Serie A concluded on Sunday after a marathon 11-month 2019-20 season, with Juventus crowned Italian champions for the ninth year in a row.

Here, we take a look at the highs and lows after the final weekend of the campaign:

Juve hit a 10-year low

Juventus were crowned champions for the 36th time but wrapped up their season with the lowest number of points of their nine-season title run.

Maurizio Sarri's side finished with 83 points -- their lowest tally of the past decade -- with their most number of defeats for a single season in that time with seven.

The Turin giants won just two of their final eight matches, with Saturday's 3-1 defeat to Roma their first loss at their Allianz Stadium home since April 2018.

• 'Fear is good,' says Sarri as Juve crash in Serie A finale

They also conceded 43 goals, more than in any of their previous eight title successes.

"Considering all the problems we had this season which was unlike any other, we can be happy to have won," said Sarri.

"It was a season in which the strongest could have lost."

Conte fury at Inter's Chinese owners

Antonio Conte's Inter Milan ended up finishing just one point behind fierce rivals Juve in second, their best placing since 2011.

But Conte's future has been thrown into doubt after his outburst following Saturday's 2-0 win over Atalanta in Bergamo which enabled them to snatch second place.

"It has been a tough year on a personal level, very tough," said the former Juve, Chelsea and Italy coach, who was angered at perceived media criticism of him and his team.

"We had to eat crap for months and got zero protection from the club.

"There will be discussions with the president (Steven Zhang), but he is in China.

"I can be a lightning rod for the first year, but if you don't learn and keep making the same mistakes, that's just crazy."

Atalanta surge

Atalanta returned even stronger after the three-month lockdown in which the team's city of Bergamo was at the epicentre of the global pandemic.

Gian Piero Gasperini's exciting side scored 98 goals -- 35 after the return -- with Colombians Luis Muriel and Duvan Zapata scoring 18 each, and Josip Ilicic 15.

Atalanta finished the season third, matching last season's all-time best finish.

They still have plenty to play for too, as they face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarter-finals in their debut season in the competition.

Immobile top, but Lazio fall short

Ciro Immobile equalled Serie A's single-season scoring record but Lazio fell short in their bid for a first league title in two decades.

The 30-year-old Italy international scored in a 3-1 defeat at Napoli to match Gonzalo Higuain's record of 36 goals, set while playing for Napoli in the 2015-16 season.

Immobile also won the European Golden Shoe for the continent's top scorer this term.

"Winning the Golden Shoe is a source of great pride, to go down in the history of this sport," said Immobile, who scored seven goals in his last five games, including a hat-trick.

Lazio finished fourth to return to the Champions League for the first time since 2007.

Zlatan rolls back the years

Zlatan Ibrahimovic became the oldest player to score 10 goals in a Serie A season as AC Milan finished the campaign on a 12-game unbeaten run for the first time in nearly three decades.

• 'I'm just warming up:' Ibrahimovic dismisses retirement talk

The 38-year-old, who joined Milan in January, scored his first goal at Cagliari and ended the campaign scoring against the Sardinians in a 3-0 win at the San Siro.

The seven-time European champions moved up from 11th in January to sixth and qualified for the Europa League.

Balotelli flops amid racism storm

Mario Balotelli's return to hometown club Brescia was a flop with the Italy international also subjected to racism.

The 29-year-old former Manchester City and Liverpool striker was targeted by racist abuse at Lazio and Verona, where he threatened to walk off the pitch.

Verona were given a one-match partial stadium closure, which was later suspended on appeal. Lazio were fined 20,000 euros.

There was also controversy during the season surrounding Serie A's anti-racism campaign which featured three images of monkeys.

Balotelli scored just five goals as Brescia returned to Serie B after just one season in the top flight.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Miguel Medina

Mario Balotelli's ill-fated stint at hometown club Brescia appears to be coming to an end, with local media reporting Saturday his contract will be terminated after repeated absences from training.

A letter notifying Balotelli of his release was sent to the Italy international by the club's lawyers on Friday, according to Sky Sport, Gazzetta dello Sport and the AGI news agency.

Balotelli has reportedly missed a number of sessions since Serie A teams returned to training at the start of May. Players initially worked out individually before clearance was given for them to resume team training.

Read | Mario Balotelli thanks support after being racially abused at Verona

The 29-year-old said this week he had been sick and would send the club medical certificates as proof.

Brescia coach Diego Lopez said on Friday he was 'disappointed' with the forward's attitude.

"Mario is training separately because his team-mates have done work that he hasn't," Lopez told Corriere della Sera.

"The (individual) training sessions were optional, okay. But the group took one road and he took another. On Zoom, during the quarantine, we didn't see him. Even if he says he feels good, he's not at the level of his team-mates."

Read | The return of Serie A: What's at stake

Last month, Brescia president said Balotelli's 'mind is no longer' with the club, who were bottom of the table and nine points from safety when the season was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic in March.

"I love him and I was hoping that the air of home and the desire to get back into the national team would do him good. We are all disappointed," said Massimo Cellino.

