Capello's hand evident in Juve's 28th scudetto

On Friday, we witnessed the conclusion to a great struggle at the San Siro, a battle between outgoing champions Milan and Juventus that went right up to the penultimate day of the campaign.

After Milan's 3-3 home draw with Palermo, Juve, without kicking a ball that same day, were crowned champions for the 28th time.

Juve had gone head-to-head in a thrilling clash with Milan that, at times, scaled heights of skill, commitment and endurance.

Juve were off to a flying start as they took in a leading role in the standings from the word go. But as the competition intensified, Fabio Capello's side started feeling the pinch and dropped precious points. Milan profited from Juve's slip-ups and got back in the hunt to retain their title.

Eventually, Juventus and Milan shared top spot for several weeks but the Bianconeri then won the direct encounter in Milan and that was that.

Titles are won over a year. Juventus deserved their success because they were more consistent and never gave up. They kept hanging on for a whole season of hard work.

Juventus had a poor 2003/04 when they lost the title to Milan. They had finished empty-handed. Some say they did not deserve that, but this time they got their act together and rediscovered their work ethic.

Victory was particularly sweet for shrewd Capello. He proved to be a worthy successor of Italy coach Marcello Lippi, who steered Juventus to league victories in 1995, 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2003.

With Juventus, Capello managed to beat his former club Milan who he had led to four title crowns between 1992 and 1996. Juventus thus became Capello's fourth title-winning side after Milan, Real Madrid and Roma.

The close season arrivals of Jonathan Zebina, Fabio Cannavaro, Emerson and Zlatan Ibrahimovic bolstered Capello's squad in all departments. However, Juventus were said to have a big disadvantage with respect to Milan in that they did not possess as much strength in depth as the San Siro outfit.

Here, one can openly criticise Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti for not adopting an ideal rotation policy.

The fact that Ancelotti kept playing with the same formation game after game did not pay off as key players like Clarence Seedorf and Andrea Pirlo, just to cite two, were found wanting in games that counted most.

Crucial match

In the end, Juventus, despite a 'restricted' squad, defied all odds and profited from Milan's prolonged involvement in the Champions League by hitting top form in the most crucial match of the campaign - the clash at the San Siro a few weeks ago.

Juventus are also to be admired for letting the notable absences of David Trezeguet and Pavel Nedved, through injury, pass unnoticed during the course of the season.

Juve's title success this season came in different fashion from the ones of Milan and Roma. Capello was at the helm of Milan at a time when they exerted complete dominance in Italy and Europe. The team practically made sure of the scudetto with weeks to spare and this permitted them to concentrate on their European Cup commitments.

Milan's title victories and presence in the Champions League finals in 1992/93 and 1993/94 amply testify my point.

Roma, like Milan, peaked very early in 2000/01 and this enabled them to build an assuring lead over their nearest pursuers.

In the final two months or so, they experienced a dip in form and results but they still retained their grip at the top of the Serie A standings.

I compare Juve's title success this season with the one of Real Madrid in 1996/97.

Barcelona, then under the charge of Bobby Robson, were considered the top team in La Liga particularly because they had Ronaldo and a resourceful squad.

That season, Barcelona went all the way to winning all the competitions they participated in, including the Cup Winners' Cup but were halted by Real Madrid in the domestic league.

Like Juventus this year, Real did not possess exceptional substitutes but at the helm they had a man by the name of Fabio Capello... a coach who wins wherever he goes.

Serie A statistics...

1 team was relegated following the weekend fixtures. Atalanta needed to win Sunday's match to keep alive their already faint hopes. But they had to bow out to Roma after a balanced encounter in which they created the best scoring chances. Coppa Italia finalists Roma opted to play a prudent game and from an early second-half break, Antonio Cassano hit home to put a definite end to his team's relegation worries. Roma's first away success since January 23 (vs Fiorentina 2-1) coincided with Atalanta's first home setback since going down to Milan (1-2) on March 5. Brescia made a bold step towards safety by beating Messina at home for the first time since March 1, 1992 (1-0). For the record, Messina's most recent of two wins in 22 league visits to Brescia dates back to September 25, 1955 (3-1).

