If there were any doubts about how Jose Mourinho's departure would affect Inter Milan, many of them were answered in the Italian Super Cup.
Inter opened the season with a 3-1 win over rival AS Roma on Saturday and showed it will be just as difficult to beat in the Serie A season that begins this weekend.
''We've shown we still have the same desire as before,'' said 37-year-old captain Javier Zanetti, who recently extended his contract through to the 2012-2013 season. ''We want to continue creating history for Inter.''
Mourinho bid Inter goodbye moments after securing a historic treble last season with the Italian Cup, Serie A and Champions League titles - choosing a new challenge at Real Madrid.
''Mou is gone, but it's the players that go out onto the pitch and win,'' said playmaker Wesley Sneijder, who punctuated his spectacular season with Inter by leading the Netherlands to the World Cup final.
The new Inter manager is Rafa Benitez, the Spaniard who ended a six-year run at Liverpool to coach in Italy for the first time.
''Inter has been winning in succession for five years,'' Benitez said, deflecting a question about how he compares to Mourinho. ''It's the club and the players that make the difference.''
Inter is seeking to become the first club to win six successive Serie A titles.
Besides the loss of Mario Balotelli to Manchester City and the addition of new Brazil playmaker Coutinho, Inter is virtually unchanged from last season.
In the Super Cup, Benitez started the same 11 that Mourinho used in the win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League final in May.
One of the key differences was the play of forward Samuel Eto'o, who Benitez used in more of an attacking position than Mourinho did.
Eto'o declared that he wants to score 25-30 goals this season and he's off to a good start after scoring twice in the Super Cup to break a 1-1 deadlock and secure Inter its fourth trophy of the calendar year.
Last season, Diego Milito led Inter with 30 goals in all competitions - 22 in Serie A, six in the Champions League and two in the Italian Cup.
Right back Maicon remained with Inter despite conjecture that he would follow Mourinho to Madrid.
The 18-year-old Coutinho recently received his first call up to Brazil's national team and gives Inter hope for the future - even though he plays the same position as Sneijder.
''Coutinho is very young and full of talent,'' Sneijder said. ''His time will come.''
Inter sold the 20-year-old Balotelli to City for 24 million pounds ($37 million).
''It was upsetting to sell such a talent but I thought it needed to be done - most of all because this is what he wanted,'' Inter president Massimo Moratti said.
Benitez acknowledged that Balotelli wanted to play every game and indicated that wouldn't have been easy at Inter.
''We know he's a great player and we respect his decision,'' Benitez said. ''But we're still just as strong and competitive without him.''