Balotelli, who has 36 caps for Italy, joined Brescia last summer but has scored just five times in 19 matches for the club.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Isabella Bonotto

Italian club Verona were on Tuesday given a one-match partial stadium closure for monkey chants from their fans directed at Brescia forward Mario Balotelli during a Serie A game at the weekend.

Italian international Balotelli scored in Sunday's 2-1 defeat but his performance was overshadowed by his fury at the racist abuse from a section of Verona's supporters.

Serie A's disciplinary commission on Tuesday said the chants "were clearly perceived, in addition to the player, also by the federation representative positioned nearby."

The commission found "after these cries... there were also cries of support followed by long applause".

As a result they ordered that a section known as the "Poltrone Est" in the Bentegodi Stadium, which can host around 3,500 spectators in the 30,000-capacity ground, be closed for one match.

Despite denials of abuse from Verona, a video published on Twitter by a fan showed a number of supporters directing abuse at Balotelli before the forward booted the ball at them in the stands.

"I didn't accuse Hellas Verona, I didn't accuse that section of the Hellas Verona stadium. I accused the handful of idiots who did what I heard. I accused those morons and that's all," Balotelli told Italian television.

"If you want to disturb a player, there are thousands of other ways to do it. But not like that. It's not right like that.

"This handful, and I say it again because the idiots aren't numerous but they exist, those who did that are stupid. Racist behaviour is not acceptable, it never has been, and never will be," he added.

The match was suspended for a few minutes around the hour mark as Balotelli tried to force himself from the field before a message was read out on the stadium loudspeaker threatening that both teams would leave the field if there was a repeat of any abuse.

The message was whistled loudly by a large number of the home fans.

Verona coach Ivan Juric insisted he heard "no racists chants, nothing at all," adding that "to say otherwise is a lie".

Earlier Verona announced they had banned Luca Castellini, the leader of their hardcore ultras supporters group, until June 2030 for saying Balotelli would never be "completely Italian".

"Balotelli's Italian because he has Italian citizenship, but he can never be completely Italian," Castellini said in a radio interview on Monday.

When asked if Verona fans were racist, Castellini added: "We have a negro in our team and he scored yesterday and all of Verona applauded."  

Verona barred Castellini from their stadium "based on considerations and expressions seriously contrary to those that distinguish the ethical principles and values of our club".

Balotelli, 29, who was born in Palermo to Ghanaian parents but was raised just outside Brescia, had to be held back by players from both teams to stop him leaving the pitch.

"Balotelli's a clown. He only heard it in his own head," continued Castellini.

According to the Italian Ansa news agency, the Verona public prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into Castellini's remarks for a potential crime of "incitement to racial hatred".

A motion was also put forward to the Verona city council by four councillors calling for any footballer "defaming" the city to face legal action. 

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, whose side are in Italy to face Atalanta in the Champions League on Wednesday, expressed his support for ex-City striker Balotelli.

"Unfortunately, these things happen a lot and often the innocent party is blamed," said Guardiola at a San Siro news conference. 

"I hope Mario Balotelli is not punished because sometimes strong steps are needed to make progress.

"It is a problem throughout Europe and not only in Italy. We have to fight day after day, at home and in schools."

Balotelli, who obtained Italian citizenship at the age of 18, has been capped 36 times for Italy.

Featured image courtesy: AFP/ Miguel Medina

Mario Balotelli on Sunday thanked his fellow players and supporters for their support after he was racially abused by Hellas Verona fans, the latest in a series of ugly incidents that have blighted the early weeks of the Serie A season.

Brescia striker Balotelli scored in a 2-1 Serie A defeat at Verona that leaves his hometown side in the relegation zone, but his performance was overshadowed by his fury at Verona's notorious supporters, who have a long track record of far-right politics and open racism.

Despite denials of abuse from Verona, a video published on Twitter by a fan showed a number of supporters clearly directing monkey chants at Balotelli before the Italy international booted the ball at them in the stands.

The 29-year-old, who was born in Palermo to Ghanaian parents but was raised just outside Brescia, then had to be held back by players from both teams to stop him from leaving the field of play.

"Thanks to all the colleagues on and off the field for the solidarity expressed toward me and all of the messages received from you fans," Balotelli wrote in a message on Instagram alongside a video of the incident.

"A heartfelt thanks. You're real men, not like those who deny the evidence."

Verona coach Ivan Juric had earlier told Sky Sport that he heard "no racists chants, nothing at all" after a win that lifts his side to ninth, adding that "to say otherwise is a lie".

The club's president Maurizio Setti then said that his club's supporters were "light-hearted, not racist" and were a crowd with "real sport in its DNA".

"We are the first to condemn racism but it is wrong to generalise... Maybe two or three people among 20,000 fans might have said something," he said to Sky.

Read | Racism in football: Three instances where players stood up

The match was suspended for a few minutes around the hour mark as Balotelli tried to force himself from the field before a message was read out on the stadium loudspeaker threatening that both teams would leave the field if there was a repeat of any abuse, a message that was whistled loudly by a large number of the home fans.

