Juventus 2011-12 and Inter 2020-12. The first squad started the longest winning dynasty in Serie A history, whilst the other one ended it. Both sides were expertly built by Giuseppe Marotta and guided on the pitch by the enthusiasm on Antonio Conte – oh, and both had Arturo Vidal, for better or worse.
Whilst we must wait and see to find out whether the Nerazzurri will be able to form a winning cycle based on the exploits of this campaign, let’s check out how their squad compares to the one that brought the Scudetto title to Turin for the first time since 2006 .
Goalkeeper
Although Samir Handanovic remains one of the best in the league, Gianluigi Buffon was operating on another level in 2012, and had a legitimate claim for being the best in the world at the time.
Moreover, the Slovenian showed some signs of aging this season, committing howlers at times, despite being generally solid.
Advantage: Juventus
Defense
In Milan Skriniar, Stefan de Vrij and Alessandro Bastoni, the Beneamata found an incredibly solid base that undoubtedly had a major role in their triumph.
But once again, Inter fall a little short behind Juventus, as their BBC defense (Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini) was the most feared and renowned back line in world football.
Advantage: Juventus
Wing-Backs
With both teams being coached by Conte, this department can’t be overlooked, as wing-backs are famously important for his tactical system.
The two squads had their similarities on the wings. Both of them had an omnipresent player on the right (Stephan Lichtsteiner/Achraf Hakimi), whilst the options on the left never truly convinced the manager.
However, the likes of Ivan Perisic, Ashley Young and Matteo Darmian make a more assuring bunch than Simone Pepe, Emanuele Giaccherini and Paolo De Ceglie.
Additionally, Lichtsteiner made for an incredibly solid wing-back, an underrated one as well, but Hakimi is perhaps the best in the world at the moment.
Advantage: Inter
Midfield
The signings of Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal in 2011 were definitely the moves that tipped the scale in favor of the Old Lady who managed to rebuild its squad. The two stars, aligned with Claudio Marchisio to form a superb midfield, nicknamed MVP.
On the other hand, the newly crowned champions have their fair share of talent in the middle of the park, and an impressive depth for that matter, but Inter would struggle to field three midfielders who are as strong as the old Juventus trio mentioned above.
Advantage: Juventus
Attack
Ok, that’s definitely the easiest one. In Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez, the Nerazzurri have one of the best and most complementary striking pairings in the world. These two deserve a large part of the credit in the club’s triumph.
On the other hand, the former champions mainly relied on the decent (but definitely not world class) duo of Alessandro Matri and Mirko Vucinic, whilst Fabio Quagliarella and Marco Borriello were on the bench, and Alessandro Del Piero was turned into a super-sub by Conte during the captain’s last season in Turin.
No need to tell you which one have the upper-hand.
Advantage: Inter
Conclusion
As you’ve noticed, the result was a tight one, with Juventus having the edge in three departments, whilst Inter being clearly better in the other two.
Both sides were well-organized – as you might expect from a Conte team – but whilst the Old Lady had a slight advantage at the back, as well as in the midfield, Inter closed the gap with their impeccable attack, supported by the marvelous Hakimi.