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Juventus were unable to follow up their unbeaten 2011-12 campaign with another flawless season but they won the title in far more straightforward fashion.
Indeed, while Antonio Conte’s side lost five times, they actually racked up three more points (87) than the year before and finished nine clear of Napoli.
The Partenopei were fuelled by the goals of capocannoniere Edinson Cavani but while the Bianconeri had no such prolific forward – Arturo Vidal and Mirko Vucinic were the only Juve players to get into double figures in Serie A (both 10) – they still scored freely, while their brilliant back-line of Gianluigi Buffon, Leonardo Bonucci, Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini once again proved solid as a rock.
The midfield, meanwhile, was strengthened by the arrival of Kwadwo Asamoah and one Paul Pogba, a free transfer from Manchester United who adapted quicker to Italian football than anyone in Turin could have envisaged.
CHANGES
Juventus didn’t just take Asamoah from Udinese, they also signed Mauricio Isla, as well as picking up Lucio on a free transfer from Inter.
Elsewhere, several top sides continued to struggle financially, with Napoli and Lazio making very few deals. The Partenopei’s parsimony was particularly surprising given they had sold Ezequiel Lavezzi to Paris Saint-Germain for €26.5m.
The French side also rocked Serie A to its very core by signing Milan’s two best players, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva, thus ending any hope the Rossoneri had of challenging for the title before the season had even begun.
Cristian Zapata did not prove an adequate replacement for Silva, while Giampaolo Pazzini and Bojan Krkic failed to fill the void left by Ibra up front.
Riccardo Montolivo and Nigel de Jong did strengthen the midfield, though, and the January acquisition of Mario Balotelli from Manchester City transformed Milan’s season.
Elsewhere, Inter overhauled their squad, bringing in the likes of Samir Handanovic, Antonio Cassano, Walter Gargano and…
Source link : https://www.footballcritic.com/season-reviews/contecs-juventus-retain-title-with-ease-ahead-of-napoli-serie-a-in-2012-13/97
Author : [email protected] (Martin Macdonald)
Publish date : 2024-08-01 14:00:00
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