Roma ready for defence
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Your support makes all the difference.Roma start their first title defence for 18 years at last season's bottom club, Verona, as Sunday's opening to the Serie A season sees leading clubs taking on the division's lesser mortals after a short summer break.
Fabio Capello's squad has looked sharp in pre-season outings, beating the Italian Cup holders, Fiorentina, 3-0 last week to win the Italian Super Cup. In their final warm-up match on Wednesday at Palermo, Roma showed off their most intriguing new acquisition, the 19-year-old Antonio Cassano, who scored one goal and set up another.
After securing the title, Roma's coach could feel a different kind of pressure this time as he marshals a powerful squad. "Capello has an even stronger team to work with," the Roma owner, Franco Sensi, said. "No, to be more precise, he has two great squads."
After a season of racist episodes, Roma's visit to Verona, which has become notorious for a small nucleus of bigots, may offer an indication of whether the issue will again plague the league. Verona will feature a black player of their own for the first time in years, having signed the Colombian forward Johnnier Montano from Parma.
Juventus, the team picked by many pundits to succeed Roma as champions, entertain Venezia, who bounced straight back from Serie B a season after relegation.
Marcello Lippi, who steered Juve to three titles in the 1990s before an unsuccessful spell at Internazionale, is back as coach to a side that now contains the Chilean Marcelo Salas.
Milan, now coached by Fatih Terim and boasting Portugal's Rui Costa in midfield, travel to face Brescia, who failed on Tuesday to reach the Uefa Cup via the Intertoto Cup. Their coach, Carlo Mazzone, resigned in the wake of that failure but may yet be persuaded to return.
Lazio, complete with their new Argentinian striker Hernan Crespo, start at home against Piacenza, while Internazionale, with or without Ronaldo, face Perugia.
One Serie A coach has departed before a ball has been kicked in the league. Brescia's Carlo Mazzone resigned yesterday, expressing anger at fans' protests and the lack of investment by club officials.
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