Fabio Capello maintains “it’s a three-horse race for the Scudetto” between Juventus, Inter and Lazio, but Arturo Vidal could tip the balance.
It’s tight at the top of the Serie A table, as Inter and Juve are locked together on 42 points, followed by Lazio on 36 (and a game in hand).
“Juve remain Juve, but they also have the Champions League in their minds and that is a distraction,” Capello told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Fabio Capello maintains “it’s a three-horse race for the Scudetto” between Juventus, Inter and Lazio, but Arturo Vidal could tip the balance.
It’s tight at the top of the Serie A table, as Inter and Juve are locked together on 42 points, followed by Lazio on 36 (and a game in hand).
“Juve remain Juve, but they also have the Champions League in their minds and that is a distraction,” Capello told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“Inter can focus entirely on Serie A, because after dropping down from the Champions League to the Europa League, they can put all their attention on domestic matters. If they get Vidal, then Inter really can do it.”
There are reports the Nerazzurri will pay €20m to get Vidal from Barcelona in the January transfer window, reuniting with his former Juventus coach Antonio Conte.
“That would be a great coup, as it’s rare to get quality players in January. Vidal has experience, an eye for goal and Conte already knows him very well.
“With Vidal, Inter can genuinely target the Scudetto, even though it’d still only make the odds 50-50.”
Having said that, Capello won’t rule Lazio out either, especially as they’ve beaten Juventus twice already this season in Serie A and the Supercoppa Italiana.
“Lazio need to convince themselves that they can do it. In theory, they have the potential to go for the Scudetto, with a group of great players, a very talented coach like Simone Inzaghi and an excellent director of sport in Igli Tare who rarely gets his moves wrong.
“President Claudio Lotito should have his achievements recognised, because Lazio won more trophies than anyone except Juventus in the last decade.”
Milan are much further back and have brought in Zlatan Ibrahimovic to climb the table towards European places.
“Ibrahimovic is positive for two reasons, as he can still offer a great deal as a player, but also brings a strong character to the squad. It’s unfair to say MLS is weak, because it might not be at the same level as top European tournaments, but you still have to run and fight there.
“Ibra will need a couple of games to settle in, but then he can become decisive. The current Milan squad really lacks character and Zlatan can shake them up. It’s a start, but the Rossoneri still need reinforcements in defence.”