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Juventus once again endured a campaign without silverware. Not surprising given the strength of the team.  But coming to think of it, one could term this season to be mission accomplished for them with a last-gasp but well deserved second spot in the final league standings. After all, Inter has impressive quality in its line-up and more importantly the depth which helps endure a lengthy barrage of games. This makes first place to be pretty much reserved for Mourinho’s men. With second place in hand Juve secure direct qualification to the Champions League and in fact have accomplished higher than the management set target of minimum fourth place...

The Old Lady started the season on a positive note, picking up seven points from three games. It was not to last as she suffered a slump in the next four games, drawing twice and then losing the next two. However, it was the Turin Derby that saved la Vecchia Signora from her woes and returned her to good form. The one-nil win against Torino hugely boosted morale and the players fought their way to secure nine wins out of the next 10, faltering only against league leaders, Inter. The defeat to Inter, in the midst of their winning streak did not hinder Juve and they continued to collect full points.

By this point of time, the merits of playing ageing players like Del Piero and Nedved for just one game a week was clearly showing. They both entered a purple patch with Nedved causing trouble with his surging runs while Del Piero constantly provided key goals and a series of impressive free kicks. Their contribution to the defeat of Real Madrid at the Bernabeu was probably one of the highlights of the season. Amauri had hit by Christmas a rich haul of 11 goals in 16 games in his first season with Juve, ably filling in for the prolific but injured Trezeguet.

Chiellini and Legrottaglie had established themselves as the main centre defensive duo, both being brought in to the Italy starting eleven eventually. Ranieri was being praised all round for his effective utilization of the squad despite many frequent injury-caused shortages.

But all this was before the new year started.

The start of the year was not too kind to the Bianconeri as they dropped 10 points by drawing twice and losing twice allowing Inter to get ahead. They ended up without a win for more than two months. Dropped out of the Coppa Italia by an efficient Lazio in the semis, driven out of the Champions League yet again by an English club (a pattern they seem to resume from before the Calcipoli). This time it was Chelsea and while Juve did give a good fight, a loss is in the end counted for nothing and didn’t give the Bianconeri any cause to celebrate. Juve overturned their luck by winning five back-to-back games thereafter until the end of season collapse that saw Claudio Ranieri get axed and Ciro Ferrara named as replacement Coach.

A continued spate of injuries which heavily tested the backup had a significant influence on Juve’s season. A criminally large number of starters where left watching from the stands. While Manninger filled in ably for the world-class Buffon, the same cannot be said for the winger department. Camoranesi played brilliantly most of the time that he did play, but that was too few. Marchionni, a young and impressive prospect at one point of time had a first touch of a sloth bear and the crossing acumen go haywire. Increased reliance on oldies like Del Piero and Nedved saw them play out of their physical capacity and didn’t really help the issue.

But while Ranieri was unceremoniously sacked despite meeting up to the preseason expectations, there were quite a few positives that new coach Ferrara can take from last season.

The incredible potential of Giovinco. Most Juve fans have ousted their frustrations of the under use of the “Atomic Ant”, who in his brief appearances, always rejuvenated the squad by his energetic presence, his comparisons with the young version of Del Piero being made ever so often. But while the Giovinco fiasco gave the impression that Ranieri underused the youth of the squad, nothing could be more contradictory. Calcipoli and injuries increased youth presence in the squad greatly. Players such as Molinaro, Nocerino, Marchisio, Lorenzo Ariaudo, De Ceglie and Fausto Rossi got a frequent run up in the squad, showing the world the incredible potential of players from the Juventus youth setup.

Having relied heavily on the fringes of the squad instead of first-team starters. This season proved the incredible depth Juve had, to have achieved second place this season.

You cannot sum up Juve’s season without mentioning the fans and more importantly, the ultras. Despite their abject disapproval of both Ranieri and management, the fans demonstrated just why they can be the best when needs be. Pavel Nedved retired on Sunday and played his last game for the Bianconeri against Lazio in a match that saw Lazio defeated by two Juve goals. The fans cheered in unison as they waved goodbye to their Czech hero who gave their team so many glorious memories. The players honoured the icon by presenting him with a framed shirt signed by all the Juve players and they all ran on to the pitch at the end of the game, happily wearing identical shirts that bore the No 11 and Nedved’s name. Milan fans take note - this is how to send off a true legend.

The Juve ultras, otherwise known as Drughi, have had a tough time this campaign as they saw their team being turned into a ‘provincial club.’ Perhaps at times, their angry outbursts were fully justified but there are many negative setbacks to having such an intensely devoted team as clearly illustrated by their ignorant chanting towards Mario Balotelli. Drughi deny that the insults aimed at the Italian player were racist, explaining that it was his antics on the pitch that warranted the jeers and not the colour of his skin. This is the price teams have to pay for having ultras support their team and it is this type of hooliganism that is aiding in the demise of Serie A in Europe. Incidentally, President Giovanni Cobolli Gigli publicly condemned the act of the ultras and then appealed the punishment that forced Juve to play behind closed doors.

Lastly, a note taken, of the management. A far-cry from the aggressive triad of Bettega-Moggi-Giraudo, the management which led Juventus to dominant days until the Calcipoli brought down the curtains, the team of Cobolli Gigli- Secco have proven to be complete contrasts. Perhaps this is natural after the Calcipoli saga. But this has also proven to be detrimental at times. Their diplomatic and soft-spoken nature, (a deliberate effort at mending Juve’s PR) failed to establish an assertive authority at times of negotiations during transfers. Their wait-and-watch attitude rather than taking the bull by the horns often gave a feel of ineptitude to the fans. But this laidback aura is quietly spreading fear of eventual demise. Will Juve ever come back to its glory days? Will it forever remain an above average club?