Inter Dominates Serie A Landscape Ahead of Season
Fabio Capello has seen too many title races to be seduced by pre-season optimism. With less than two weeks to go before Serie A kicks off, he looks at the landscape and sees one clear truth: Inter are still out in front, and the rest are scrambling.
“The distance between them (Milan and Juventus) and Inter, the champions of Italy, seems difficult to bridge in such a short space of time,” he wrote in his La Gazzetta dello Sport column. That isn’t a prediction dressed up as analysis. It is a warning.
Inter in control, rivals chasing shadows
While the market churns and the headlines obsess over who is “missing” – Corriere dello Sport counted 20 starters still to arrive among the top sides – Inter sit with the calm of a team that knows who it is. The champions have continuity, structure, and a clear identity. Their closest rivals, in Capello’s eyes, do not.
Juventus and Milan, he argues, are nowhere near ready.
“Juventus don't yet seem like a Luciano Spalletti side to me and Milan look like an open construction site: only the work in progress sign is missing, yet the start of the Serie A season is just around the corner.”
That image sticks. Inter as a finished building; Juve and Milan still surrounded by scaffolding.
Juventus: signings excite, spine still exposed
Capello does see reasons for encouragement in Turin. The arrivals of Randal Kolo Muani and Kerim Alajbegovic have impressed him, fresh energy for a side trying to reinvent itself under Spalletti. But for a coach who built his reputation on balance and solidity, one issue overshadows everything.
“Juve still has a big problem and that is the goalkeeper,” he wrote. “I say that with all due respect to Michele Di Gregorio, but his situation seems irreversible to me.”
The club have been linked with Zion Suzuki, potentially on loan from PSG if his move from Parma goes through. Capello is unconvinced. For him, Juventus cannot afford another gamble between the posts, not in a season where margins will be thin and the pressure instant.
“Many names have been mentioned and from what I've seen, the Old Lady might prefer a ‘buffer’ option, postponing the spending until next summer. So, if a no.1 comes in on loan, I have no doubts about who to bet on: Vicario at Tottenham.
“The reason is simple. Compared to Suzuki, the Italian has already shown that he performs well at big clubs, like he has done in London.”
It is classic Capello: no romance, just reliability. In his world, titles are not won by potential, but by goalkeepers who do not flinch in May.
Milan: delays, doubts and a restless star
If Juventus worry him structurally, Milan trouble him emotionally. The club he once guided to greatness looks, to his eye, adrift.
“Milan are still waiting for two big names in Maignan and Rabiot – by the way, I didn't like the news of their return being delayed by four days at all. The new signings Gila and Ramos haven't been seen much either, nor has the clear starting XI that Amorim will have in mind.”
With the season almost upon them, Ruben Amorim is still searching. The pre-season tour has offered more questions than answers, and even in Jakarta, where AC Milan faced Chelsea at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, the coach cut the figure of a man still piecing together a puzzle.
Capello’s unease deepens when he turns to Rafael Leao. The winger’s public flirting with the Premier League has not gone unnoticed.
“I get the impression that there's still a bit of confusion around the Rossoneri, starting with Rafael Leao's situation. Rafa overestimated himself by publicly calling for the Premier League and, if he stays, I would be wary of the San Siro reaction to the first time he fails to run.”
That line bites. San Siro can adore you, but it can turn just as quickly. A star who talks his way towards England and then stays must be ready to run, and run hard.
Amorim, Cardinale and a race against time
For all the criticism, Capello does not write Milan off. He frames this as a decisive moment, one that hinges on clarity from the very top.
“I hope that the next meeting between Cardinale and Amorim will bring some order and provide the right boost to sort things out on the market heading into the final 20 days.”
Order. Identity. Decisions. Inter already have all three. Juventus are still trying to look like a Spalletti team. Milan are trying to work out what an Amorim Milan even is.
The clock is ticking. Inter can hear it too, but for now, they listen with the calm of a defending champion. The real question is whether anyone else can catch the sound before the season starts and the gap becomes more than just theoretical – it becomes the table.
