Serie A is back in full swing, and though it may be too early for predictions, the smart money is on Inter keeping their crown. But old rivals Juventus could well throw a spanner in the works of the Nerazurri’s bid to claim a fifth title in a row.

The Old Lady are beginning to look more like a side that could challenge at the top having replaced Claudio Ranieri with former defender Ciro Ferrera. Ranieri failed to get the Old Lady into fifth gear in 2 Seasons at the helm, but Ferrera’s start suggests the impetus is back with the Turin giants.

Most of the favourites are still there; Buffon, Camoranesi, Trezegeut, and of course, Del Piero. Back in town arrives Fabio Cannavaro, albeit older and slower, his experience and influence can but have a positive effect in the squad.

Juventus have added international left-back Fabio Grosso and Brazilian midfielder Felipe Melo, who chose the club over Arsenal following a superb season with Fiorentina. He will compete with Sissoko, Poulsen and Tiago in the centre of a midfield that is certainly not short of tacklers.

With Martin Caceres joining on loan from Barca to shore up a defence that includes the in-form centre-back Giorgio Chiellini, plus Claudio Marchisio and Sebastian Giovinco coming of age in midfield, Juve are starting to look solid. Iaquinta and Amauri provide established options at the front too, but the icing on the cake has most definitely been the acquisition of possibly the most underrated player on the planet; Diego.

His silky skills have often gone unnoticed due to the plethora of world class compatriots that play in a similar position for Brazil, namely Kaka, Ronaldinho and Robinho. Furthermore, he has carved out his best years for Werder Bremen in the German Bundesliga.

Juve have spent 24.5 million euros to bring him to Turin, and the creative attacker has already shown he is capable of justifying the price tag, with two goals and an assist in his first two games. It would be of little surprise to see Diego’s name mentioned in the category of player of the year come the end of the season.

They will do well to compete with an Inter side that are simply flying. A lot of summer dealings with Genoa have seen the prolific Argentinean striker Diego Milito and Brazilian midfielder Thiago Motta sign up, with Hernan Crespo going the other way.

Serie A more importantly though has been the largest swap deal of all time, Zlatan Ibrahimovich leaving for Barca while Samuel Eto’o and at least 46 million euros (about £40m) have arrived at Inter. Another top drawer star came to the Nerazzurri in the form of Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder, for a very reasonably priced 15 million euro, as well as Brazilian centre-back Lucio, 31, who has shone in Bayern Munich’s colours for the last five years. And with FC Twente’s Marko Arnautovic, the 20-year-ld Austrian attacker, joining on a season’s loan, Inter’s options up front look uber impressive.

The 4-0 victory over arch-rivals AC Milan cemented what many already believed, that Inter are now unstoppable. AC may well take some time to adjust to Leornado’s tactics and should not be discounted so easily. The same can be said of Roma, who now have Claudio Ranieri in charge.

But if early indications are anything to go by, then it will be Inter leading the pack again, with Juve providing the challenge. The two derby d’Italias between the sides are likely to be huge spectacles this season.

Looking at the squads it is difficult to see how Juve will quite match up to Inter’s strength in depth. A lot of pressure will therefore arrive at Diego’s door to consistently conjure up that extra magic that many a pundit know he is so often capable of.

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How will Ronaldinho perform this season 2009-10 for AC Milan?
He was playing well earlier in 2009 but Ancelotti stopped playing Ronaldinho after his average performance. Now with his new manager Leonardo, how will Ronaldinho perform? Will it be as good as his Barca performance or will he also surpass that? I am looking forward for his performance.

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