The previous season had seen Roma win the scudetto ahead of Juventus and Lazio. The Giallorossi had dominated at the beginning but tired towards the end so Bianconeri and Biancocelesti gained ground. Not enough though to topple them.
In the transfer window of 2001 there were big changes. Juventus signed Pavel Nedved and Marcelo Salas from Lazio plus Gianluigi Buffon and Lillian Thuram from Parma. With these new players they were obviously the team to beat even if they had sold their star players Zinedine Zidane to Real Madrid for a world record fee of 150 billion lire (75 million Euros) and Pippo Inzaghi to Milan. Roma replied with Antonio Cassano from Bari, a young Italian talented player, and Christian Panucci from Monaco. The Milanese also went through some changes. New manager for Inter, Hector Cuper who had taken Valencia to two Champions League finals, plus goalkeeper Francesco Toldo (Fiorentina) and Sergio Conceicao (Parma). Milan, apart from Inzaghi, signed Rui Costa (Fiorentina) and Andrea Pirlo who last season had played for Brescia. The Rossoneri also had a new manager, Fatih Terim.
Lazio, having lost the backbone of their second scudetto, got hold of Jaap Stam from Manchester United and Gaizka Mendieta, star of Valencia, plus Stefano Fiore from Udinese. Of the seven sisters that had characterised Italian football in the late 90s only five were left since Parma and Fiorentina had sold their best players.
With the arrival of Chievo Verona in Serie A, there was going to be the Verona derby.
August-September
In early August Lazio and Parma had to face FC Copenhagen and Lille for the Champions League third qualifying round. The Biancocelesti, after having lost the first leg in Denmark 2-1, thrashed Copenhagen 4-1 at home and qualified. Parma lost at home 2-0 the first leg and were unable to overcome the French team in the second. They would now go on to play the UEFA Cup.
Roma won the Super Coppa beating Fiorentina 3-0 in August.
In Serie A, Lazio began terribly and after three games manager Dino Zoff was sacked, replaced by former Milan Alberto Zaccheroni. The change however could not avoid the Biancocelesti losing in Milan. Roma did not start too well either but they beat Juventus in Turin and moved up a bit towards the end of the month. Inter began better than the others and there was a surprise with Chievo who won four games out of five losing only to Juve.
In September three matches of the first group phase of the Champions League were played. Roma lost at home to Real Madrid, drew at Anderlecht and beat Lokomotiv Moscow at home. The Giallorossi were second behind Real. Lazio lost all their games and were almost out. Juventus beat Celtic, drew with Rosenborg and Porto and were second behind Celtic.
In the UEFA Cup, Inter, Parma, Milan and Fiorentina all went through to the second round eliminating Brasov, HJK, Bate Borisov and Dnipro.
In Coppa Italia there was the second round. Bologna, Messina, Perugia, Piacenza, Siena, Udinese, Como and Sampdoria qualified for the third in November in which the big teams would start to compete.
Inter 13, Chievo 12, Juventus 10, Milan 10, Bologna 9, Roma 8, Verona 8, Piacenza 7, Brescia 6, Fiorentina 6, Lecce 6, Parma 6, Perugia 5, Udinese 5, Atalanta 4, Lazio 4, Torino 2, Venezia 0
Â
October
In the three October games, Chievo went top, winning all three. Milan and Roma won their derbies and Juventus drew theirs despite being 3-0 up. The Bianconeri drew at home with Inter. Game 6 had been moved to December 19 following 9/11. The Champions League games of September 10 had all been postponed so there was the need to make room in the leagues to fit in the extra match.
The last three games of the Champions League first group phase saw Roma qualify for the next round thanks to a decisive win in Moscow and two draws against Real Madrid and Anderlecht. Lazio were eliminated despite beating PSV Eindhoven and Galatasaray. The final defeat at Nantes took them out of the European competitions for this year. Juventus qualified first after beating Rosenborg and Porto.
All four Italian teams qualified for the third round of the UEFA Cup. Fiorentina eliminated Tirol Innsbruck, Inter defeated Wisla Krakow, Parma beat Utrecht and Milan eliminated CSKA Sofia.