5 points were collected by struggling Bologna out of the last available 30. On Sunday, in a vital clash with Chievo, Carlo Mazzone's side defended in their own half and failed to create any scoring chances. Chievo, under the guide of stop-gap coach Maurizio D'Angelo, went all out in search of points and were rewarded for their efforts thanks to a Davide Mandelli goal nine minutes from time. This result confirmed Bologna's poor record in Verona, where they have never prevailed in six league visits. Sunday's defeat left Bologna only one point above the drop zone and with no option other than to beat Sampdoria at home on the final day to avoid relegation. Chievo play Roma at the Olympic Stadium. Fiorentina slid closer to Serie B as they could not go beyond a 1-1 draw with Lazio. This was Fiorentina's first draw in the capital since their 2-2 draw on September 13, 1992. Fiorentina always enjoyed an edge over their opponents but failed to take the chances that came their way. So intrigued is Fiorentina's situation that a home win over Brescia on the final day could still be insufficient for them to extend their stay in Serie A.

8 years had to pass for Inter to conquer Sampdoria's Luigi Ferraris stadium again as they recorded a fourth straight league win thanks to an Adriano first-half goal. Sampdoria, vying to join Juventus, Milan and Inter in the Champions League, had no other option but to win. If there was a team that deserved to clinch the points than it was Sampdoria. Eventually, Coppa Italia finalists Inter hit the all-important goal in an isolated attack, concluded by Adriano. For Sampdoria, whose most recent home success over Inter dates back to March 21, 1999 (4-0), this was their first defeat after a seven-match positive run and also their first home setback since going down to Atalanta (1-2) on March 20. Udinese profited from Sampdoria's slip-up as they held on to a precious 1-1 draw at Cagliari. This was the first drawn result between these two sides since 1993. Following the weekend's fixtures, Udinese are now one point above Sampdoria and the likelihood is that they will finish fourth. They have a less arduous game on Sunday as they face Milan at home whereas Sampdoria travel to relegation-threatened Bologna.

24 goals - equally shared between hosts and visitors - were scored on the 37th day. Foreigners' contribution consisted of only nine goals. Total number of goals hit so far amount to 932. Milan's Alessandro Costacurta committed the only own goal of the day... in favour of Palermo. Cristiano Lucarelli scored one of Livorno's two goals against Juventus to take the lead in the scorers' list with 23 goals. The former Torino hit-man is closely followed by Parma's Alberto Gilardino. Two players - Serginho (Milan) and Mirko Vucinic (Lecce) - grabbed a brace each to help their respective sides share the spoils with Palermo and Reggina respectively. There were no dismissals whereas Palermo striker Luca Toni ably converted the only penalty of the weekend.

28th league title for Juventus, who were mathematically crowned champions on Friday following Milan's 3-3 home draw with Palermo. Messina's defeat at Brescia on Sunday meant that Francesco Guidolin's Palermo will be one of Italy's three representatives in the UEFA Cup. Juventus celebrated their championship crown with their first draw in Livorno since April 25, 1948 (0-0). The point helped the home side to make sure of staying up in Serie A for another season. As expected, Reggina and Lecce moved a step closer to salvation following a 2-2 draw in Reggio Calabria. This was the first drawn result between these two sides in over 30 years. In a vital basement clash at the Tardini Stadium, Parma and Siena shared the spoils in the only goalless draw of the day. Although Siena have now gone down to third-from-bottom, they still stand a good chance of escaping the drop as on Sunday they cross swords with already-doomed Atalanta at home. On the final day, Parma travel to Lecce, needing a win to stay up. Parma's most recent home success over Siena dates back to January 1, 1978 (2-1 in Serie C) whereas Siena still have to register their first success in their visits to Parma.