How does a team top invincibility? Antonio Conte's Juventus went through the entire 2011/2012 Serie A season without tasting defeat on their way to the Scudetto but their second consecutive title triumph this campaign was arguably even more impressive. Not least because they didn't have their manager on the bench for almost half of it. Conte was handed a suspension for allegedly failing to report an incident regarding match fixing from his days as coach of Siena. It meant that while he could coach during his side during the week, it would be Massimo Carrera who would initially take charge from the bench before assistant manager Angelo Alessio returned from his own ban to take the reigns. However, all the off-field distractions didn't stop the Juventus juggernaut as they were still top of the table when Conte returned in December. In fact, they remained at least joint-top throughout the entire season. It wasn't all plain sailing for the Bianconeri as they lost their 49-match unbeaten run to Andrea Stramaccioni's Inter Milan who looked like potential challengers to the throne before they collapsed in the second half of the season. Napoli were the closest challengers but even they fell away as, despite more defeats than last year, Juventus were always able to recover well and retain an incredible level of overall consistency. Despite the arrivals of Nicklas Bendtner and Nicholas Anelka plus the return of Sebastian Giovinco, Juve still operated without a top level striker which may have cost them in the Champions League as illustrated by their humbling at the hands of Bayern Munich. However, they did score more goals in the league and rack up more points than last season. The midfield remained imperious with Andrea Pirlo still patrolling things despite his powers seeming to be on the wane. There was also the emergence of Paul Pogba who looks to have everything in his locker to become one of the best in the world in his position. The defence was as solid as ever with 19 clean sheets - the most in the league. Mirko Vucinic remained a bright spark in attack. However, the season belonged to Arturo Vidal - the midfield dynamo who summed up Juventus through his energetic and relentless displays in the middle of the park. The Chilean also showed a great knack for scoring important goals. Five strikes in four games during the run-in clinched the title. The future looks bright for the Old Lady. A more concerted assault on the Champions League is expected next season with the arrival of a new strike-force, including Fernando Llorente, imminent. It's hard to see who will be able to stop Juventus in Serie A next season.