Chievo 19, Inter 15, Milan 15, Roma 15, Bologna 14, Juventus 13, Brescia 13, Verona 12, Fiorentina 9, Lecce 9, Perugia 9, Udinese 9, Piacenza 8, Parma 8, Lazio 8, Atalanta 7, Torino 6, Venezia 2
Â
November
Chievo lost their derby but still finished the month with a one-point lead over Inter. Lazio started to climb back up and beat Juventus. Roma and Inter drew. Behind, Venezia were already in dire straits. Milan sacked Terim after nine games and chose Carlo Ancelotti as new manager.
In the first game of the Champions League second group phase, Roma drew in Istanbul against Galatasaray with a goal in injury time and Juventus thrashed Bayer Leverkusen 4-0.
In the first leg of the third round of the UEFA Cup Parma drew at home with Broendby, Fiorentina lost in Florence against Lille, Inter lost at Ipswich and Milan beat Sporting Lisbon.
In the third round of the Coppa Italia, big surprise as Udinese eliminated Inter 4-3 on aggregate. The other qualifiers were Atalanta, Brescia, Lazio, Parma, Roma, Juventus and Milan.
Â
Chievo 23, Inter 22, Roma 20, Milan 19, Bologna 17, Juventus 17, Brescia 17, Lazio 17, Verona 16, Atalanta 14, Lecce 13, Torino 13, Udinese 12, Parma 11, Fiorentina 10, Perugia 10, Piacenza 9, Venezia 4
Â
December
The five December games saw Inter go top again followed by Roma. Chievo, who had one game in hand, lost to Milan and Roma but beat Inter away. Parma and Fiorentina were really struggling.
In the second game of the Champions League second group phase, Roma drew at home with Liverpool and Juventus lost in London to Arsenal.
The second leg of the UEFA Cup third round saw Inter, Milan and Parma qualify for the fourth round against Ipswich Town, Sporting Lisbon and Broendby but Fiorentina were eliminated by Lille.
Three Coppa Italia quarter-final first legs were played. Milan beat Lazio with a goal in injury time, Udinese and Parma drew and Roma surprisingly lost at home to Brescia. The other games would be played in January.
Â
Inter 34, Roma 33, Chievo 29*, Juventus 28, Milan 27, Bologna 24, Lazio 24*, Verona 22, Atalanta 21, Udinese 21, Perugia 19, Brescia 18, Piacenza 18, Lecce 17, Torino 17, Parma 14, Fiorentina 14, Venezia 10
 * one game in hand
January
The first games of 2002 saw Roma take the lead while Chievo started to lose ground even if they did beat Lazio. The Biancocelesti drew in Milan against Inter. Juventus started to climb up the ladder and were now third. Parma moved up while Fiorentina were still in difficulty.
In Coppa Italia, Parma, Brescia, who eliminated Roma 4-0 on aggregate, Milan and Juventus qualified for the semi-finals. In the first leg of the latter, Juventus won in Milan coming from behind and Parma beat Brescia.
Roma 43, Inter 42, Juventus 40, Chievo 36, Milan 32, Bologna 31, Lazio 28, Verona 28, Torino 26, Atalanta 25, Udinese 25, Perugia 25, Brescia 22, Piacenza 22, Parma 21, Lecce 19, Fiorentina 16, Venezia 11
Â
February
Inter caught Roma up, Juventus just one point behind. Lazio and Milan drew, as did the Giallorossi and Bianconeri. Juve also drew the derby. Bologna were doing very well and were now fourth. Behind Fiorentina and Venezia had a foot in Serie B.
Two games were played in the Champions League. Roma drew in Barcelona and beat the Iberians 3-0 in Roma. The table of Group B read Roma 6 points, Barcelona 5, Galatasaray 4, Liverpool 3. Juventus drew at home against Deportivo La Coruña and lost away. The table of Group D read Depor 7, Arsenal 7, Juve 4, Bayer Leverkusen 4.
In the fourth round of the UEFA Cup, Inter and Milan qualified for the quarter-finals beating AEK Athens and Roda JC (on penalties), Parma were eliminated by Hapoel Tel Aviv.
Juventus and Parma qualified for the finals of the Coppa Italia which would be played in April and May.
