By Jake Glavies
Italian football is proving to be a one-horse race this season and it’s Inter Milan out in front galloping down the home stretch. Inter has been unstoppable over the past two months, compiling a 5-0-2 record since it’s last loss Dec. 5 to Juventus; the squad has also recorded 14 goals in the span. The most impressive victory of the stretch came Sunday in a 3-0 win over Cagliari.
Forward Alberto Diego Milito has been at the head of the charge as of late, accounting for six scores over the span. Samuel Eto’o, one of the game’s most feared strikers, has added eight league goals on the year with 12 scores in all competitions.
And the squad is only getting stronger. After a lengthy layoff, Macedonian forward Goran Pandev is beginning to hit his stride. Finding the back of the net in three straight league matches, Pandev gives Inter one of the most scoring minded front lines in all of Serie A. Coach Jose Mourinho will look to the trio to avenge the squad’s first defeat of the season, a 1-0 loss at Sampdoria, when the Nerazzurri travel to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris Feb. 20.
Just two weeks ago, Inter further demonstrated its dominance, trouncing second place AS Roma 2-0 at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. With an eight point lead over Roma and the season more than half over, it would take a disastrous turn of events for Inter not to claim a fifth straight league title.
As for Roma, a slim 1-0 win over Fiorentina Sunday gave Claudio Ranieri’s club a leg up on third place AC Milan, who has failed to find the win column in its last four matches – most recently drawing 0-0 at Bologna.
Upcoming matches against Napoli, Palermo and Roma, will certainly put Inter to the test. Beyond his front line, Mourinho will look to goalkeeper Julio Cesar to keep a long list of talented scorers from stealing a victory. Facing the likes of Francesco Totti, Edison Cavani and Marek Hamsik, Cesar will be key if Inter is to win a fifth straight league crown.
