It is quite early to discuss next season’s Champions League particularly with the World Cup looming ahead but Inter’s historic treble was much more than a great achievement. It proved once again how difficult it is to repeat as a champion in Europe’s elite club competition. For the Nerazzurri winning the Champions League is the ultimate experience having waited for more than four decades to repeat as champions of Europe.

President Massimo Moratti helped fund the building of the Nerazzurri squad and brought in Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho with the specific objective of bringing European glory to Milan considering the current Serie A title holder have not won the Champions League since the 1960s. Previous boss Roberto Mancini succeeded in breaking the dominance of Juventus and Milan since the early 1990s but failed to combine domestic success with an extended run in Europe’s elite competition as he never guided the Nerazzurri to the Final.

Mourinho succeeded in winning Serie A, Coppa Italia and the Champions League yet he is racing to the exit door leaving the Nerazzurri in a delicate situation following the best season in the club’s history. Players such as Maicon and Diego Milito are now being linked with a move to Real Madrid which is Mourinho’s likely destination. It is only time before Mourinho is confirmed as the boss in Madrid unless he has a change of heart and opts to stay with the Nerazzurri. Other clubs are beginning to assess their chances of luring some of Inter’s key players to leave the peninsula as Arsenal have reportedly shown interest in goalkeeper Julio Cesar while Manchester City are looking to capture midfielder Esteban Cambiasso. These reports might not become reality but all these claims are a major distraction for a club celebrating a historic treble and with some of the star players headed to South Africa 2010.

Assuming Mourinho and some of the players jump ship, the Nerazzurri will be losing some key components while skipper Javier Zanetti is only getting older despite his consistent displays. Zanetti deserves credit for his fighting spirit and for putting in solid performances time and again despite his age. Below is a brief look at some of Inter’s main competitors for next season:

Barcelona: The former holders were ousted by Inter and will be looking to regain their lost title. Barca are one of the most talented teams in the world with Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernandez leading the charge. Barca have added a star name in the shape of striker David Villa while the Catalans remain in pursuit of Arsenal skipper Cesc Fabregas. If they do sign Fabregas then the team will likely start the next La Liga season and Champions League campaign as one of the favourites.

Real Madrid: The record winners of the Champions League will welcome with open arms Mourinho who has made it clear he will only leave the Nerazzurri for Madrid. In Madrid he will have greater individual talent to work with yet less of a cohesive unit and a weaker team spirit. Mourinho will be motivated to turn this team of stars into a strong and unified squad. Los Galacticos already have former Milan idol Kaka and world record signing Cristiano Ronaldo in their ranks but it would not be a surprise if Mourinho asked for Maicon and Diego Milito to be signed from Inter. If they do, then Los Galacticos will be considered as a firm favourite considering they only missed on La Liga title by three points and many forget it does take time for news players to gel together.

Chelsea: Ironically Mourinho was shown the doors at Stamford Bridge because he failed to bring European glory to the London club but he did punish his former employers by eliminating them in the knockout stages of the Champions League by beating them twice home and away. Chelsea hired former Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti and the Italian succeeded in leading the Blues to a historic double by winning the Premier League and FA Cup in his first season in charge. Ancelotti made it clear his main objective for next season is to repeat the domestic double and to win in Europe. While Chelsea have a strong squad with experience and talent, the players as individuals are below the talent level of Spanish giants Real and Barca.

Bayern Munich: Bayern proved they are a solid team after a slow start to the season and the final in Madrid was perhaps a small representation of their season as they only began to show their potential after conceding the first goal to Inter’s hero Milito. The Bavarians will have Arjen Robben (despite rumours linking him with Juventus;  just unlikely to happen for a number of reasons) and French star Franck Ribery will apparently return after missing the Champions League final due to suspension. The Germans are a solid group but like Chelsea they are not on par with Real and Barca if individuals are compared on a position by position basis.

Manchester United: Manchester have one of the best managers in Sir Alex Ferguson but he can certainly be stubborn leading him to make the odd mistake here and there, particularly when it comes to offloading certain players or refusing to bring in the appropriate players to replace outgoing stars. The Red Devils did not replace Cristiano Ronaldo and their challenge for Chelsea in the Premiership and before that in the Champions League tie against Bayern  faltered once it became clear Wayne Rooney is carrying injury. If Manchester do not sign a couple of solid players, in particular one goal scorer to complement Rooney, then they will likely fall short in the early knockout stages with perhaps a quarter-final spot at best.

