Juve captain Buffon revels in ´most beautiful Scudetto´

Juventus have won five consecutive Serie A titles but this season’s crown is the “most beautiful Scudetto”, according to captain Gianluigi Buffon.

Juve’s fifth successive Scudetto was confirmed with three games remaining on Monday after second-placed Napoli lost 1-0 to Roma.

Another title seemed out of the equation in October after the Turin giants started the season with just 12 points from 10 matches to languish in mid-table.

However, Juve went on a remarkable run, dropping just two points from their next 25 matches as they charged towards a 32nd Italian top-flight crown.

“This is the most beautiful Scudetto because if the first [of the five, in 2012] was exciting because it was unexpected, this is exciting because it was so difficult,” Buffon said in quotes attributed to Rai Sport.

“We’ve shown technical and moral values which aren’t found in many teams. We had the idea of making a comeback even when we were 15th, but to do that we had to get our hands dirty and have pride.”

The 38-year-old goalkeeper added: “Thoughts and words are abstract things if you don’t have a group with pride and dignity ready to absorb those messages.

“That determination was part of this group, from my young team-mates, who have integrated well, to the older players [and] with lots of chemistry we’ve been able to write pages in football history.”