The all-conquering Old Lady has no plans to abdicate her throne even with the inevitable summer changes ahead

Last May, the commemorative T-shirts celebrated a “Le6end”. This year, Juventus went with “My7h”. Even as players popped champagne corks for the second time in four days at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, it was tempting to imagine a marketing team somewhere planning the slogans and hashtags for the next round of celebrations in 12 months.

Seven consecutive Scudetti. No club had even won six in a row before the Bianconeri embarked on their present run. Across Europe’s top five leagues, only Lyon, at the start of this century, have enjoyed such an uninterrupted spell of domestic dominance. Even then, they did not pair Ligue 1 success with cup triumphs. Juve’s 0-0 draw with Roma on Sunday sealed an unprecedented fourth straight Serie A and Coppa Italia double.

Riotous final day captures the paradoxes of Bundesliga 2017-18 | Andy Brassell Read more

Whether that is an achievement to celebrate, or a cause for lament might depend on your perspective. The front page of Monday’s La Repubblica sport section reminded us: “Hegemonies do not help a system to grow.”

Beneath that headline, Angelo Carotenuto drew links between the advent of pay TV and a diminished competitiveness: accusing clubs of prioritising comfortable economics over competitive championships. Even in Spain, he noted, where a duopoly exists, other clubs have found success in Europe.

There is merit to such arguments, and it is true that too few Italian clubs have shown the ambition Juventus did in building their own ground at the start of this decade, as well as adapting in other ways to the modern commercial environment. Since moving into what is now the Allianz Stadium, Juventus have won the league every year and increased their annual revenues almost three-fold.

And yet, in this specific season, is it fair to put the Old Lady’s success down to a lack of competition? Napoli’s title challenge fell apart at the crucial moment, but with a victory over Sampdoria they nevertheless reached 88 points: a club record in Serie A. If they win at home to Crotone on the final weekend, they will become the first team to fail to win the Scudetto with more than 90.

Sign up to The Recap, our weekly email of editors’ picks.

Juventus are too strong, too unerringly consistent. Finances have skewed the playing field, but we ought not let that obscure the fact that their achievement is astonishing. The wealthiest clubs will generally prevail in football, but it is not true that they always do – see Monaco and Leicester.

Perhaps, if Juventus were still performing as poorly in Europe, their achievements might be easier to dismiss. But this team has been to two of the past three Champions League finals and was eliminated this year by a last-minute goal away at the Bernabéu.

It is the resilience of this team that marks it apart. Juventus had been atrocious in the first leg against Madrid, yet somehow attacked the return game with the conviction of a side that still believed it could find a way through.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Juventus supporters celebrate in central Turin. Photograph: Marco Bertorello/AFP/Getty Images

Domestically, they always do. Juventus were four points behind Napoli when they travelled there in December. The Partenopei were playing the better football. Massimiliano Allegri had his team dig in and grind out an uninspiring but nerveless 1-0 victory.

Similarly, when Napoli beat them in Turin and seemed to blow the title race wide open, Juventus refused to yield. From 2-1 down to Inter in the 87th minute at San Siro one week later, they emerged with a win.

Napoli manager Maurizio Sarri defined that as the moment when the race ended. His team had been watching at their hotel in Florence. Deflated, they slumped to a 3-0 defeat against Fiorentina. It was an almost identical scenario to the one in March, when Juventus stole an injury-time win out of nowhere at Lazio, before Napoli imploded against Roma.

In the truly essential moments, Juventus deliver. That is a testament to Massimiliano Allegri. He is a man who prefers to play down his own input, arguing that a manager can only improve or damage his team’s performance by 5%. Looking on his four years at Juventus, it is hard to agree. Yes, the resources outstrip all their rivals, yet he has also dealt with a constantly shifting squad, key players leaving every summer he has been at the helm.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Allegri and his players after the draw in Rome. Photograph: Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty Images

Since 2014, Juventus have bid farewell to Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal, Paul Pogba, Carlos Tevez, Álvaro Morata and Leonardo Bonucci, to name but a few. Allegri has adapted and reinvented each season, never seeming to rush in the new arrivals but typically getting the most out of them by the end.

Arsenal’s interest in Mikel Arteta grows but Max Allegri still in the frame Read more

He never even found a settled formation this time around. In 37 league games, Juventus have used 36 different line-ups. Along the way, Allegri found ways to integrate Federico Bernardeschi, Mattia De Sciglio and Wojciech Szczesny. He took a slowly-slowly approach with Douglas Costa, and now has him looking like this team’s brightest star.

“I will need to speak to the directors,” said Allegri when asked if he planned to stay, amid reports linking him with Chelsea and Arsenal. “Tomorrow I’m going to the seaside but if they don’t send me away then I will be back next year … Some people will leave, some will arrive. Whatever happens we want more victories.”

Among those departing will be Gigi Buffon, barring any late reversal of his decision to retire. This was the goalkeeper’s ninth Serie A title – excluding those revoked as a result of Calciopoli – a record no other player can equal. Yet the fact that he did not play on Sunday, leaving space for Szczesny, was a reminder of how this team has worked to plan ahead throughout this era of dominance.

Juventus’s summer transfer campaign is already well under way, with Emre Can expected to arrive from Liverpool, along with Mattia Caldara and Leonardo Spinazzola from Atalanta. More will follow. Nowhere is it written that this run must end at seven. The Old Lady has no plans to abdicate her throne.

Talking points

• Roma will also return to the Champions League, but we don’t know which team will join them. At least Lazio had the twin excuses of playing against a Crotone side fighting for survival, and without Ciro Immobile and Luis Alberto. Inter were beaten 2-1 at home by Sassuolo. Nevertheless, they can take fourth if they win at Lazio.

• Milan and Atalanta will take the final Europa League spots, barring a defeat for the latter, and a seven-goal swing to Fiorentina. The Viola lost their cool on what was supposed to be a day to celebrate Davide Astori, losing 1-0 at home to Cagliari (whom the defender also represented) in a game that ended with scuffles on the pitch and both Fiorentina midfielder Jordan Veretout and manager Stefano Pioli sent off.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Fiorentina supporters display a banner in memory of Davide Astori. Photograph: Claudio Giovannini/EPA

• Cagliari’s win lifted them out of the relegation zone and, combined with victories for Udinese and Chievo, dumped Crotone back into 18th spot.

• Sampdoria’s game at home to Napoli was halted for several minutes in response to discriminatory chants from the home support towards people from Naples. Samp’s owner, Massimo Ferrero, even walked out to plead with fans and appeared to be heeded, although only after being abused himself.