Inter beat us to Adriano because they actually owned him before he went to Parma, who were co-owners. The Nerazzurri already possessed a half of Adriano so they only needed to purchase Parma's half, whereas we would have had to buy Parma's AND Inter's.
Anyways, Adriano is imo, along with Shevchenko, the best striker in Serie A. It's hard to say who's better, but Adri is stronger, a better header of the ball, and has a more powerful shot. Is he the best striker in the world? No, I wouldn't go that far just yet, but he definitely is ONE of the best. Only Ronaldo, Henry, RVN and Sheva are up there with him.