As many of you remember, the reason why I started rooting for this lovely club that wears Black and White is because of the man who mans their goal, Gianluigi Buffon. A goalkeeper drawn to Juventus because of its then-young, soon-to-be-legendary goalkeeper — not exactly rocket science and probably somewhat predictable.

That's why seeing San Gigi struggle like he did the past couple of seasons was so tough for me. We all knew what he was capable of, but the performances were anything close to what we've seen the past.

But that's also why seeing Buffon back to his old world-class self in this Scudetto-winning season was so rewarding.

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It's that time of year again. With no more games to be played for a couple of months — outside of the Azzurri, of course — it's a perfect chance to look back on the season that was just completed. Luckily for us, it's actually fond memories we get to remember, unlike the last couple of season that were filled with rage, anger, and lots of throwing objects across the living room while watching games.

As you all might remember, our old buddy Aaron posted something along these lines last year. And since we like to get you guys involved, we figured what's better than to do it again this season? I mean, at least we have a few things to celebrate this time around, right?

I'm going to go out on a limb and say this: This season's recap is going to be nothing like it was this time last year. Earth-shattering news, I know, but it's just a hunch I've had for the last couple of weeks.

Hit the jump and find the season awards!

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As we saw over the course of the nine months of this astonishing campaign, Juventus pretty much deserved every result they got. If they played like they deserved a draw, it usually happened. If they deserved to win, then three points were usually captured. Ultimately, a much-deserved Scudetto was hoisted above everybody's head last weekend at the Juventus Stadium.

Different week, different outcome. In the Coppa Italia final, Juventus deserved to lose — and they did.

There's no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Juve came out sluggish, continued to play sluggish, and never really found their feet against a Napoli side that was pretty impressive at times until after they were down 1-0.

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When in Rome, there shall be a Coppa to be won.

If Juve win said Coppa, there shall be a silver star that comes with it.

If that third star is put on the jersey, there will be lots of artwork accompanying the fabled stripes.

You get the point, everybody. This game is somewhat important. If there ever was a perfect thing to cap off the perfect season, this would be it.

UPDATED: WE HAVE LINEUPS.

Art by @sposatoalnemico on Twitter. He's awesome, as you can see.

The culmination of a truly fantastic campaign is upon us. Instead of ending things with the Scudetto held above Capitano's head, we get a little extra football. Can't complain about that — especially since it actually means something, not a throw-in trip to North America at the end of the season where Juve lose to the New York Red Bulls. (No, I'm not bitter at all about that.)

Yep, it's Coppa Italia time. Juve's got one new star to add to it's jersey for next season (knock on wood), now it's time to go get another.

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With Juventus wrapping up the Scudetto last weekend in Trieste, you'd think the season finale would be a simple phone-it-in, play-all-the-scrubs kind of game, right? Ya know, basically one of those games you play just to see out the end of the season where not much at stake.

Juventus' final game of the 2011-12 campaign wasn't even close to that. Ah, the beauty of the Old Lady.

Sure, there was a different lineup than we have been accustomed to seeing throughout the season, but there were a couple of storylines that were a bit more than just "minor" heading into Sunday's finale at the Juventus Stadium. The unbeaten season, for one. Alessandro Del Piero's swansong at Juventus Stadium.

Whatever it was, this far more than your average final game of the season.

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If that really was Del Piero's final game at Juventus Stadium, it's not a bad way to go out.

GRANDE CAPITANO!

One last game. One last chance at perfection. One big 30th Scudetto party.

Count me on for that.

UPDATE: LINEUPS!

Juventus: Storari; Lichtsteiner, Bonucci, Chiellini, Estigarribia; Marrone, Pirlo, Padoin; Giaccherini, Borriello, Del Piero

Juventus bench: Manninger, Barzagli, Marchisio, Pepe, Vucinic, Matri, Quagliarella

Atalanta: Frezzolini; Bellini, Lucchini, Manfredini, Peluso; Schelotto, Carmona,Cazzola, Bonaventura; Moralez; Denis

Atalanta bench: Polito, Ferri, Cigarini, Raimondi, Tiribocchi, Minotti, Gabbiadini

You know what sounds nice? "Juventus, Campioni D'Italia."

Man, I've waited a long time to be able to say that. I bet I'm not the only one. I should probably stop trying to make this all about me.