There are other less likely contenders but the strongest ones would be Italian duo Roma and Milan yet the two sides have a number of limitations such as their restricted budget for bringing in players and in the case of the Rossoneri an aging squad. Milan will need Brazilian stars Ronaldinho and Alexandre Pato to stay and will hope a capable coach will take charge at Milanello to promote a few promising players from the youth sector and sign a number of quality players to reinforce the team. As for Roma they have do not have a deep bench and their first team is often riddled with injuries due to the age of some key players such as Francesco Totti. It is unlikely either squad will win the Champions League but they can play the role of a spoiler if their stars remain healthy and fit.

It is quite hard to repeat in the Champions League as shown by the famous Milan side in the 1990s which dismantled Barca 4–0 in an epic encounter only to loss the next year in the final to Ajax Amsterdam who in turn were defeated the following year by Juventus. The Bianconeri would go on to play in two more consecutive finals yet the curse of repeating would also prove to be their downfall despite having the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Alessandro Del Piero (at his peak).

Bayern Munich have failed in their attempt to overturn the ban imposed on Franck Ribery who is now confirmed to miss the Champions League final in Madrid. This is considered as a big blow for the Bavarian club considering the French star was hitting form in the latter stages of the Bundesliga and the Champions League.

Ribery was sent-off against Lyon for a stamp and was given a three-match suspension by UEFA. Bayern attempted to get the ban reduced yet UEFA turned down the German club’s initial appeal leaving the Germans with no option but to resort to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Unfortunately for Bayern, CAS decided against overturning the suspension and the Bavarians will now have to take on Inter without one of their star players. Ribery’s absence will be felt considering most of the attention will now turn to fellow star Arjen Robben who will probably be given special treatment by the Nerazzurri. The advantage for Inter is the fact they do not have to divide their attention between the two stars and can now focus on restricting the movement and opportunities falling for the Dutchman.

Inter were able to contain Barcelona’s star Lionel Messi who is considered by many as the world’s best play on current form. As such it will not shocking if the Nerazzurri succeeding in taking Robben out of the game with some tight marking or perhaps by limiting the number of times he actually gets the ball from his teammates. Bayern will be looking to Robben for creativity and the Nerazzurri will aim to cut the supply of passes to the Dutchman in order to deprive him of the opportunity to threaten Inter’s goal.

Inter succeeded in defending their Serie A title after winning against Siena in the last round of league fixtures. Once again the hero was Diego Milito who has left his mark by scoring the winner against Siena after hitting the winning striker against Roma in the Coppa Italia final.

The Nerazzurri have been consistent in recent weeks and their efficiency was visible in the two-legged clash against Barcelona. Inter were able to overcome Barca 3–2 on aggregate after limiting the Catalans to a 1–0 win at the Camp Nou in the return leg of the Champions League semi-final. The outspoken Jose Mourinho admitted beating Barca was the greatest achievement of his managerial career and he will now turn his attention to completing the job by aiming for a win in Madrid to secure a historic treble for Inter. The Nerazzurri have a strong defensive line led by Brazilian duo Maicon and Lucio while their midfield is run by Esteban Cambiasso and playmaker Wesley Sneijder. In attack they have hero Milito as well as the experienced Samuel Eto’o who has scored in the Champions League final before.

As for Bayern Munich, the players have succeeded in winning the Bundesliga and then added the DFB-Pokal after crushing Werder Bremen 4–0 in the final this weekend. The unstoppable Arjen Robben and the threat posed by Franck Ribery have been key to securing the domestic double and reaching the Champions League final. Ribery will most likely miss the final in Madrid unless his suspension is overturned a couple of days before the highly anticipated match. In his absence the responsibility of creating the scoring opportunities and providing the inspiration will fall upon the unpredictable Dutchman Robben.

While some might argue Inter were challenged till the end by Roma and have had to deal with tougher opposition in Europe since they played Barcelona on four occasions, Bayern made a remarkable return in the Bundesliga after a slow start when coach Louis van Gaal was close to being sacked with reports claiming the Bavarian club’s management was unhappy with the results early in the season. Next Saturday Bayern will have the opportunity to complete a historic treble and despite missing Ribery they will still be a dangerous team since they tend to play as a unit as opposed to individuals. Clearly Robben has the freedom to roam and move around in order to create and score from various parts of the pitch.

