Having won the previous two championships, you wouldn’t have expected Inter Milan to succumb to nerves in this season’s Italian title race.

Roberto Mancini’s side are doing their very best to throw the scudetto away. In February they were 11 points clear of AS Roma but after Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Siena the gap is down to a point with one game to play.

Two weekends ago Inter could have wrapped up the championship against AC Milan. A 2-1 defeat by their city rivals was a nuisance, but Mancini said he always thought they’d be crowned against Siena.

Not so. Siena, who had nothing to play for, fought back from a goal down twice while Marco Materazzi then missed a penalty having argued with Julio Cruz about who should take it.

Inter were so desperate to grab a winner that team mates were getting in the way of each others shots and they nearly conceded at the other end. A group of angry fans waited for the team coach after the match and shouted “Get to work” at the stunned players.

But aren’t the supporters being a little hard on Inter? A closer analysis shows that this is the first proper title race this group of players have been in. Everyone remembers when Inter lost the title in 2002, but the team has changed quite a bit since then.

In 2006 Inter finished third and were awarded the scudetto in a courtroom when table toppers Juventus were demoted for match-fixing and Milan had points deducted.

Last season, Inter had no real challengers at all with Juve in Serie B, Milan docked points and AS Roma not quite title material.

This term, however, Roma have racked up more points and wins than ever before, even with Francesco Totti injured for much of the season.

Suddenly this Inter side are under pressure and it’s all new to them. Will they snap or just stumble over the line?

Mark Meadows, Milan

PHOTO: Marco Materazzi leaves the pitch at the end of Inter’s 2-2 Serie A draw with Siena, May 11. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini   

Italian players used to stick to their own league until relatively recently.

Then Gianluca Vialli and Gianfranco Zola wowed Chelsea and the floodgates opened with the likes of Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluca Zambrotta and Luca Toni going abroad.

Now AC Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso has hinted he may want a fresh challenge away from Serie A.

Having already had a short stint at Rangers in the late 90s, Gattuso would appear to be ready made to play in another European league. He is more of an English midfielder than an Italian one, charging around and launching tackles rather than pinging long passes.

He said last week the Premier League appealed to him but rumours in the Italian and German press say Bayern Munich, thrilled by the success of Toni this season, are very interested.

Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti has said Gattuso is the heartbeat of the team and will not be allowed to leave whether he wants to or not. But after signing Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini on Monday, Milan already have a replacement.

Gattuso has had an average season by his standards for a stuttering Milan side but will be keen to remind Europe of his ability in Euro 2008.

Should he stay or go? If he does leave is Bayern or the Premier League his best bet?  

Mark Meadows, Milan

PHOTO: Gattuso lies on the pitch during AC Milan’s Serie A match against Genoa, Jan 27. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo

It is hard to know when to say goodbye. 

A footballer’s career is short and it can be tempting to play on as long as possible. But soccer is cruel and past achievements mean nothing when clubs plan for the future.

AC Milan captain Paolo Maldini, 39, will soon decide if he will retire at the end of the season following 23 years at the San Siro. The defender had been due to quit in May but is having second thoughts. It may all hinge on whether Milan snatch a Champions League place.

Team mate Cafu, 37, says he wants to play on as he is still motivated. The problem is Milan need fresh blood in defence and might not want him to stick around. Sometimes it is best to decide before the club have to.

Luis Figo, 35, is also pondering the future. He was given a one-year deal by Inter Milan last season after he pulled out of a move to Saudia Arabia. Injuries have robbed the Portuguese of his drive and he now looks a spent force. Inter coach Roberto Mancini has hinted this, but owner Massimo Moratti wants to keep Figo on.

Go out at the top, they always say, but if football is all you have known it can be a huge wrench to suddenly stop. Look at what has happened to poor Paul Gascoigne and others.

So what should this great trio do? Hang up those famous boots or plough on in search of even more success?

Mark Meadows, Milan

PHOTO: AC Milan club captain Paolo Maldini speaks to reporters during a news conference in Yokohama during the Club World Cup, Dec 7. REUTERS/Michael Caronna

A Ronaldinho move to AC Milan now just seems to be a matter of time, after the club and the player’s agent both announced that personal terms have been agreed.

