MILAN, Italy (AP) - Inter Milan fans squirm at the mere mention of May 5, 2002, the date of the club's biggest collapse in recent memory.
They're hoping May 18, 2008, won't be remembered the same way.
That is when Inter will have its third and final chance to wrap up this year's Serie A title - which seemed to already be in the bag months ago. But its 11-point lead from February has now shrunk to a one-point advantage, and Inter must beat relegation-threatened Parma on Sunday to secure its third straight league title - or hope that AS Roma fails to win at Catania.
It could have been crowned champions two weeks ago, but lost 2-1 to rival AC Milan and then only managed a 2-2 draw at home against Siena last Sunday after Marco Materazzi missed a 78-the minute penalty.
Going into the last game of the season, Inter has 82 points and Roma 81. If both teams end up with 82, Inter would win the championship because of a better head-to-head record.
Inter was undefeated in Serie A up until three months ago, and seemed to be cruising toward the title until its first loss to Napoli was followed by a string of injuries.
Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been out since the end of March with a knee injury, and played for at least a month before that at less than full strength. Ibrahimovic is likely to be available against Parma, although his physical form after the six-week absence is uncertain.
While this would be Niter's third title in a row, many Serie A observers see this one as necessary to validate the other two.
Inter won the league in 2006 after officials stripped it from Juventus for the team's role in a match-fixing scandal. Officials also docked second-place Milan 15 points, giving the title to third-place Inter. It won the following year when Juventus played in Serie B as punishment and Milan started the Serie A season with an eight-point penalty in the standings.
Before 2006, Inter had not won the league since 1989, despite coming close several times - including in 2002. On that May 5, Inter led the league by one point going into the last game of the season and lost to Lazio while Juventus and Roma both won, pushing the Nerazzurri down to third place.
Inter plays a Parma that must win and hope Catania loses to Roma in order to avoid relegation.
Parma and Inter are the only two teams to never have been relegated from Serie A. Parma earned promotion to the highest division 18 years ago for the first time and has remained there ever since.
Parma president Tommaso Ghirardi on Monday fired coach Hector Cuper, who had been brought on two months ago to save the team from relegation, replacing him with Andrea Manzo who was coaching Parma's youth squad.
"I tried to give a final jolt to the team," Ghirardi said. "If Parma is relegated I will face extraordinary damage to my finances and image. It's only normal that I do everything possible to avoid that happening."
Inter will be without midfielder Esteban Cambiasso, who hurt his ankle in last week's loss to Siena, but midfielder Dejan Stankovic is available after being out since the end of April.
The Roma-Catania game will be a rematch of the recent Italian Cup semifinals, where Roma advanced 2-1 on aggregate to set up the final against Inter.
The last spot in next year's Champions League is also at stake Sunday, with Fiorentina entering the last game with a two point advantage over AC Milan. To snatch fourth place and the coveted spot in the tournament, Milan must beat Udinese at home and Fiorentina has to lose on the road against Torino.
On Saturday, Sampdoria faces Juventus, which is already assured of finishing in third place.
http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/8117528/Inter,-Roma-chase-title-in-final-round-of-season#Come on Roma and Come on Parma