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Serie A Reaction, Juventus - From Calciopoli to Creating History

Serie A Reaction, Juventus - From Calciopoli to Creating History

‘Siamo noi, siamo noi. I campioni dell’Italia, siamo noi.’ It’s a simple song that translates very easily, and a refrain that Juventus players and fans have been singing for six straight years now. An historical sixth Scudetto was clinched on Sunday in the Old Lady’s penultimate Serie A game of the season against Crotone. Max Allegri has now matched Antonio Conte in winning three straight Serie A titles, and in many ways, surpassed what the current Chelsea boss managed to achieve, albeit with an improved squad.

In addition to the Scudetti, the Bianconeri have also become Coppa Italia winners for three years running as well. From the club owners to the directors to the players and fans, nearly every single person in the Juventus machine has succeeded in the recent past. Looking back at Calciopoli and the completion of the stadium, and one can begin to see how this outstanding run of success had its beginnings.
 
After demotion to Serie B following the Calciopoli scandals the Old Lady had no choice but to grit their teeth and restructure the entire club. The days of Moggi poaching players from across the continent eventually expired, and a new format top to bottom was created. In came Andrea Agnelli, family heir for the club who eventually brought in Beppe Marotta from Sampdoria in the summer of 2010, and the ground work for Juve’s future was beginning to take shape. Work on revamping and updating the Stadio delle Alpi was already underway with the Bianconeri playing their home matches in the Stadio Olimpico of Turin. It always seemed like Juve’s return to the top would take quite a few years as they finished in seventh place two seasons running. 

 
Then arrived Antonio Conte, former Bianconeri midfielder and captain during the Marcello Lippi days in the summer of 2011. Conte’s arrival coincided with the completion of the J Stadium, at the time Italy’s only purely club owned venue. Marotta was also a linchpin behind the scenes, as his transfers for Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal, and Stephan Lichtsteiner all proved to be masterful strokes. In his first season as the Juve coach, Conte led his men to an extremely impressive unbeaten record and their first Scudetto since those won in the Calciopoli era that still remain in question for non-Juve supporters. But Antonio Conte would not stop there. For the next two seasons he would keep the Old Lady at the top of Serie A table, going on to win a second and third straight Scudetto.

 
But there was a piece of the puzzle that still remained unobtainable, even with Juve’s domestic success, and that was the Champions League trophy, a glory that many of the current players could only dream of. In a bizarre twist to the Conte domination that came with his appointment as the Old Lady’s coach, the former midfielder decided to step down just a month before the start of the 2014 season. Ex Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri took Conte’s place, much to the dismay of Juventus tifosi and he endured a difficult welcome to the Turin club. It would not take Allegri long to fit in and continue winning ways with the Bianconeri. In his first season with the club, he managed to win the league and take Juventus to the Champions League final.
 
Allegri’s bold decision to move away from Conte’s ever successful 3-5-2 in order to use all four of his world class midfielders in a 4-4-2 (which included Pirlo, Pogba, Marchisio, and Vidal) was one of the reasons for Juve’s continued success under the new coach. New signings helped as well, with incoming Morata and Evra giving the squad the depth and quality needed to remain in European contention for years to come.



Even as the Old Lady had begun to evolve away from the Conte days, the results still arrived, and  domination over Italy was taking form. Allegri gave the squad more of a European feel, with less rigidity and more playing freedom. Credit also goes to Marotta, who impressively brought in Khedira, Dybala, Alex Sandro, Dani Alves, Pjanic, and Higuain to replace some outgoing players while strengthening the squad in the meantime. 
 
In the end, this allowed the club to play slightly different styles while still achieving success. But there were more to Allegri than just Scudetti and European contention. Juve also impressively managed three Coppa Italia triumphs under the former Milan boss, most recently overcoming Lazio for this year’s prize. The return to the Champions League final this season will be another challenge for the club, as they attempt the triple glory. The match on June 3rd should be a spectacular event, this time Juve entering the match with more experience and a more well rounded team. One can only wait to see if in two weeks time, Juve supporters are changing the lyrics to their tune….’Siamo noi, siamo noi. I campioni d’Europa, siamo noi…’



David Baleno