Juventus Back on Top: Italian Champions Reborn Under Antonio Conte

Six years after Juventus were shamed in the "Calciopoli" match-fixing scandal, stripped of their 2005 and 2006 league titles and demoted to Serie B, the Old Lady of Turin is back at the pinnacle of Italian football.

Juve claimed their 28th Serie A crown on Sunday, with Inter Milan's derby victory against their title rivals AC Milan the decisive moment in a campaign that could yet deliver Antonio Conte's men the double.

What's more, Juve are a game away from going through an entire Italian league season unbeaten. It has only been done twice before—by Perugia in 1978-79 and Milan in 1991-92—and as Guardian.co.uk pointed out, neither of those were 38-game seasons.

Conte's team are also unbeaten in the Coppa Italia, where they will face Napoli in the final on May 20.

For the club's fans, this season has been the ultimate in new dawns. Before it even started, Juve got a state-of-the-art stadium and a new manager in Conte, a man who arrived already in their hearts after his 13 years as a player with the club.

Conte's activity in the summer 2011 transfer market was as prolific as it was inspired.

Most notable was his signing of 32-year-old midfield maestro Andrea Pirlo from Milan on a free. Pirlo currently leads Serie A on assists for the season and has been consistently hailed as one of the best players in Italy this season.

Consider his average of 3.5 key passes per game, which is notably higher than any player has managed not just in Italy, but in Spain, England and Germany too.

Arturo Vidal has also proved the shrewdest of additions. The Chilean international midfielder leads Serie A on tackles made this season and was an absolute steal for the $14 million or so Juve paid Bayer Leverkusen.

Then there's Juve defense, which has conceded just 19 times in 37 games so far this season. Along the way they have collected a club record of 21 clean sheets, with goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon enjoying one of his best seasons in years.

Every way you look it at, Juve have been dominant. They lead Serie A on average possession (61 percent), pass success (85.4 percent), shots per game (19.3) and shots on target (6.9).

The only area you could question is Juve's lack of a prolific goalscorer, but Conte's team have still managed to score 65 times in the league this season. They have done it through shared scoring, with Alessandro Matri (10), Claudio Marchisio (9) and Mirko Vucinic (9) their top three contributors in Serie A.

Conte's achievement with this Juve team cannot be underestimated, especially when you consider Juve finished the last two Serie A seasons in seventh place and the culture of impatience towards coaches in recent times at the club.

Juve achieved promotion from Serie B in the 2006-07 season, but that didn't stop Didier Deschamps handing in his resignation after falling out with Juve's hierarchy over transfer policy.

Claudio Ranieri lasted two years before being fired in May 2009. His replacement, Ciro Ferrara, was sacked a year later. Then came Alberto Zaccheroni on a short-term deal that was never extended—and then Luigi Delneri, who was sacked after leading Juve through a disappointing 2010-11 campaign.

Conte arrived as a coach of limited experience. He had worked at Arezzo, Bari, Atalanta and Sienna but never at a club of Juve's stature, and never had he been subject to the kind of intense scrutiny that comes with managing a club like them.

But it appears the 42-year-old has all the attributes necessary. He has been hailed for his tactical nous, his intense training methods and his ability to inspire his Juve players to their best. Some have labelled him "The Italian Mourinho."

If he's as good as they say he is, this could be the beginning of something really big for Juve.

It has been a brutal six years for the club's fans, who suffered first in shame and then in reoccurring frustration, but their loyalty is finally being rewarded.

Conte has already brought them a first major trophy since Calciopoli and may well add a second in the Coppa Italia. And judging by what you read about him, he will by now already be deep into the planning process for next season's quest—which will include a shot at the Champions League.

It's too early to say for sure that Juve are back at Europe's top table for good, but on the evidence of this season, you can expect plenty of punters to back them for a run at the continent's top prize next season.

Such optimism owes everything to the work of Conte, who clearly has the potential to emerge as one of the defining coaches of his generation. But if he does suffer a dip next season, let's just hope Juve are prepared to show him a little patience.