“There is a general agreement with the player,” Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani said on Saturday. ”Now a deal has to be reached with Barcelona. Give us time.”

When we last discussed this on the blog, the general feeling seemed to be that he should leave Barcelona asap. Whatever the reasons, it is a long time since the Brazilian has played consistently well for Barca and if a move elsewhere can help him rediscover the effortless brilliance of old, everyone who loves football will be happy.

Assuming the move goes ahead — and sorting out a deal between the two clubs may not be straightforward — the question remains whether Milan is the best place for him.

When Ronaldinho joined Barcelona he was basically on a rescue mission for the Catalan club, who had fallen so far behind Real Madrid that it was getting embarrassing.

It’s easy to forget now, but for the first few months at the Nou Camp he was not entirely successful. Sure, he showed more than a few flashes of brilliance, and he certainly brought the club the touch of glamour they so desired, but it was only when Edgar Davids came in mid-season that the team’s fortunes revived.

The arrival of the Dutchman seemed to relieve a bit of the weight from Ronaldinho’s shoulders and by the end of that season few people had any doubts that they were watching the world’s best player.

Milan are not in such bad shape as Barcelona were in 2003 but unquestionably they are no longer top dog in Italy. If Ronaldinho does go there, will the pressure to lead the revival prove too much for him? Or is it just the sort of challenge he needs? Give us your thoughts in the comments. 

PHOTO: Ronaldinho sits on the pitch during Barcelona’s Champions League game against Celtic at the Nou Camp, March 4, 2008. REUTERS/Gustau Nacarino

If a footballing-loving Martian suddenly appeared, you’d be hard pressed to persuade him that Andriy Shevchenko was once the most feared striker on our planet.

He broke records galore in seven years at AC Milan, but his two seasons at Chelsea have been utterly miserable. Injury has played a part in his fall from grace, but generally the 31-year-old has been too slow for the demands of English football and has lost his magic touch.

Why then are AC Milan so obsessed with bringing him back to the San Siro? You could count on one hand the number of players that have gone back to their former clubs and succeeded. Ian Rush (Liverpool-Juventus-Liverpool) may be one along with Juan Roman Riquelme (Boca Juniors) and Mark Hughes (Manchester United) but there are few other instances (Johann Cruyff, Robbie Fowler and Teddy Sheringham were never as good on returns to Ajax, Liverpool and Spurs for example).

Club president Silvio Berlusconi, a personal friend of the Ukrainian, may think the striker can roll back the years if he returns to familiar, comfortable surroundings. But Serie A is not the league he left. The play has got quicker, conversely because the standard is lower.

Milan have a habit of buying players when they are past their best. Ronaldo was an injury waiting to happen when he signed from Real Madrid. Now the soon-to-be ex European champions are courting Barcelona’s Ronaldinho, simply because he may come on the market because he is not as good as he was.

Think also of Inter Milan, who brought in Luis Figo when he was in decline and Patrick Vieira after he’d had his best years at Arsenal. Contrast that with English football, which is so dominant now because they buy players at their prime or just before (Cristiano Ronaldo, Fernando Torres).

To be fair to Milan, they took a gamble signing 18-year-old Brazilian striker Alexadre Pato, and it has partially paid off. Carlo Ancelotti has said Pato and Shevchenko are too similar, but that hasn’t stopped Berlusconi.

Media reports say Sheva may be given a free transfer by Chelsea. I think he should resist the temptation to return to Milan. What do you think?

Mark Meadows, Milan

PHOTO: Shevchenko with Chelsea team mate Didier Drogba, whose form has often kept the Ukrainian out of the starting lineup.  March 2007 REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

After winning promotion to the top flight, most clubs would be happy just consolidating their position for a season. But not Juventus.

Claudio Ranieri’s side are third in Serie A, an excellent achievement following their demotion for match-fixing two seasons ago and the loss of Fabio Cannavaro, Emerson, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Patrick Vieira, Gianluca Zambrotta and Lilian Thuram.

