THE light is still flickering for the Old Lady of Italian football after Sunday's Serie A win over Genoa, but for Juventus the 3-1 cruise does nothing to mask the extent of the surgery needed in upcoming transfer windows.
Lo Scudetto has been Juve's own personal property for the last decade. Indeed so used are they to collecting the crown at the end of the season, that it is the elusive chase of a first Champions League crown since 1996 that has burned more intensely.
When Cristiano Ronaldo arrived in Turin following a Champions League splurge with Real Madrid (and victory in 2008 with Manchester United), hopes were high in the corridors of power in Turin, that the Portuguese superstar would lead them to the promised land.
The truth is though, Juve have rarely looked like a credible threat in the premiere competition, one final appearance against Barcelona aside when they were comfortably dispatched.
What has followed arguably is an ill-thought out process - both on and off the pitch - of how Juve can bridge the gap to the class of Ravanelli, Vialli, Del Piero and Co.
Now the picture has rarely looked so confused. Ronaldo has often cut a forlorn figure in the black and white as the team have lacked an edge, a cohesiveness on too many occasions.
They have been allowed away with it to this point domestically - still good enough to rack up nine league titles on the bounce.
Still though the European chase has proved fruitless. And now it seems that the league title is finally slipping away too as domestic rivals have strengthened.
The two Milan clubs have looked revitalised this season, AC led by their pied piper Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Inter with plenty of star turns.
The spending of the Nerrazurri in particular was notable. However in the partnership of Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez they have one of the most deadly pairings in the League, indeed possibly even Europe.
Other players have shone too given their chance. And all under the watchful gauge of Antonio Conte, the Juve legend in what will be another dagger to the heart of the champions
Too many of Juve's signings of late have failed to spark, Aaron Ramsey, Adrien Rabiot and even in the early days the arrival from Ajax of Mattias de Ligtht. The appointment of Pirlo can be pointed to as a mistake, many questioning that, despite his undoubted class as a player, was he really ready to take the helm of such a job. This coming too after a spell led by Maurizio Sarri; the former Chelsea and Napoli supremo, despite leading Juve to more silverware, never won over the fans or the board with his style of play.
It could undoubtedly be said that a different champion in Italy is only good for Serie A, the title so long the preserve of Juve.
One thing is for sure - even allowing for the relative financial strait jackets clubs will operate in this summer expect the Old Lady to undergo some fairly major surgery in her attempt to laud it once again in Calcio.
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