An Arturo Vidal goal from a penalty on Sunday saw Juventus overcoming relegation-threatened Palermo for the 17th time in 24 matches in Turin to secure the Bianconeri’s 29th league title.
Victory meant Juve had stretched their positive run to 10 games. Their 14th victory at the Juventus Stadium this season – their sixth home success in a row – coincided with Palermo’s first upset after a five-match positive run.
Although Juve were far from their best on Sunday, they were still good enough to condemn the Sicilians to their 15th defeat of the term and maintain an 11-point lead over second-placed Napoli with only three matches to go.
Juventus dominated the 2012/13 Serie A and their title success was never really put in jeopardy. Notwithstanding their defiant dominance, the Bianconeri still experienced some lows this season as their four defeats – against Inter (1-3), Milan (0-1), Sampdoria (1-2) and Roma (0-1) – testify.
However, Juventus should be admired for the way they handled their campaign. It is usually more complicated remaining on top rather than striving to be there.
For sure, it was not easy for Juve to play an entire season with the pressure of having to win at all costs. Moreover, Conte’s men always staged a positive reaction following a setback and this denotes their resilience and the winning mentality the coach has fostered in his players.
This season’s scudetto contrasts with the one of last year.
To start with, in 2012 Juventus claimed their first league title in nine years undefeated. Their success was somehow unexpected as Milan were widely considered as the best Serie A side in circulation at the time.
This season, it was a completely different story, as Juventus topped the Serie A table from the word go. This time they were also involved in the Champions League but a resourceful squad ensured that their participation in Europe left no negative effects on their domestic challenge.
Milan were never in the title race, Inter faded after a promising start while Lazio and Roma were far too inconsistent to be truly considered genuine title contenders.
For most of the season, Napoli were Juve’s main challengers in the Serie A. However, the southerners faltered and failed almost miserably in handling key matches.
Therefore, one tends to totally agree with Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri’s declaration on Sunday, at the end of a laboured 1-0 win over strugglers Torino, that Juventus had virtually no competition this year.
Juventus will have to keep looking ahead though.
It would be a mistake for the club chiefs to limit their ambitions to Serie A titles, particularly when the opposition is more or less below par. If the Bianconeri want to iprove, progress in the Champions League should be a more suitable yardstick.
The way the ‘Old Lady’ was outplayed by Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals a few weeks ago is still too fresh in the memory to erase.
The 4-0 upset on aggregate to the Bundesliga leaders brought to surface Juve’s frailties and exposed in no small way the huge gulf in quality that exist between the Serie A champions and the elite clubs in Europe.
Juventus definitely need an out-and-out striker, someone good enough to hit 20 goals per season.
Earlier this year, they had announced that Spanish striker Fernando Llorente would join the club this summer.
Reports last week said Juve could also go for their former striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. However, many reckon that approach would constitute a huge error in their transfer-dealing strategy.
Ibrahimovic may not rank among the most popular names at the Juventus Stadium. In fact, he was among the first to quit the club in the wake of the 2006 scandal and the Swede rubbed further salt into the wound by joining fierce rivals Inter.
The towering Swede may score vital goals in domestic competitions but he is far off a team player and over the years fared pretty badly in Champions League football.
More importantly, perhaps, Juventus need to find a long-term replacement for Andrea Pirlo, 34 on May 19.
Perhaps, Marco Verratti, of Paris SG, could be an option.
With three to four quality signings, Juventus will be good enough to maintain their dominance in Italy next season and also in a good position to start harbouring serious European aspirations.