At this time last year, Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester City had just started building the foundations of what turned out to be a memorable campaign, culminating in the first ever English Premier League title in the club’s 132-year history.
Many (neutral) supporters crave a repeat of Leicester’s fairytale story.
After retaining their top-flight status in the closing weeks of the previous season, Leicester overcame more-quoted clubs en route to dethroning Chelsea as they claimed the biggest prize in English football.
One wonders if the 2016/17 Italian Serie A can produce its own version of Leicester’s title success.
Imagine a club like Palermo, who avoided relegation on the last day of the season, being crowned champions come May next year at the expense of Juventus, Napoli, Roma and the rest, despite their limited budget.
A look at past scudetto winners shows that Juventus (32 times), Milan (18) and Inter (18) are by far the most successful Italian clubs.
Genoa, the oldest club in Italy, have triumphed nine times but their last title dates back to 1923/24.
Torino, Bologna and Pro Vercelli have won the scudetto seven times each.
The Maroons’ last success goes back to season 1975/76.
Bologna have not won Italy’s top football prize since 1963/64 whereas Pro Vercelli’s last title came in season 1921/22.
Roma have won three Serie A titles, the most recent in 2000/01 when Fabio Capello was in charge.
Lazio, Roma’s city neighbours, have two titles to their name – in 1973/74 and 1999/2000.
Similarly, Fiorentina have won the scudetto twice – in 1955/56 and 1968/69. Sampdoria, then under the late Vujadin Boskov, lifted the 1990/91 scudetto.
Verona (1984/85), Cagliari (1969/70), Novese (1921/22) and Casale (1913/14) are the other past Italian champions.
Since 1989/90, Juventus (10 times), Milan (seven) and Inter (five) have prevailed in 22 out of 27 seasons. The only exceptions were Napoli (1989/90), Sampdoria (1990/91), Lazio (1999/2000) and Roma (2000/01).
For the record, the 2004/05 scudetto was not awarded.
This season, Juventus are eyeing an unprecedented sixth successive title to confirm their dominance in Italy.
History apart, the gulf between Juventus and the rest is there for all to see.
The Old Lady can bank on much higher revenue streams from gate money, Champions League participation and a bigger share of TV rights.
Juve are one of only three Serie A clubs (the others being Sassuolo and Udinese) to own their stadium.
Next to their 42,000-seater Juventus Stadium, the Serie A champions are currently busy diversifying their asset portfolio by constructing the J Village which includes a hotel, training grounds, club headquarters and a recreational area.
In other words, thanks to their forward thinking, Juventus are miles ahead of Napoli, Roma and the rest.
In the transfer market, Juventus are shrewder than before.
By selling Paul Pogba for a world record fee of €105 million back to Manchester United – the same club that only received a small compensation fee when the Frenchman left them for Juventus in 2012 – shows the Bianconeri’s negotiating ability in the transfer market.
Shrewd business
The sale of Pogba was instrumental for Juventus to finance the purchase of a number of players this summer, including their €90m capture, Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain from Napoli, and midfielder Miralem Pjanic, from Roma.
These two signings can help Juventus bridge the gap with Europe’s elite clubs like Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
Also, since Higuain and Pjanic were arguably the best players at Napoli and Roma, there is a general feeling that Juventus have further weakened their direct challengers for the title.
Keeping all these factors in mind, it’s very difficult for any Serie A side, let alone a modest, unfancied outfit like Leicester were last season in the English Premier League, to end Juventus’s dominance in the Serie A.
There are few doubts that Juventus are in a class of their own in Italy.
They have everything – quality players, strength-in-depth and a winning mentality.
But if Juve fail to produce a creditable challenge for their first Champions League success since 1996, their domestic dominance will almost become meaningless.