Inter Opens Serie A 2026/27 as Champion, With Lautaro Martinez as Captain and Chivu Signed Through 2028

The ball starts rolling again in Italy on August 22, and Inter sits in the chair everyone wants to take from them: the champion's seat. With Lautaro Martinez wearing the captain's armband and Cristian Chivu on the bench, the nerazzurri open the 2026/27 Serie A season defending the Scudetto, knowing full well that the chase this time around will be far tighter.

There's something particular about this start for Lautaro. The captain arrives fresh off a 2026 World Cup that ended with Argentina as runner-up, a final he couldn't even play in, but with his hunger to be the protagonist fully intact. Asked about what Chivu brought to the locker room after the Italian title, the forward himself summed it up this way:

Coach Chivu definitely brought new energy, the whole group grew stronger and worked incredibly hard.Lautaro Martinez

The numbers back up that idea of a team effort: Inter closed out the last Serie A campaign with 89 goals and as many as 17 different scorers. Lautaro was the top scorer with 17 goals, followed by Marcus Thuram with 13, while Hakan Calhanoglu chipped in nine and Federico Dimarco and Pio Esposito added seven apiece. Set pieces, meanwhile, proved to be an almost unstoppable weapon: 29 goals came from that avenue, 18 of them from corners.

Lautaro is now heading into his ninth season as a nerazzurro and has racked up 176 goals in an Inter shirt, a tally that places him among the club's all-time greats. After returning to training, he offered a line that captures his mindset well: "Happy to be back. I'm starting my ninth year with the same drive and the same ambition as always."

Chivu, with a renewed contract and hunger to repeat

The Romanian coach has already extended his deal through 2028, a clear sign of the club's trust after a first cycle that ended in the title. Now the challenge is different: proving that last season wasn't a one-off. Chivu didn't mince words about what's ahead: "The motivation is to find it again and add something more, because enthusiasm and ambition are never enough. We want to do it again, it was an important season, but we don't want to stop here." He added on the group: "I trust this group, we're hungry, we're ambitious."

The transfer market, however, forced some major changes. Denzel Dumfries departed (bound for Real Madrid), along with Stefan de Vrij, Francesco Acerbi, Matteo Darmian and Yann Sommer, a collective exit of experience and leadership that won't be easy to replace. In response, Inter brought in Manuel Akanji from Manchester City, goalkeeper Ivan Provedel and Aleksandar Stankovic, all officially presented in July.

Napoli, Juventus and Milan regroup to close the gap

The main challenger is once again Napoli, now with Massimiliano Allegri in charge and Kevin De Bruyne as the marquee name. The club also brought in Rasmus Hojlund from Manchester United, a heavyweight forward to bolster the attack.

Juventus, under Luciano Spalletti, went for Randal Kolo Muani (arriving from PSG in a permanent deal) and Kerim Alajbegovic, signed from Bayer Leverkusen. Spalletti himself called for patience with the newcomers after a preseason friendly against Inter: "They did well, but they need to reach a certain physical level."

Milan, for its part, is entering a new era with Ruben Amorim at the helm and reinforcements like Goncalo Ramos (signed through 2031 after leaving PSG) and defender Mario Gila, formerly of Lazio. Amorim sounded ambitious: "There will be obstacles, but we want to be ambitious," and on his new forward he added: "He's a top-level striker, his goal at the World Cup was extraordinary."

The season kicks off with Inter hosting Monza, and by matchday 3 a demanding test against Napoli already awaits. With the Scudetto still sitting at the Giuseppe Meazza, the champion knows the way; everyone else, it seems, is determined to close the distance.