Roma 49, Inter 49, Juventus 48, Bologna 41, Chievo 39, Milan 38, Lazio 33, Verona 32, Torino 32, Parma 30, Perugia 30, Udinese 29, Atalanta 27, Piacenza 27, Brescia 25, Lecce 23, Fiorentina 17, Venezia 15
Â
March
Inter decisively took the lead and now had a three-point advantage over Roma and six over Juve. Roma crushed Lazio in the derby, Inter took revenge winning the Milan one. The Neroazzurri tied the match with Juventus but beat Roma. The Bianconeri were also held to a draw by Lazio who were now five points away from a UEFA Cup qualification.
In the Champions League both Roma and Juventus were out. The Giallorossi were unable to beat Galatasaray and in the final decisive game against Liverpool lost 2-0 who qualified together with Barcelona. Juventus lost in Germany and the home win against Arsenal was useful only for Bayer Leverkusen who qualified with Deportivo La Coruna.
In the UEFA Cup quarter finals Milan eliminated Hapoel Tel Aviv overcoming the first leg deficit and Inter beat Valencia winning in Spain after a home draw. They would meet Borussia Dortmund and Feyenoord in the semis.
Inter 62, Roma 59, Juventus 56, Bologna 48, Milan 47, Chievo 46, Lazio 41, Torino 39, Atalanta 37, Perugia 37, Verona 35, Udinese 34, Parma 34, Piacenza 33, Brescia 33, Lecce 27, Fiorentina 22, Venezia 16
Â
April-May
Everything happened in the last five games of the season. In early April Inter lost part of their lead by losing at home to Atalanta. Roma drew at Venezia (with two penalties in two minutes courtesy of Pierluigi Collina) so Juventus winning at Perugia reduced their deficit to just three points. All three won match 31 so no change at the top. Milan and Bologna lost, Lazio started to creep up. Behind Lecce, Fiorentina and Venezia were in Serie B, the battle for the last spot was seemingly between Brescia and Udinese.
In game 32, Roma and Inter drew with Chievo and Milan respectively, Juventus won. Inter had a one point lead over the Bianconeri and two more than the Giallorossi. Bologna lost again so now Lazio, who beat Venezia, were just one point away from a miraculous Champions League qualification.
Game 33 saw the top three win. Going into the final game, Inter were on 69 points, Juve 68 and Roma 67. All three could potentially win the scudetto. Final games of the season: Lazio-Inter, Torino-Roma and Udinese-Juventus.
For the other spot in Champions League and UEFA Cup, Lazio collapsed at Bologna, Chievo in Rome and Milan won in Verona. Milan and Bologna on 52 points, Chievo 51, Lazio 50.
Behind, Udinese got out of trouble, Brescia now in knee deep, two points behind Verona and Piacenza. Anything was still possible.
Final matches of the season. At the end of the first half, Inter went ahead twice but both times allowed Lazio to get back in the game. Juventus resolved the Udinese game in the first 11 minutes and Torino-Roma was still goalless. Juventus 71 points, Inter 70, Roma 68. Milan had practically won their game at home against Lecce, Bologna were drawing at Brescia as were Chievo against Atalanta. Milan 55 points, Bologna 53, Chievo 52, Lazio 51. Behind Verona were losing and Piacenza winning hence Brescia 38, Verona 39, Udinese 40, Piacenza 42.
Â
In the second half, Inter collapsed in Rome and lost 4-2, Roma managed to win in Turin. Juventus won the scudetto with the Giallorossi second and Inter third. A big defeat for the Nerazzurri. Bologna collapsed at Brescia and Verona lost at Piacenza. As a consequence, Milan got the fourth spot, Lazio qualified for the UEFA Cup with Chievo and Verona was relegated.
No UEFA Cup final for Inter and Milan. The Nerazzuri lost at home and drew away against Feyenoord, Milan collapsed in Dortmund in the first leg and were unable to overcome the deficit in the second.
Parma won the Coppa Italia. After having lost 2-1 in Turin, they beat the Bianconeri 1-0 and won thanks to the away goal. They would play the UEFA Cup next season.
Top scorers Dario Hubner (Piacenza) and David Trezeguet (Juventus). Bologna, Perugia and Torino qualified for the Intertoto Cup. Como, Modena, Reggina and Empoli promoted from Serie B.
Â
Juventus 71, Roma 70, Inter 69, Milan 55, Chievo 54, Lazio 53, Bologna 52, Perugia 46, Atalanta 45, Parma 44, Torino 43, Piacenza 42, Brescia 40, Udinese 40, Verona 39, Lecce 28, Fiorentina 22, Venezia 18
Â