Juventus cemented a 29th title triumph on Sunday after another near flawless campaign, but for coach Antonio Conte hoisting the club back among the giants of European football will continue to be hampered by a cash-strapped Serie A. It was following Juve's quarter-final humbling by Bayern Munich in Europe's premier club competition last month that Conte lashed out.
"In Italy, people are more interested in following futile stories than looking at how we can go about improving the state of our football," he said. "The answer is, we have to work hard and try to take our football to a new level and to do that we have to increase the budget that's available to us." Last year Juventus put paid to two consecutive seventh-place finishes in Italy's top flight by remaining unbeaten on their way to a 28th Scudetto. With only four defeats in 35 games so far this season, the Turin giants have again been virtually untouchable in a campaign in which traditional rivals AC Milan and Inter faltered.
Veteran midfielder Andrea Pirlo said consistency had been key. "We've been the most consistent team. Last year the title was unthinkable at the start of the season and what we did was an extraordinary achievement," said Pirlo. "This year we set out with the aim of repeating that success and we've shown that we're a notch above the rest."