JUVE CAN TASTE TRIPLE CROWN
Juventus adds record sixth Serie A soccer title to Italian Cup win with Champions League showdown vs. Real Madrid on deck.
ROME— Juventus clinched a record sixth consecutive Serie A title with a 3-0 win against relegation-threatened Crotone in the penultimate round on Sunday.
Mario Mandzukic gave Juventus the lead 12 minutes in by redirecting a cross from Juan Cuadrado, Paulo Dybala scored with a precise free kick shortly before the break and Alex Sandro added another with a header near the end.
Juventus moved four points clear of second-placed Roma, which last Sunday handed the Bianconeri their first Serie A loss since January.
Since Serie A was founded in 1929, no club had previously won more than five straight titles.
Torino won five consecutive titles from 1943-49 (a season was cancelled due to the Second World War during that span). Inter Milan took five in a row from 2006-10 and Juventus claimed a handful from 193135.
“We’ve written one of the greatest pages in the book of football history,” said Juventus captain Gianluigi Buffon, who also won the 2002 and 2003 Serie A titles with Juventus.
“Winning is never easy,” Buffon added. “Beyond what people say, staying at the top is synonymous with sacrifice on everyone’s part . . . If you want to always win matches, you’ve got to always have your head in focus and your legs prepared.”
It’s the second title in five days for Juventus after a 2-0 win over Lazio in the Italian Cup final on Wednesday.
The Bianconeri has a chance to complete the treble with a victory over Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo in the Champions League final on June 3.
How did Juventus do it and what makes the club so dominant in Italy? Here are a few reasons:
NEW FORMATION
Four forwards proved the way ahead. Juventus was winning matches in the first half of the season but didn’t appear to be the unstoppable force it had been in previous years. Defeat at Fiorentina — its fourth of the season — saw Juve’s lead cut to one point, albeit with a game in hand, and coach Massimiliano Allegri knew something had to change. Allegri unveiled a daring 4-2-3-1 formation after that defeat, and the team went on to play some of its best soccer of the season.
KEY SIGNINGS
Juventus already had the best squad in Serie A and it was the club which strengthened the most in Italy during the off-season. The club splashed out an Italian-record 90 million euros ($100 million) on Gonzalo Higuain, who had scored 36 goals for Napoli the previous campaign to break a 66-year-old Serie A record. And Higuain has not disappointed, with 24 league goals so far this season. Juve’s summer spending spree also saw the arrivals of playmaker Miralem Pjanic, winger Dani Alves and defender Medhi Benatia, and the re-signing of Juan Cuadrado. It has barely missed Paul Pogba, who returned to Manchester United for a word-record fee of $116 million.
DEFENSIVE WALL
Juve’s veteran defence continues to prove that age is but a number. Leonardo Bonucci (30), Andrea Barzagli (36) and Giorgio Chiellini (32), who have come to be known as the BBC, have again been almost ever-present as Juventus has conceded just 26 goals all season. Bonucci in particular has also been impressive in turning defence into attack. Behind them is the evergreen Gianluigi Buffon, who keeps on pulling off fantastic saves at the age of 39.