Having limited Barca star Lionel Messi in the two matches of the semi-final clash it will be hard to bet against the Nerazzurri succeeding in putting the clamps on the dangerous Dutchman Robben. The former Chelsea and Real Madrid player is having one of the best seasons in his career and will be looking to clinch the coveted European trophy in order to finish the remarkable season on a high note.

Inter and Bayern Munich will clash next Saturday, May 22nd in Madrid to decide the European champion in a highly anticipated match between two sides which overcame some major obstacles such as Barcelona and Manchester United. The Nerazzurri had the tougher draw of the two teams playing last season’s winners Barcelona on four occasions while the Bavarians managed to ease past Lyon in the semi-finals after benefiting from Wayne Rooney’s injury to overcome the Red Devils on away-goals rule.

While Inter will miss Thiago Motta the Germans will be missing one of their biggest stars in the form of the suspended Frenchman Franck Ribery. In Ribery’s absence most if not all of Bayern’s dangerous moves will come from flying Dutchman Arjen Robben who has been one of the key figures behind the Bavarian club’s progress to the final match in Madrid. The German club and Robben will be facing a quality defensive line led by Lucio and Walter Samuel who successfully contained Barca’s star player Lionel Messi restricting his movement and limiting his scoring opportunities.

Inter’s weapons are spread all over the pitch but Dutchman Wesley Sneijder will be a crucial player with many of the Nerazzurri attacks andopportunities created by the former Real Madrid midfielder who will be playing on a familiar ground at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. The Nerazzurri attacking duo of Diego Milito and Samuel Eto’o can score against the best of defenders and will be a major threat moving forward against Bayern’s defensive line. At the helm the Nerazzurri will look up to Jose Mourinho with the Portuguese coach considered one of the game’s best motivators and an expert at exploiting mental weaknesses in the opposing side. Mourinho will be doing his analysis of Bayern’s game in a very diligent manner in order to expose the  soft spots in the German side.

As for the Bavarians, they cannot be underestimated considering they have overcome Fiorentina and Manchester United in two heated ties in the knockout stages after dismantling fallen giants Juventus in the group stage. Bayern will rely on Robben in addition to the team’s strength as a unit and a group. The club’s main weakness is perhaps in goal with Hans-Jörg Butt considered as an inconsistent performer at this stage of his career. The 35-year-old had his best seasons while with Bayer Leverkusen but has now become a susceptible link in the Bayern team and it would not be a surprise if Mourinho urged his players, particularly the midfielders, to test the veteran goalkeeper whenever the opportunity surfaced. Butt did earn a contract extension once he took over the starring role in the team but that does not mean he has been a consistent performers. The goalkeeper who is renowned for scoring from penalty-kicks did impress in a number of games but he did whittle down when put to the test in certain games.

The performance of Bayern’s midfield along with Philipp Lahm who will have the tough task of containing Inter’s impressive full-back Douglas Maicon. The battle between Lahm and Maicon promises to be a decisive one and could sway the match in favour of one of the two sides. The one thing both clubs have in common is the fact they are both aiming for a historic treble. Inter have won the Coppa Italia and will be looking to add the Serie A title and the Champions League while Bayern have won the German Bundesliga and are aiming to add the DFB-Pokal as well as the Champions League.

If both clubs are able to win the domestic double then it will be interesting to see which team comes up on top in Madrid. There might be a major surprise a few days prior to the final considering Bayern Munich have appealed Ribery’s suspension to the European Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). It will be quite stunning if Bayern do succeed in their appeal as UEFA has rejected it forcing the Bavarians to seek the intervention of CAS. Regardless of whether Ribery plays, Inter will maintain a slight edge considering Mourinho’s motivational skills and the massive morale boost gained by the Nerazzurri players after eliminating Barca.

The BBC, goal.com, The Guardian and other news sources are reporting that five players have been charged over alleged match-fixing of last season’s Serie A fixtures between Atalanta and relegated Livorno.

Atalanta’s Gian Paolo Bellini and Livorno’s former captain David Balleri have been charged with match-fixing. Brothers Emanuele and Antonio Filippini and team-mate Alessandro Grandoni from Livorno have been charged for failing to inform authorities about the events.

We’ll follow this story and bring you more about it as it breaks. Neither of the clubs are involved in UEFA-sanctioned competitions.