Another Serie A and another title for Juventus. It sounds like a broken record, but it was not that long ago that the most supported club in Italy was in turmoil. Their 32nd Scudetto was confirmed on Monday after their nearest rival, Napoli, lost to Roma. Juve had already celebrated like they had won the title on Sunday in an away win over Fiorentina but it was confirmed on Monday.
This title was something extra special in the way it was won. Not only is it the 5th consecutive title for the Bianconeri, but it was a comeback. On the 28th of October Juventus sat 12th eleven points off the leaders, and with calls for Massimiliano Allegri’s head. The board was stoic though and Juve went on a run of twenty-four wins in twenty-five games. They have clinched the title with three games to spare. Gigi Buffon who has won seven Scudetto’s with Juventus (and two that have been stripped) said that because of the way it was done this was the best yet. “This is the best Scudetto ever because it has come from an incredible demonstration of strength. It’s a victory for a granite, cohesive group.”. Juventus have experienced a meteoric rise since 2006.
That year they were the most disciplined team of the Calciopoli. Relegated to Serie B, fined and deducted 30points for the following season made sure that Juventus couldn’t bounce straight back. They lost their best players, though thankfully the likes of Buffon and Del Piero stayed. Serie A has always had a reputation for controversy and the 2006 Calciopoli scandal was not the only one. The Totonero scandal of 1980 saw relegations for Lazio and Milan while Giuseppe Signori was involved in match fixing in 2012. While Italy is the home of Casinos, gambling should never cross over to the professional game and Serie A have payed dearly for it. The money left the league in the noughties, leaving Italian clubs unable to collect the stars they used to be able to.
Juventus have been rising out of the ashes and their appearance at the Champions League final last year re-announced, not only them, but Italian football back on to the global stage. World stars such as Paul Pogba and Paulo Dybala have been able to flourish there without being poached (yet). Allegri was linked with Chelsea this year, but it seems a new contract is in order after his two successful campaigns on the Scudetto. He said after winning “Everybody thought we had no chance after our bad start, when many thought the club should have sacked me. We did very well to react after that poor start, winning 24 games out of 25 is almost impossible, but we did it.” The Serie A has been plagued with corruption and ridicule over the last ten years and Juventus have been at the forefront of everything. How fitting then, that it is Juventus who is dragging Italian football back!
The Sport Space 