So, moving on.

You know what also has a nice ring to it? Having Sunday's season finale at Juventus Stadium be a complete party. I'm talking an absolute sight like we've never seen before. If you think the No. 30 is being shown off now, just wait until the game is actually being played. Juventus know how to do these types of things right — and that's what we get. That's what we, as Juventini, deserve after all we've been through the past six years.

Maybe we should just follow Martin Caceres' lead and plant one on Antonio Conte cheek...

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Watching Juventini celebrate Scudetto No. 30 is something I'll never get tired of. I'm sure you feel the same way.

And nobody does it better falchi73 on YouTube, who brings us videos from the curva on a regular basis.

Here's the video from Juve's Scudetto-clinching win in Trieste from Sunday:

Nearly a year ago, Antonio Conte came back to where he belonged. He brought the winning spirit back to Turin, coaching with the same kind of grinta he had as a player.

On May 6, 2012, Juventus were again crowned Champions of Italy.

Enjoy it, Juventini. We're back on top. Lo Scudetto is coming home.

#30

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I don't really have anything funny to say. Why? Well it's because there's no time to be funny. WE'VE GOT A GAME TO PLAY.

No, seriously. What is there to say? Not much, other than "Bring home three points, fellas."

Yep, sounds good to me. I'm a genius.

UPDATE: LINEUPS!

Juventus XI (4-3-3 or 3-5-2?): Buffon; Lichtsteiner, Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Vidal, Pirlo, Marchisio; Pepe, Matri, Vucinic

Juventus bench: Storari, Caceres, Estigarribia, Giaccherini, Del Piero, Quagliarella, Borriello

Cagliari XI (4-3-3): Agazzi; Pisano, Canini, Astori; Ariaudo; Ekdal, Conti, Nainggolan; Ibarbo, Pinilla, T. Ribeiro

Cagliari bench: Avramov, Perico, Gozzi, Dessena, Cossu, Nene, Larrivey

The internet works in interesting ways when things go wrong. While cruising around the net after Wednesday's headdesk-worthy 1-1 draw against Lecce, I saw some pretty knee-jerk kind of headlines. "JUVENTUS THROW AWAY THE SCUDETTO!" or "BUFFON KILLS JUVE'S SCUDETTO HOPES."

I think you guys get where I'm going with this.

Here's the catch: Juventus is still in first place after San Gigi's no-so-smart clank of a first touch.

Wouldn't realize that based on those aforementioned headlines, though, huh? Yeah, that's what I thought.

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You wanna hear something funny? I'm sure you do.

In last season's ritorno leg against Lecce, Luca Toni was a starting striker. No, seriously. He was.

Just thought you guys would enjoy that. I'm here to entertain, people. Run with it.

UPDATE: LINEUPS!

Juventus XI (3-5-2): Buffon; Barzagli; Bonucci; Chiellini; Lichtsteiner, Vidal, Pirlo, Marchisio, De Ceglie; Quagliarella, Vucinic

Juventus bench: Storari, Caceres, Padoin, Giaccherini, Del Piero, Borriello, Matri

Lecce XI (3-5-2): Benassi; Tomovic, Carrozzieri, Miglionico; Cuadrado, Blasi, Obodo,Delvecchio, Brivio; Di Michele, Seferovic

Lecce bench: Petrachi, Di Matteo, Giandonato, Giacomazzi, Bertolacci, Muriel,Bojinov

It's Sunday. Kickoff is at 6 a.m. here in California, so therefore I'm gonna be half awake while watching this.

A win will fix that, Juventus.

So win, please.

Juventus: Buffon; Lichtsteiner, Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini, Giaccherini, Vidal, Pirlo, Marchisio; Borriello, Vucinic

Juventus bench: Storari, Caceres, De Ceglie, Padoin, Elia, Quagliarella, Del Piero

It seems like I could write the same kind preview for Novara that I did for Cesena just a few days ago. I mean, they're basically in the same kind of position when it comes to the Serie A table; they're sitting at the travel agent's desk, getting ready to book a ticket back to Serie B.

So instead of just regurgitating info from last week, I'll try to think of something new. I mean, that's why I'm paid the huge bucks. Seriously, my pockets are overflowing wish cash right now.

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In the words of former Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis, "Just win, baby."

You win, you stay in first and keep a three-point advantage — at least. It's that simple.

UPDATE: LINEUPS!

Juventus XI (3-5-2): Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Caceres, Vidal, Pirlo, Marchisio, De Ceglie; Matri, Vucinic

Juventus bench: Storari, Lichtsteiner, Padoin, Giaccherini, Marrone, Del Piero, Borriello

Cesena (4-4-2): Antonioli; Ceccarelli, Moras, Rodriguez, Benalouane; Del Nero, Colucci,Parolo, Djokovic; Santana, Rennella

Cesena bench: Ravaglia, Comotto, Rossi, Guana, Arrigoni, Lolli, Malonga

Over the course of the season, there are difficult games — ones that are great triumphs if your team comes out victorious. They are praised across the country, the tifosi rejoice, and the players celebrate. Then there are ones where you play the worst team in Serie A that is looking relegation right in the face and anything but three points would be a complete failure.

This game would be the second of those two scenarios.

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You know what I like? When I can roll out of bed on a random Sunday morning after a long week of work and a good amount of sleep and watch some calcio. This would be one of those days.

So, I ask of you, Juventus, please make my — and everybody else's — Sunday a happy day.

Updated: LINEUPS!

Juventus XI (3-5-2): Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Lichtsteiner, Vidal, Pirlo, Marchisio, De Ceglie; Quagliarella, Vucinic

Juventus bench: Storari, Caceres, Pepe, Giaccherini, Del Piero, Borriello, Matri

Roma XI (4-3-1-2): Stekelenburg; Rosi, De Rossi, Kjaer, José Angel; Perrotta, Gago, Marquinho; Pjanic; Osvaldo, Borini

Everywhere you look, every paper you open, you see the storylines surrounding Sunday's match at Juventus Stadium.

It is, of course, the first weekend of action since the calcio world lost Piermario Morosini. Might it be the last time we see two Legends, Totti and Del Piero, on the field together? It is the beginning of the final charge in the current campaign. That means, for our beloved Bianconeri, it is the beginning of the final push towards a third star accompanying those lovely Black and White stripes.

I don't know about you, but I'm ready for some football.

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Sez Football Italia:

The Lega Calcio has decided that Week 33’s postponed round of fixtures will now be played on the midweek of April 25.

After the entire round’s postponement over the weekend in the wake of Livorno player Piermario Morosini’s death on Saturday afternoon, there was dispute between top-flight clubs over when the games should be played instead.

A majority of clubs were happy to have next weekend’s Week 34 games shifted back a few days into an April 25 midweek round and for Week 33’s matches to then take next Saturday and Sunday’s slot.

However, the likes of Inter, Udinese, Chievo, Genoa and Napoli reportedly pushed for Week 34 to stay at the weekend and Week 33 to instead move to the April 25 position.

After holding a meeting between the League’s clubs on Monday evening, a decision has now been reached to leave Week 34’s fixtures scheduled for this coming weekend and then play Week 33’s postponed games the following midweek, on Wednesday April 25.

Kick-off times for the new midweek round are likely to be mid-afternoon, in light of appeasing UEFA regulation that they cannot be played at the same time as Champions League games. The second leg of the semi-final between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid will be played that Wednesday evening.

So it's Roma this weekend on Sunday as regularly scheduled and Cesena on Wednesday. Sounds good to me.

Back into first or remain in second?

There's only one way to find out.

LINEUPS!

Juventus XI (3-5-2): Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Pepe, Vidal, Pirlo, Marchisio, De Ceglie; Vucinic, Quagliarella

Juventus XI (4-3-3): Buffon; Lichtsteiner, Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Vidal, Pirlo, Marchisio; Pepe, Quagliarella, Vucinic

Juventus bench: Storari, Lichtsteiner, Caceres, Giaccherini, Del Piero, Borriello, Matri

Lazio (4-2-3-1): Marchetti; Scaloni, Diakite, Biava, Garrido; Cana, Ledesma, Gonzalez, Mauri, Candreva; Rocchi

Lazio bench: Bizzarri, Zauri, Matuzalem, Brocchi, Hernanes, Alfaro, Kozak

"Winning has always been fundamental for us and now it is even more important."

Those words from Alessandro Matri after Saturday's win against Palermo couldn't be any truer. You don't need a Master's in physics to figure out what is going on right now. Seven games remain and Juventus enters the 32nd round of games at the top of the table for the first time in quite a few weeks. Every game from here on out is the most important one of the season. This is where the marathon turns into the sprint.

Sounds like the right kind of situation for Mister Conte. Anybody up for spitting some more blood?

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The most important question of the day is this:

How the hell did Amauri score a goal?

OR

Who's gonna be wearing the pink jerseys today?

Okay, okay. So which jersey Juventus wear maybe isn't the most important thing about this game. I mean, whether it's the classic bianconero kit or the bright Jersey Shore pink, our beloved Old Lady is undefeated in both. So take that.

It made you think for a second, though, didn't it? I win. Now go get me one of them shiny new Jeeps that Andrea Agnelli was talking about — and will likely be receiving for free — at his press conference yesterday. You know you want to. Don't deny it.

LINEUPS!

Juventus (3-5-2): Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Caceres, Vidal, Pirlo, Marchisio, Estigarribia (!!); Quagliarella, Vucinic

Juventus bench: Storari, Lichtsteiner, Giaccherini, Pepe, Del Piero, Borriello, Matri

One last question: Where's Paolino?

Palermo (3-5-2): Viviano; Munoz, Milanovic, Labrin; Pisano, Migliaccio, Barreto, Della Rocca, Acquah; Ilicic, Miccoli

Permo bench: Tzorvas, Kosnic, Bacinovic, Alvarez, Vazquez, Zahavi, Budan

(And like last weekend, don't tell me the score. I'm actually doing my day job — which is actually a night job — and out in the sun covering a game. The DVR's on as you watch. DON'T SPOIL IT.)

Sorry, guys. Match has been cancelled. A make up date is to be announced in the near future. You all can go back to sleep now. Or, if you're like me, you can go out and begin your Sunday.

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You might have heard of this guy in the past. You know what to do know. Follow @DELPIEROALE

I like to think of Paolo De Ceglie's career trend as a car that has a horrible transmission. I know it's not exactly something you'd like to be compared to, but it's just the first thing that came to mind. It's odd, I know.

(No, before you go away, let me explain.)

Look at how things have gone for Paolino: Start, stop. Start, stop. Start, stop. He runs smoothly, makes progress — then gets injured. Then the cycle unfortunately repeats. Be it a collapsed lung or his knee cap getting all blown up, injuries have always gone alone with — and stunted the progressing form — of Juventus' young Ashton Kutcher lookalike.

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Hey, remember that time earlier this season when Claudio Marchisio scored a game-winning goal against Inter and then went and celebrated with Antonio Conte? Yeah, that was awesome.

I'll take another order of that, please.

So, let's see here...

Inter Milan are coming to town. It's the first Derby d'Italia in the Juventus Stadium. Juve have been playing well lately and Inter are, well, doing all sort of funny Inter things. It's funny, knee-slapping kind of stuff.

What does it all mean?

Our stadio is gonna be rockin'. Can't wait.

LINEUPS!

Juventus XI (4-3-3): Buffon; Caceres, Barzagli, Chiellini, De Ceglie; Vidal, Pirlo, Marchisio; Pepe, Matri, Vucinic

Juventus bench: Storari, Bonucci, Marrone, Padoin, Del Piero, Quagliarella, Borriello

Inter XI (4-4-2): Julio Cesar; Maicon, Lucio, Samuel, Nagatomo; Zanetti, Poli, Stankovic, Obi; Milito, Forlan

Inter bench: Castellazzi, Ranocchia, Chivu, Faraoni, Cambiasso, Guarin, Pazzini

(Artwork by the legendary Zafar. Follow him on Twitter @bianconerifan.)

Juventus and Milan's second leg of the Coppa Italia semifinals had just about everything you want when two of the giants clash.

Excitement? Check. Drama? Check. A sick goal or two? Check.

This was everything we could've asked for in a Juventus and Milan matchup. Sure, the edge-off-the-seat stuff wasn't always good for our blood pressure, but sometimes there's no other choice. Juventus Stadium was at its best. The stadio was beautiful, with the tifosi setting the stage for an incredible evening even before the teams took the field in full voice from opening kickoff to the final whistle.

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