Juventus are back. The Old Lady have broken the San Siro's hold on the Scudetto with a 2-0 win against Cagliari, which combined with AC Milan's loss against Inter hands Juve their first Serie A title in nine years. Kind of. Since 2003, they've been through something approximating hell, having seen their 2005 and 2006 Scudettos stripped and finding themselves relegated to Serie B in the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal. This win - and the fact that Juventus will presumably end the season undefeated - is sweet redemption for the club.
Juventus Beat Cagliari 2-0, Win 2012 Scudetto
Juventus are champions of Italy after a 2-0 win against Cagliari.
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Not every team can perform under pressure, and Juventus' away form hasn't been the best. Cagliari were supposed to be something of a challenge. They weren't. It took Mirko Vucinic just six minutes to find the back of the net, the Montenegrin slotting home after a great through pass by Leonardo Bonucci, and it never looked as though the hosts would threaten their guests' lead.
With Inter battling hard against Milan in a thrilling derby game, Juve knew that a win was all that was required, and they wrapped up the match - and the title - in the 74th minute when an unfortunate Michele Canini deflected Marco Borielle’s shot past Michael Agazzi and in. With Milan losing 4-2, that would be that, and Juventus become your 2012 Serie A champions.
Despite some incredibly boring play at times, it's hard to argue that Juventus don't earn the honour. The only team that even came particularly close to beating them were Napoli at the Stadio San Paolo, and their defending was phenomenal all season, conceding just 19 goals in 38 games. Add that to 65 goals, (at least) 22 wins and the fact that they were able to see off defending champions Milan in a very close title race, and you have a deserving champion.
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