The title race in the 2023/24 Premier League season looks set to be one of the most exciting we have seen for some time. There are three teams separated by a point with just seven games to go and it seems certain to go to the wire. North of the border in Scotland, Celtic and Rangers are slugging it out, whilst there is a brilliant title race taking place in the Championship too.
However, it is safe to say that things are not quite the same in Serie A, where we have seen one of the worst title defences in many a year from 2022/23 champions, Napoli, in contrast with a stunning campaign from champions elect, Inter Milan. Inter were no mugs last season and made the Champions League final, narrowly losing to Man City. However, domestically they were 18 points adrift of Napoli, even if they did still finish third.
Their progress this term has been sensational though and at the time of writing, with seven matches to play, they are a staggering 34 points ahead of Napoli. The current title holders are down in seventh. But Inter are our focus here and they are enjoying a truly incredible campaign under boss Simone Inzaghi. They have won 26 of their 31 games, losing just once and, fully 14 points clear of city rivals (AC) Milan, Inter could claim the Scudetto within a couple of games.
Inzaghi’s men could also set a new Serie A record for the most points won in a season – though they would need to win their final seven games to better Juve’s haul of 102 from 2013/14. However, it would take an unprecedented collapse for them to fail to land the title, so championship number 20 is just a matter of when, not if, as far as we are concerned. But when did Internazionale last win the Italian title?
Inter Last Won the Title in 2020/21
When the Nerazzurri seal the deal, be that in two games’ time or the final day of the season, their fans will hardly have had a long wait for glory. Inter have been very consistent over the past decade and only once since 2014/15 have they finished outside the top four. In fact, last season’s third-place finish was their worst since the 2018/19 campaign.
But Inter last topped the Italian pile in 2020/21 when they amassed an impressive 91 points to finish 12 clear of their great rivals Milan. Just three more wins from their final seven games would see them match that points total but 91 itself was a fine achievement. The last time they reached 90+ points was back in 2006/07, which shows just how good they have been this term.
Returning to Inter’s last championship success, they lost just three times in the 2020/21 campaign and won 28 of their 38 matches. They won the title with four matches to play, boss Antonio Conte managing to end the long stranglehold that Juventus had enjoyed. Juve, the club where he had spent most of his playing career, had won the title nine years running, with Conte at the helm for the wins in 2011/12, 2012/13 and 2013/14.
Romelu Lukaku was the key up front for Inter, the Belgian striker bagging 24 league goals and 30 in all competitions. His side notched 89 Serie A goals, 15 more than the runners-up, and their impressive +54 goal difference was boosted by two 5-1 wins in their final four games.
They didn’t actually start the season especially well, dropping points four times in their opening seven outings. However, a fine run of 11 wins in a row from the end of January through to mid-April put them in charge of the title and they never looked back.
Previous Wins
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When they claim glory in 2023/24 the blue half of the city of Milan will be especially buoyant became that will move them to 20 Serie A titles – one more than their great rivals in red have won. Both trail Juve (36 championships) by a long way but Inter fans will enjoy the city bragging rights nonetheless. Overall their title victories have been reasonably well spaced out, but they have certainly had a couple of particularly great sides over the years.
Five Stars for Noughties Legends
Inter’s greatest period of dominance in terms of domestic title success came between 2005/06 and 2009/10 when they won five Scudetti in a row. The win that started that run was controversial as they actually finished 12 points behind AC Milan and were even further adrift of Juventus.
However, the Calciopoli scandal that rocked Italian football, and ultimately saw Juventus demoted to Serie B, meant that the title was won in the courts rather than on the pitch. Juve were placed 20th, whilst Milan were one of a number of teams deducted 30 points.
It may have been a somewhat unsatisfactory way for Inter to end a long, 17-year wait for Serie A glory but at the same time their fans would have loved the fact that their two main rivals had been humiliated. Inter made the most of the issues the other clubs faced and promptly banged out five title wins in a row.
Zlatan was their main man for much of this period and they also won the league and cup double in both 2005/06 and 2009/10. Indeed, in 2009/10, they landed the treble, as, inspired by Jose Mourinho, they upset the odds to win the Champions League as well.
Great Team of the 1960s
Inter’s other brilliant period came in the 1960s and as well as winning the title in 1963, 1965 and 1966, they also won back-to-back European Cups (now Champions League) in 1964 and 1965. They were undoubtedly the best team in Europe in that era, with club legends such as Sandro Mazzola, Giacinto Facchetti and sweeper Armando Picchi, writing their name into Inter folklore.
Whether any of the class of 2023/24 can have such a long-term impact remains to be seen but Inter fans will certainly enjoy finding out.