The 2014/15 season saw Juventus become the first Italian club to claim to the domestic double for a third time, while the Champions League final and a possible treble still awaits in Berlin.
After the shock departure of coach Antonio Conte by mutual consent just two days into pre-season training, a fourth consecutive Scudetto did not seem so certain when Massimiliano Allegri was swiftly appointed as his successor.
Supporters of the most decorated club in Italian domestic football have come to expect continuous success and only further accolades and trophies would help the Tuscan tactician win over those that were initially angered by his arrival.
Closely adhering to the advice from the iconic Giampiero Boniperti that “for Juve, winning is not important; it’s the only thing that really matters,” Allegri surpassed expectations guiding the Old Lady to a domestic double and first Champions League final since 2003.
Unbeaten at home for second consecutive Serie A campaign, a feat that they had not achieved since 1973-1975, Juventus won the league with four rounds remaining and were 17 points ahead of closest challengers Roma.
The Bianconeri may have finished with 15 points less in Serie A than their all-time record of 102 set last season and lost the Supercoppa Italiana on penalties to Napoli in a rescheduled match held in Doha during December.
But they claimed their tenth Coppa Italia, or La Decima as Tuttosport called it, to complete a first domestic double since 1995 with a 2-1 extra-time victory against Lazio after beating Hellas Verona, Parma and Fiorentina on their way to the final.
Thirty years since the passing of 39 innocent Juventus supporters in the Heysel Stadium disaster, destiny has been consistently used to describe their route to another European final.
Keeping five clean sheets on a nine-game unbeaten run in the Champions League, Juve sealed their passage to Berlin with knockout wins against former adversaries Borussia Dortmund, Monaco and Real Madrid.
Seamlessly switching between a 3-5-2 and 4-3-1-2 since the crucial 3–2 win against Olympiacos in the group stage, Allegri will now look to mastermind an upset against Barcelona at the Olympiastadion on June 6.
Player of the Season
From Omar Sivori and Michel Platini to Roberto Baggio and Alessandro Del Piero, Carlos Tevez is the latest in a long line of individuals to star as both a goal-scorer and leader in the iconic Bianconeri No 10 shirt.
Producing the self-confessed best form of his career this season, the 31-year-old scored 29 times in all competitions and managed more goals in the Champions League this season as he had in his previous five campaigns combined.
In addition to his decisiveness in front of goal, Tevez also set the tone for his teammates with his work rate leaving La Gazzetta dello Sport to conclude he must possess “seven lungs” after the Coppa Italia final.
With his contract set to expire at the end of next season, Juventus are believed to have offered the Argentine a blank cheque as speculation about his homesickness and a return to Boca Juniors continues.
Goal of the Season
After receiving his first call-up to the Argentina national team in three-years, Tevez celebrated by scoring his own version of Diego Maradona’s second goal against England in the 1986 World Cup during the 7-0 demolition of Parma in November.
Picking up possession inside his own half, the forward dribbled past three defenders and finished into the bottom-right corner to a standing ovation at the Juventus Stadium.
“I knew that I just had to free myself from my marker,” Tevez told Sky Sport Italia after the match.
“Then I just had to win another one-on-one and shift the ball to the right.
“I knew which way to send it past the goalkeeper because I was coming so fast at him that he had no chance of diving. It was all planned.”
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9w8FhfIbew4[/youtube]
Best and Worst Signings
The biggest signing of the Andrea Agnelli and Beppe Marotta era at the club after arriving for €20 million from Real Madrid, Alvaro Morata may have made an inauspicious start after picking up a knee injury on his first day of training.
However, the Old Lady has since fallen innaMORATA ‘in love’, as coined by Tuttosport, with the 22-year-old forward for his purposeful direct running and decisive goals against Dortmund and Madrid in the Champions League.
Whereas managing just 278 minutes in all competitions following his season-long loan from Verona, Romulo missed most of the season with a recurring groin injury before suffering a thigh tear against Inter in May.
Juventus would have been obliged to buy the versatile Brazilian-born Italy international for €6m had he played 60 per cent of their games, although the option of making the deal permanent is now in doubt.
The Coach
Met with spitting, eggs and kicks when driven to Vinovo training ground with president Agnelli and general manager Marotta for his unveiling, Allegri soon allayed the fears of many sceptical supporters.
Vowing to “win them over with results, hard work, respect and professionalism,” in his first press conference, the Tuscan tactician continued the club’s winning cycle respecting the work done before him before gradually making the team his own.
Sacked by AC Milan midway through the previous season after over a year and a half of humiliating speculation over his position, Allegri more than restored his reputation by becoming the first coach to record debut-season Scudetto wins with two different clubs.
Recipient of the Enzo Bearzot Award for his “ability to combine results with good football,” the 47-year-old also joined Carlo Parola (1960) and Marcello Lippi (1995) as the third coach in Juventus history to deliver a domestic double.
