And welcome to the final part of this pre-season preview series. Today’s instalment features Serie A, and after a couple of seasons marred by fan clashes with police and general poor performances in Europe (Milan’s 2007 Champions League win excepted, which was a sort of last hurrah for the older generation of Milan players anyway), not to mention the tense climate surrounding refereeing in the post-Moggi era, 2008/09 is hopefully the season that Serie A can truly begin on the road to recovery (this column, as a die-hard follower of Serie A, dearly hopes so, but is also quietly confident that that will be the case.)

One of the main reasons to be excited about the upcoming season in Italy is the arrival of a certain self-styled “Special One” in Milan. Yes, Jose Mourinho may be arrogant, but his reputation as one of the best coaches in European football is well-founded (and it’s not just Mourinho making that claim.) As a coach returning from almost a season-long hiatus, he couldn’t have wished for a better squad to inherit, either: the back four has a strong and settled look to it (Chivu and Walter Samuel form a fearsome centre-back partnership, while Maicon and Maxwell provide width to the side as overlapping full-backs), while the nerazzurri have possibly enough midfielder to fill the midfield positions of all twenty Serie A clubs (particularly now they’ve recruited Amantino Mancini from Roma and Sulley Muntari from Portsmouth.) In addition, Adriano looks to have been refreshed by his 6-month loan spell at Sao Paulo, while in Zlatan Ibrahimović Inter have an attacker who, though often as infuriating as he is mercurial, is arguably still the most technically gifted player in the league. They still need to find a replacement for Figo (hence the chase for compatriot Ricardo Quaresma), but with a squad as strong as they have, and with a manager who is more likely to get Inter functioning as a coherent unit (rather than a collection of 11 talented individuals, as was often the case under Mancini), Inter should comfortably retain Serie A; there should also be no reason why they can’t make a stronger push for the Champions League.

With Roma still beset by financial woes (the Sensi family still have some £300m-odd of debt) it’s hard to imagine the giallorossi launching a title challenge as formidable as last year’s one; though they have recruited impressively (the arrival of Julio Baptista should provide a much needed boost to Roma’s attacking options and ease their Totti-dependence, while the recently completed signing of Jérémy Ménez looks similarly astute; let’s gloss over John-Arne Riise’s arrival though, eh?), one gets the impression that the squad still lacks a bit of depth (Roma may have coped well in spells without Totti, but an injury to either him or Philippe Mexès could prove costly to their title ambitions.) In the event, Inter’s main rivals for the title may well be Juventus, who have again made some impressive captures in the summer transfer window (not least the likes of Christian Poulsen, recruited as a result of missing out on Xabi Alonso, proven goal-getter Amauri and Swedish prodigy Albin Ekdal.) The current first choice XI may still be a little too reliant on the old guard (namely Messrs Del Piero, Nedvěd and Camoranesi) for creativity, but that could easily be rectified by giving pint-sized creative dynamo Sebastian Giovinco a long overdue run in the first team (he’s certainly earnt it after impressing on loan at Empoli last year.) Juve should certainly be stronger than Milan, who seem to be moving backwards under the current regime (as illustrated by the return of the prodigal son Shevchenko.) One or two of Milan’s summer recruitments have looked like sound moves (Mathieu Flamini should provide no little steel and dynamism to the Milan midfield - to compensate for the declining Gattuso - while Philippe Senderos, a centre-back ill at ease with the fast pace of the Premier League, should be better suited to the slower pace of the Italian game) but the Rossoneri have mostly brought in aging stars whose best days have long since (Messrs Zambrotta and Ronaldinho, I’m looking in your direction.) Milan still haven’t brought in a quality goalkeeper, younger replacements for almost the whole back-line (as well as the now over-30 midfielders Pirlo and Seedorf) need to be found, while Milan’s talented young forwards Pato, Borriello and Paloschi look like they might be squeezed out by Sheva (indeed, Paloschi has recently signed a co-ownership deal with Parma.) Whisper it quietly, but Berlusconi’s team may have to get used to this UEFA Cup lark.

