For once, Jose Mourinho didn't get his way. "I was against going into Milan to celebrate," said Mourinho of the festivities that followed Milan's 2–1 defeat to Udinese on Saturday night. That result sealed Inter's 17th Serie A title, and Mourinho's first, but with the Nerazzurri still to face Siena on Sunday, the manager felt his players needed a good night's sleep. "Then the lads came to me and said, 'We have worked 10 months for this: we need to go out and you have to come too'," continued Mourinho. "In that moment a manager loses his power."
He need not have worried. Inter's players, who watched the Milan game together at the team's Pinetina training complex, were out celebrating in Milan's Piazza Duomo until past two in the morning, but still romped past Siena 3–0 at San Siro. Which is not to say that none were suffering. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, visibly worse for wear, asked to be taken off early in the second half, then looked on in disbelief as Mourinho responded by using all three of his substitutions on other players.
Ibra's incredulous expressions and grouchy performance made for a diverting sideshow but there is no suggestion that he will hold a grudge. The striker has always spoken highly of Mourinho and noted again after the game that "when I look at him, I see myself – a person with the same winning mentality". Besides, staying on the pitch allowed Ibrahimovic to score in the 76th minute, and in doing so to remain within a goal of Serie A's top scorer, Marco Di Vaio, who has scored 23 for Bologna. Ibra has made no secret of his desire to be crowned capocannoniere for the first time.
Nor is Ibrahimovic the only person to have been won over by Mourinho. The San Siro crowd have been quick to criticise when things have gone wrong for the Portuguese, currently the only overseas manager in Serie A, but yesterday they paid tribute to him. Countless banners were unfurled bearing the words "zeru tituli" – a reference to an infamous rant in which he chastised the press for always lauding Inter's rivals despite the fact they would each win "no titles" (this would normally be "zero titoli", but Mourinho has not yet lost his Portuguese twang).
Winning the Scudetto was probably the minimum expected from Mourinho in his first season in Serie A, however, given that the Nerazzuri had won the past three, and opinion remains divided on how far the team have come. They currently have the same number of points (81) that they had at the same stage last season, and one could certainly argue that the only real difference is that this time around none of their rivals have put up a credible challenge.
My own sense is that Inter are less fragile mentally than they were under Roberto Mancini, whose attempted resignation after last year's Champions League exit cost him a good deal of credibility with his team, but the football they have played this season has often been underwhelming. Mourinho acknowledged the tactical nature of Serie A yesterday, pointing out that he had used a number of formations where he had been able to stick with his favoured 4–3–3 every week at previous clubs. Another way of looking at it, however, would be to say that he never managed to successfully implement that formation in the first place.
Too often this season there has been a gulf between Inter's attack and midfield, masked only at times by the relentless efforts of the full-backs – especially Maicon, when healthy – in getting up and down the flanks. They have relied on their superior athleticism to suffocate opponents and the individual talents of players such as Ibrahimovic and Mario Balotelli to win games, but have rarely displayed the sort of fluidity throughout the side Mourinho would hope for.
How this is addressed over the summer will be crucial. The owner, Massimo Moratti, who celebrated his 64th birthday on Saturday, has said that any signings will need to be funded by departures, but it has been widely reported that the team are close to bringing in Diego Milito and Thiago Motta in a part-exchange deal from Genoa. Both have played key roles for a team that has been among Serie A's best to watch this season.
Robert Acquafresca, currently on loan at Cagliari, is expected to move to Genoa in return while Luis Figo plans to retire and Patrick Vieira wants to finish his career in France. Ibrahimovic, though, will likely stay. He has made no secret of the fact that he intends to play for another club sooner or later, but at this stage few teams have the prestige and spending power to convince both Inter to sell and Ibrahimovic to leave. Of those that could, few will consider such a high asking price worth paying until Ibra can improve his scoring record in the Champions League.
Mourinho also intends to add at least one more midfielder and a defender, though much will depend on how generous Moratti is feeling. Given how badly Ricardo Quaresma panned out, he could be forgiven for deciding that things don't always work out better when Mourinho gets his way.
Round 36 talking points
• Juventus are at serious risk of missing out on third place, and with it automatic qualification to the Champions League group stages, after drawing 2–2 at home with Atalanta. They have now picked up six points in their past seven games, and Fiorentina, who won 1–0 at home to Sampdoria, are only one point behind. On the other hand, Cristiano Zanetti's shot for Juve's second was one of the best goals you'll see all season.
• After beating Milan, Udinese have now won a club-record six in a row, and look once again like a team that should be challenging for the Champions League places, instead of the team that fell to pieces just before Christmas. Whether or not they can kick on from here next season may depend on how many of their best players move on in the summer. Fabio Quagliarella has been strongly linked with moves to Juventus and Inter.
• Italpetroli, the company which has a controlling stake in Roma, released a statement during the week confirming that it had been approached by a Swiss conglomerate which had expressed an "interest" in buying the club, but nothing more concrete than that. "Despite what was reported in the press, there has been no offer handed over, neither directly nor indirectly," read the statement. As is already known, Italpetroli consider Roma and their squad to be a treasure of the city ... so to proceed Italpetroli maintains it necessary to keep everyone informed. There must also be clear evidence that these buyers have the financial strength to take over the club and sustain a project that will maintain and develop the competitive nature of the squad. So far these guarantees have not been provided." Roma's players were later jeered by their own fans throughout a 4–3 win over Catania.
• The relegation battle remains fierce after three of the bottom four won. For Lecce, however, the picture looks bleak after a 2–1 defeat to Bologna. They are now five points from safety, with their remaining games against Fiorentina and Genoa.
Results: Bologna 2–1 Lecce, Fiorentina 1–0 Sampdoria, Genoa 2–2 Chievo, Inter 3–0 Siena, Juventus 2–2 Atalanta, Napoli 1–2 Torino, Palermo 2–0 Lazio, Reggina 2–1 Cagliari, Roma 4–3 Catania, Udinese 2–1 Milan
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