Juventus’s march to a fourth successive Serie A title has suffered some unexpected interruptions in the past three weeks.
But so clear is their advantage over the rest of Italy’s top flight that neither the recent defeats against bottom-of-the-table Parma, nor the weekend’s setback in a city derby against Torino marred by off-the-field violence have exactly added suspense to the race for the championship.
The mathematics are still utterly compelling, the question is when, not if. Victory at home to Fiorentina tonight, coupled with a failure by second-placed Lazio to gain maximum points would seal the title; even a draw might do so, should Lazio lose and Roma not win.
“It isn’t a great season yet,” said coach Massimiliano Allegri, more out of duty than fear, “and we are still four points away from it becoming one.”
He was speaking after having clocked up an unwanted milestone for Juve on Sunday when Torino won their first Turin derby for 20 years, an event preceded by missiles being thrown at the Juve team bus and disfigured by the explosion of a homemade bomb in the stands that caused a handful of injuries.
“Why would people take their families to matches in Italy?” asked Allegri of another unhappy episode in Italy’s frustrating battle with unrest at stadiums.
There remains a great deal wrong with Italian football, but their champions are getting more things right than any other club.
Since Juve moved into their new stadium, owned by the club, they have emphatically moved ahead of all their rivals. If the eventual upper hierarchy of the table looks like it does this morning, Lazio will finish as the fourth different runner-up in as many seasons.
That is an invitation to interpret the pursuit of Juve as an exhausting, unsustainable task for those who try hardest at it.
AC Milan, under Allegri, came within four points of the champions in 2011/12, and indeed won more matches than the more cautious Juventus of Antonio Conte that season. Post-Allegri, Milan have plummeted.
Napoli’s chase, in 2012/13, was vibrant for a while, but was over three matches from the end of that campaign.
In 2013/14, a dashing Roma piled up wins for the first quarter of the season. After that spurt, though, they were steadily reeled in by a Juve with increased firepower up front thanks to the arrival of Carlos Tevez.
Poor Roma, bold starts giving way to bland plateaus of form are becoming a habit.
Their 2014/15 chase, vibrant in the autumn, has been eroded by their stubborn tendency to draw, as well as Juve’s efficiency.
Conte walked out on Juventus last summer, dramatically and tetchily, having agreed a new deal.
He was frustrated at limitations on his transfer budget, what he saw as a lack of resources to compete in Europe, and concerned that not enough was being done to rejuvenate a squad of many veterans.
Allegri, available since leaving Milan midway through the previous season, brought some league-winning experience thanks to his 2011 title with Milan, but with a different managerial persona.
As Paolo Rossi, the former Juve striker put it to La Nazione: “Conte is more obsessive, Allegri more reflective. He has built on what was there but added a personal touch and his side are perhaps a bit more flexible.”
This Juventus may yet turn out as clearer champions than any of Conte’s Juve teams; they are 15 points ahead of Lazio with six games left.
Conte’s biggest margin was the 17-point gap over Roma last May. Tevez has a target to chase, too, two more Serie A goals to become the first Juve man past 20 for a campaign in this long sequence of titles.
Above all, Allegri has taken Juve a stride further in Europe than his predecessor.
Conte found the glass ceiling of the Uefa Champions League latter stages a huge frustration. Tevez and company have pierced it.
They are in a semi-final, Juve’s first in 12 years, against Real Madrid in six days time.
They would like to go into it with the domestic league medals safely in their hands.
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