Elsewhere, Fiorentina again look well placed to take advantage of Milan’s continuing failure to renovate their squad; Mutu remains, and an improving young side has been strengthened with the likes of Juan Vargas, Pepe Melo and Stevan Jovetić, while Alberto Gilardino couldn’t have chosen a better club to try and put his career back on track after his struggles at Milan (given the low average age and thinness of the squad, however, a title challenge is unlikely.) The continued presence of Antonio Cassano at the Marassi should ensure that Sampdoria clinch one of the UEFA Cup places, but the workmanlike nature of Lazio’s side (which is likely to result in the front three of Rocchi, Pandev and Mauro Zárate having to live on scraps) will probably stop the biancocelesti from achieving their European objective (particularly if Pasquale Foggia isn’t given his chance, as he ought to be after impressing with Cagliari last season.) Atalanta arguably remain too dependent on club icon Cristiano Doni for goals (a problem Christian Vieri’s arrival won’t fix), while the large number of comings and goings at Palermo suggest a side in transition (and, as such, one that perhaps isn’t the best placed in terms of a push for a European place), meaning that Udinese and Napoli are likely to fight it out for the final European spot (at a push, I’ll go for Napoli, and not just because I support them; the Partenopei have kept hold of last season’s stars, Marek Hamšik and Ezequiel Lavezzi, and have addressed their right wing-back and striker shortcomings with the purchases of Christian Maggio and Germán Denis.)

In terms of the relegation battle, I’ve been predicting Cagliari would be relegated from Serie A since  time immemorial (despite actually wanting them to stay up and maintain a Sardinian presence in the top flight) and this season might be the one in which they finally fall through the relegation trap door. They may have kept hold of Italo-Pole star striker Robert Acquafresca, but skillful little playmaker Pasquale Foggia has returned to Lazio following the end of his loan spell, and without that supply line the Sardinians look likely to struggle for goals (the presence of an inexperienced coach at the helm, in the form of Massimiliano Allegri won’t help either.) Lecce also look likely to struggle, despite bringing in the impressive Mario Beretta (formerly of Siena) as coach; too many members of the current first XI have the look of Serie B about them, while the fact that they’re relying on Daniele Cacia for goals (a man who, though he has an impressive goalscoring record in Serie B, lacks top-flight experience, having failed to break into the first team at Fiorentina) is worrying. Elsewhere, Catania have lost one of their key players, Juan Vargas, to Fiorentina, and how well they fare may depend on how well Nicolae Dică adapts to Serie A (my guess is they’ll just about survive), though Bologna and Siena (two robust, well-organised, though not especially entertaining sides) should survive rather more comfortably. Reggina’s forwards look short of goals again this season and, as a result, the Calabresi look set for another season of struggle; one suspects, though, that after a fair few seasons of having achieved survival against all expectations, Reggina may be sufficiently battle-hardened to stay up once again. All of which is likely to make the return of Chievo (aka those famous Flying Donkeys) to the top flight all too brief; much like in Cagliari’s case, the manager is too inexperienced to cope with the tribulations of a relegation dogfight, while the fact that they’re still relying on the same old lags (the likes of Vincenzo Italiano, Luciano and chief goal-getter Sergio Pellisier) as during their last stint in Serie A should be a cause for some alarm (if it isn’t already.)

Right folks, this little mini-series of European football previews has come to an end. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading these previews as much as I’ve enjoyed putting them together, but before I go, I’ll leave you with my Serie A predictions for 2008/09:

Champions: Inter (comfortably ahead of the rest of Serie A with Mourinho at the helm; expect a longer run in the Champions League, too.)

Runners-up: Juventus (greater squad depth should ensure they pip Roma to the runners-up position; too little creativity will stop them really pushing Inter)

Champions League positions: Roma, Fiorentina (both young, talented and attractive sides; both, however, lack squad depth and big-time experience.)

UEFA Cup positions: Milan (signing Ronaldinho and re-signing Sheva are not what I would consider signs of progression), Sampdoria, Napoli (cup results notwithstanding.)

Relegation: Chievo, Cagliari, Lecce (in descending order of league position.)