Yet Juve are such a big club in Italy that some fans expected them to be challenging for the scudetto immediately. Sunday’s 3-2 defeat at Palermo ended any hope of a late title bid, but surely the Turin club should be ecstatic that they are in a Champions League spot? 

Alessandro Del Piero, Gianluigi Buffon, David Trezeguet, Pavel Nedved and Mauro Camoranesi all stayed to win promotion from Serie B and battle back to the upper reaches of the top flight. Keeping those players was a wonderful coup for the club, which also held on to a fan base from across Italy (they have few fans actually in Turin). 

Getting into third spot is even more remarkable given the financial constraints at Juve. Redevelopment of the Stadio delle Alpi, board restructuring following the match-fixing scandal, and an unwillingness from the club’s FIAT backers to plough in lots of cash have all hit the coffers.

They were also not helped by Ranieri buying two midfield duffers in the close season. Sergio Almiron arrived from Empoli but was so ineffective he was quickly shipped off to Monaco while Portugal’s Tiago played his first decent pass all season at Palermo.

Despite all this, Juve have regained the swagger of old where a defeat is so rare it really hurts. The fans should be overjoyed, the club could have sunk like Nottingham Forest and Leeds United have in England.

If Juve can buy a top class creative midfielder, with Werder Bremen’s Diego heavily linked, a championship bid next year might not be so fanciful.

Mark Meadows, Milan 

Italy is hoping the death of a Parma fan on Sunday was not the result of more fan violence.

Matteo Bagnaresi was accidentally knocked down and killed by a bus, forcing Parma’s match at Juventus to be postponed.

Police said Parma and Juve fans were trading insults at a service station on the way to Turin where the accident happened. Juve fans and the coach driver say they were being threatened and that is why they made a quick get away, hitting Bagnaresi without realising.

Italy’s soccer hooligan problem is well-known and despite the facts about the latest incident being unclear, calls have been made for all away travel to be banned. 

Restrictions on travelling supporters are already strict in Italy, with away fans prohibited from attending high-risk games.

AS Roma host Manchester United in the Champions League on Tuesday following violence at their previous two encounters in Rome. United fans have been warned to stay alert.

Would a ban on all away travel be too much? What is the situation in other countries? The bottle thrown at the visiting keeper during Real Betis v Athletic Bilbao recently came from a home fan, for example.

Mark Meadows, Milan

On February 16 Inter Milan were 11 points clear at the top of Serie A. Since then, a lot has happened and by the time the champions visit Lazio on Saturday their lead could be down to just one point.

First they lost to Liverpool in their Champions League last 16 first leg when Marco Materazzi was harshly sent off and important centre back Ivan Cordoba was ruled out for the season with ligament damage.

Patchy form and defensive lapses followed, with Javier Zanetti grabbing a late equaliser in a 1-1 home draw with second-placed AS Roma, who went on to beat Real Madrid in the Champions League as their form generally picked up.

Inter were eliminated by Liverpool after losing 1-0 at home and 3-0 on aggregate, a hammer blow to their confidence, so much so that coach Roberto Mancini bizarrely announced after the game he would quit at the end of the season.

Mancini quickly appeared to change his mind, although the suspicion remains that he will leave in June with Italian newspapers packed with speculation of a fall out with club owner Massimo Moratti. Jose Mourinho, Rafa Benitez and Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli have all been linked should the job become available.

Quite what the players thought about Mancini’s outburst is unclear, but confidence has continued to be low and last weekend they lost their first home league game of the season against old rivals Juventus.

There are more specific reasons for Inter’s troubles. Luis Figo is well past his best at 35 and has struggled to regain form and fitness following a broken leg in November. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has a knee problem and is gritting his teeth to play one game a week, but his goals have dried up.

Roma’s priority seemed to be the Champions League after their triumph over Real. Suddenly a surprise scudetto is on the cards if Inter do not get their house in order.

Mark Meadows, Milan

PHOTO: Inter Milan’s Marco Materazzi dejectedly leaves the pitch after losing 2-1 at home to Juventus in Serie A, March 22. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini