Pierluigi Collina checks the pitch during last season's chaotic climax (ClaudioVilla/Allsport)

And now - on the last day of September - the top flight of Italian football finally rouses itself from its summer slumber.

There may be some red faces within the Lega Calcio over the decision to delay Serie A's kick-off until after the Sydney Games, particularly Italy's quarter-final exit - and regardless of two World Cup qualifiers which will interrupt the league schedule as soon as it has begun.

But, having witnessed three weeks of goal-frenzied action largely bereft of defending in the opening phase of the Champions League, it comes as something of a relief that the masters of the art should return.

In reaching the European Championship final three months ago (against all predictions), Dino Zoff's national team displayed a technical know-how and tactical nouse that we could only expect from an Italian side. Stifling stuff, some might say - typically Azzurri.

But a glance back to the climax of LAZIO's Serie A title triumph last season should dispel the myth that Calcio Italiano is without the drama and excitement always associated with the English game.

Few will forget the almost farcical sight of a brolly-wielding referee Pierluigi Collina testing Perugia's waterlogged turf for playability as Juve's hopes of landing yet another title sank on the final Sunday.

Awaiting Collina's decision, Sven Goran Erikkson's men stood restless in the Olympic Stadium to see if their romp over Reggina could resume. Eventually a 3-0 victory in Rome coupled with Juve's sodden failure gave the Biancoazzurri Europe's most prestigious domestic title.

Last Season	P	Pts
Lazio	34	72
Juventus	34	71
AC Milan	34	61
Inter	34	58
Parma	34	58
Roma	34	54
Fiorentina	34	51
Udinese	34	50
Verona	34	43
Perugia	34	42
Reggina	34	40
Bologna	34	40
Lecce	34	40
Bari	34	39
Torino (Rel)	34	36
Venezia (Rel)	34	26
Cagliari (Rel)	34	22
Piacenza (Rel)	34	21

That few of the cognoscenti disagree it will be the same two clubs contesting this season's crown again says something for the power shift going on in the Italian game.

Where recently Juve and AC Milan have been dominant, Sergio Cragnotti's millions have allowed Lazio to shake up the old order. The club president's personal business fortune - amassed from a variety of sources including tinned food, ketchup and banking - is slowly realising his ambition to be the grande formaggio of Serie A.

While his great rival at Milan, Silvio Berlusconi, was unable to deliver on the promised signature of David Beckham during the summer, Cragnotti was busy forking out a cool £70million on new signings (and securing the return of Zoff as vice-president to boot).

In July, Aregentina's Hernan Crespo woke up to the news that he was the world's most expensive player - albeit briefly. Twenty-two goals last term earned him a £35million switch from Parma.

Meanwhile, Valencia's Claudio Lopez, one of the key figures in Lazio's Champions League quarter-final downfall, was snapped up for £17m. With strikers like Marcelo Salas, Simone Inzaghi and Fabrizio Ravanelli still at coach Eriksson's disposal, failure to sustain another title challenge is unthinkable.

Sinisa Mihajlovic's recent performances have been causing some alarm at the back, but Alessandro Nesta remains solid and, despite the 2-0 defeat to Arsenal, goalkeeper Luca Marchegiani proved his worth at Highbury - and he is only back-up to Angelo Peruzzi.

JUVENTUS, one of Peruzzi's former clubs, have kept a comparatively low profile in the transfer market and will continue to rely largely on the team that blew a nine-point lead last time round.

Questions remain over the abilities of coach Carlo Ancelotti, who will be anxious that striker Alessandro del Piero has forgiven himself for his profligacy in the Euro 2000 final and makes a long-awaited return to form for his club.

	Cragnotti: Top dog after last year's double (GraziaNeri/Allsport)

Similarly, Zinedine Zidane will hope to avoid the slump in form and fitness that followed his previous major international triumph - the 1998 World Cup.

Fabian O'Neill's arrival from relegated Cagliari may ease the midfield burden on 'Zizou' and Edgar Davids, while David Trezeguet will spice up the competition for forward spots among Del Piero, Filippo Inzaghi and Darko Kovacevic. An unbeaten first three weeks in the Champions League has done no harm.

After the debacle of missing out on even qualifying for the UEFA Cup from the Champions League last autumn, MILAN have also been boosted by early European success with a classy win over Barcelona at the Nou Camp.

For the coming campaign, last year's top-scorer Andrei Schevchenko will continue to terrorise Serie A defences but this time with the assistance of Gianni Comandini as well as Oliver Bierhoff.

But, if Bierhoff is getting on a bit then senior defenders Alessandro Costacurto and Paolo Maldini may not still have the powers to protect coach Alberto Zaccheroni from the Berlusconi guillotine...

Another great name on the wrong side of thirty - Gabriel Batistua - will be sorely missed by FIORENTINA, a club in nothing short of crisis after a humiliating UEFA Cup exit courtesy of Tirol Innsbruck.

Fatih Terim - the dapper coach who brought Galatasray and Turkish football their first European trophy last season - already has a job on his hands with a discontented playmaker in Rui Costa, an unproven Bati-sub in Nuno Gomes and a troubled president in Cecchi Gori, who needed a police escort as seething fans made their opinions known after the Tirol disaster.

Meanwhile, £20m 31-year-old Batistuta is struggling with a knee injury at his new club, ROMA, along with their other big-name signing from Bayer Leverkusen, £25m Brazilian midfielder Emerson, who is out until next year.

Coach Fabio Capello will do well to meet the demands of fans who have watched their local and traditionally smaller rivals Lazio reach the heights.

Elsewhere, PARMA must hope that - Aston Villa fans laugh now - Savo Milosevic can fill Hernan Crespo's boots, while ex-Bordeaux midfielder Johan Micoud can do the creative job that Ariel Ortega failed in before being farmed out to River Plate.

	Del Piero: Devastated after defeat in Rotterdam (GrahamChadwick/Allsport)

However, Lazio old boys Sergio Conceicao and Matias Almeyda - part-exchanged in the Crespo deal - will strengthen Alberto Malesani's midfield.

INTER MILAN - the last of the big seven traditonally fighting for honours - just carry on underachieving, despite Massimo Moratti's massive cash outlays. With Ronaldo and Christian Vieri still sidelined, the Neroazzurri couldn't get through a Champions League play-off with Helsingborgs, and coach Marcello Lippi should now look to new boys Hakan Sukur and Robbie Keane to help spring a revival.

Outside the leading lights, fans can enjoy some intriguing distractions - notably involving Stefano Fiore, scorer of the goal of the tournament at Euro 2000, who remains at Udinese. Roberto Baggio has been signed by promoted Brescia, while striker Nicola Ventola has arrived at yo-yo boys Atalanta.