalizer, putting Roma three points behind in the final standings for Serie A 2008.

Further down the table, there were plenty of other meaningful results. AC Milan took out Udinese 4-1, despite going into halftime down 1-0. Combined with a draw or loss from Fiorentina, a win was needed to put Milan into fourth place and the Champions League, and Viola almost cooperated, going most of the match scoreless with Torino. But in the 72nd minute, Fiorentina’s Pablo Daniel Osvaldo put the final nail in Milan’s Champions League coffin, and the team that last season were champions of Europe, and that went on to win the Club World Cup representing Europe, will be in the UEFA Cup next year.

On the relegation end of things, Catania completed an incredible comeback in the second half of the season with their last-minute equalizer with Roma. At that point, with Inter up 2-0, it made no difference to the title race, but the goal meant everything to Catania, who without it would have gone down thanks to finishing even on points with Empoli, who has a better head-to-head record. Unlike Roma’s comeback, which came just short of glory, Catania did what was necessary to win their own prize, another season in Serie A. Empoli, Parma and Livorno go down to Serie B, with two games left to decide which three out of the four promotion contenders (Verona, Bologna, Lecce, and Albinoleffe) will rise to replace them.

Crazy last day of Italian football, and when they catch their breaths, fans can now begin to concentrate on the Azzurri and their preparations for Euro 2008. Some will be looking for relief, after a disappointing end to the club campaign, and others to add to an already memorable and victorious year.