Former Cagliari manager Rolando Maran believes that Inter are the favourites to defend last season’s Scudetto crown, but that they face real competition from their rivals.
Speaking to Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport in an interview published in yesterday’s print edition, Maran gave his view that the Nerazzurri had put together a strong enough team to compete at the top of the league and win, but that Juventus in particular were not to be counted out.
Last season Inter not only won the Scudetto for the first time in eleven years, but they also broke a nine-season run of league titles by the Bianconeri.
Juventus finished fourth, only clinching a Champions League place on the final day of the season thanks to dropped points by Napoli, and this combined with their poor start to this campaign taking one point from six could suggest that their era of dominance is really over.
However, as Maran points out, the Bianconeri have the qualities needed to right themselves and quickly get back into the title race, though he still gives the advantage to Inter who strengthened through a difficult summer.
“They responded very well, making up for the sales of Hakimi and Lukaku,” the former Cagliar boss stated. “They are still just ahead of the others. With Dzeko and Correa you can’t go wrong.”
However, he went on that “I believe that Juve with the return of Max Allegri have raised their level and can still catch up, despite this difficult start.”
