Juventus’ obstacles to be the unbeaten champion in Italy

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The 'Vecchia Signora' is looking not only for its eighth consecutive crown in Calcio but also to complete 38 unbeaten matches

Juventus will be Italy's champion, for the eighth consecutive year and that, of course, is not news, but this time the cup can have the plus of achieving in undefeated condition. Only 9 dates are missing and they are the only leader of the five major European leagues that can finish the season without defeats.

Leer en español: 'La Juve': un invicto que se cayó en el momento menos esperado

In LatinAmerican Post we detail the possibilities of achieving it, based on the remaining matches. In addition, we review other aspects related to the topic, such as other teams that have been crowned in domestic leagues in Europe with a perfect campaign.

BeSoccer recalls that, on the same day that Juventus had one of its most difficult matches of the campaign against Parma, those led by Massimiliano Allegri became the only undefeated team in the five major leagues, because at the same time, in France, the PSG fell, the other unbeaten left, by 2-1 against Olympique de Lyon.

So far, in the campaign in general, Juventus has fallen four times, three of them in the Champions League against Manchester United, Young Boys and Atlético de Madrid . The other defeat was in Italy, but within the framework of the Italian Cup, by 3-0 in Bergamo against Atalanta.

AS says that Juventus is well on its way to winning its eighth consecutive 'scudetto'. The team led by Cristiano Ronaldo has already played 28 games and took all three points on 24 occasions, plus four draws that add up to 76 points, surpassing by more than fifteen Napoli, its maximum pursuer in recent years.

Read also: Why are Champions League's quarter-finals favorites so clear?

Inter, Roma, and Atalanta: the most difficult rivals

ESPN presents the remaining calendar of the 'Vecchia Signora' in the League. Juventus has 9 games left: on March 30 at home against Empoli, on April 2 they visit Cagliari, against Spal on April 13, on the 20th they receive Fiorentina, and then they visit Inter on the 27th, without a doubt a match that threatens to be the end of the undefeated.

In May, the calendar starts on the 5th in the derby against Torino, a half-board team and on the 12th they visit Roma, the second major obstacle to the possibility of being unbeaten. On the 19th there is another match of some difficulty against Atalanta, but at home, so the chances of taking a positive result are higher – do not forget they thrashed Atalanta and eliminated them in the Cup-, and finally on May 26 they will close the calendar against Sampdoria.

It seems that the 'Vecchia Signora' has everything to finish the championship undefeated. From our point of view, the main obstacle to reach that mark are themselves for two reasons that would make them relax in the league : first, the advantage they currently have is very broad; second, their main objective is to win the Champions League, so as they progress they will downplay the domestic tournament.

Other undefeated champions

According to Mundo Deportivo, in the major European leagues (Spain, England, Italy, Germany, and France) there are 7 teams that have finished an undefeated season. Of them, 6 as champions, such as Athletic Bilbao (1929-30) and Real Madrid (1931-32), with 10-team championships.

The same media recalls that Arsenal (2003-04) and Juventus (2011-12) are the two historical precedents in Leagues of 38 meetings. They also remark that Celtic, a militant in the Scottish League, one step below the top five, is the most recent precedent in undefeated titles (2016-17).

Also, according to the same media, Preston North End (England) won in the 1888-89 season, Athletic (Spain) in 1929-30, Real Madrid in 1931-32, Perugia (Italy) in 1978-79, that incredibly was not titled in a year in which Milan won, and the latter in 1991-92. That time they played with Fabio Capello as coach and Dutch goal scorer Marco van Basten with 22 wins and 12 draws, and with 12 points over the second placed.

Then came the 2003-04 Arsenal victory. The 'Gunners' joined a great defense led by Patrick Vieira with the magic of his front, with Thierry Henry in command, to chant the victory of the Premier undefeated with 26 wins and 12 draws. Finally, as we said, the 'Vecchia Signora' of the 2011-12, when they won 23 of their 38 games and ended in draw in the remaining 15, covered in the strength of their defense.

LatinAmerican Post | Onofre Zambrano

Translated from "Los obstáculos de la 'Juve' para ser campeón invicto en Italia"