Balotelli's agent Mino Raiola told AFP he was backing his player, saying that he was "against all forms of racism." 

Italy coach Roberto Mancini, who managed Balotelli at Inter Milan and Manchester City, said that Italy "needs to work together to ensure that this sort of intolerance doesn't repeat itself".

A number of black players have been racially abused by supporters in Italy in the opening weeks of the season, with Milan midfielder Franck Kessie targeted by Verona fans in September and Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku abused at Cagliari, also serial offenders.

Later Sunday, Brescia said they had sacked their 49-year-old coach Eugenio Corini.

"Brescia Calcio club announce the dismissal of coach Eugenio Corini," said a club statement.

Elsewhere Balotelli's former club AC Milan continued their mediocre season with a 2-1 defeat to Lazio that left the seven-time European champions languishing in 11th, level on 13 points with Udinese.

Ciro Immobile's 100th Lazio goal and Joaquin Correa's strike seven minutes from the end gave Lazio their first win away at Milan in 30 years, which puts them fourth.

Serie A top scorer Immobile's bullet header in the first half takes him to an astonishing 13 goals in 11 appearances.

Simone Inzaghi's side are level on 21 points with surprise package Cagliari and Atalanta after the Sardinian side saw off the 10-man Bergamo-based outfit 2-0 earlier.

Both sides are a point behind Roma, who stayed third following their 2-1 win over Napoli on Saturday which extends their unbeaten run in the league to six games despite a weeks-long injury crisis.

Paulo Fonseca's team remain seven points behind league leaders Juventus, who stay top thanks to Matthijs de Ligt's derby winner in their 1-0 triumph at Torino on Saturday.

The Dutch international's first Juve goal since arriving from Ajax in the summer kept Inter Milan at bay by a single point despite Romelu Lukaku's brace sealing a late 2-1 win at Bologna and taking the Belgian's Serie A tally to nine in 11 games.

Featured image courtesy: AFP/ Miguel Medina

The most dramatic conclusion to Premier League season happened back in 2012 when Manchester City lifted the esteemed league title after a span of 44 years. The adrenaline was worth it, the tears were worth it and the scenery when the prolonged wait for a title came to an end, was undoubtedly worth every penny.

However, since the triumphant season in 2012, the squad has been revamped and revitalized at various intervals as the Citizens tasted resounding success in the past five seasons. Given the fact that this all started seven years back, lets dwell on the players who made it all possible and where are they now.

Joe Hart

The England international was the first choice between the nets for City’s then manager Roberto Mancini as he enjoyed a successful stint that season. Hart kept 19 clean sheets in the Premier League that season and was a rock-solid figure for the Citizens. He was loaned out to Torino in 2016 and West Ham United in 2017 before eventually joining Burnley in 2018.

Vincent Kompany

City’s most beloved player, Vincent Kompany was the architect of defence in their ascent to glory. He guided the team all along and was an impeccable defender for the Citizens. He struck that crucial goal last season against Leicester City to propel City to yet another league title before leaving the club for RSC Anderlecht.

Pablo Zabaleta

The Argentinian defender ensured that the Citizens didn’t lose the momentum on the left flank. After joining City back in 2008 from Espanyol, Pablo Zabaleta was stern at the back on the day of their final encounter against Queens Park Rangers in 2012. He moved to West Ham United in the 2017/18 season.

Read | Why Manchester City and not Liverpool are still the best team in England

Joleon Lescott

Joleon Lescott’s tenure at City was fruitful in 2012 as he became an instrumental member of the back line at the time and was a regular starter for the Citizens. The center-back was asked to leave back in 2014 when City were in a bid to revamp their entire defensive model. He eventually retired at Sunderland in 2017.

Gael Clichy

Image: AFP / Glyn Kirk

Joining City from rivals Arsenal in 2011, French defender Gael Clichy made those lung bursting runs on the flank and was renowned for his extensive work rate. He remained with the blue side of Manchester until 2017 and made his move to Istanbul Basaksehir FK in Turkey, where he still plays.

Samir Nasri

Samir Nasri was one of the hottest properties in football back in the 2011/12 season. Arsenal let him join City in the triumphant season itself and the French midfielder delivered his promise by providing five goals and nine crucial assists in that season. He was loaned to Sevilla in 2016 and at present is playing with his ex-teammate, Kompany at RSC Anderlecht.

Gareth Barry

Before being loaned out to Everton in 2013, Gareth Barry was a pivotal figure in City’s midfield, especially in the 2012 season. He made 34 appearances in the league that season and drove the City’s midfield engine. All is not well for Barry as of now. He moved to West Bromwich Albion in 2017 and is now without a club. He is although training with the club at present.

David Silva

Arguably City’s most influential player in dictating the play, David Silva is still serving the team he helped lift the trophy back in 2012. He’s been at City since 2010 and has lifted four Premier League titles at the Etihad stadium. The Spaniard’s record in the title winning season back in 2012 was phenomenal as he racked up a total of 17 assists in the league.

Yaya Toure

Image: AFP / Graham Stuart

Yaya Toure came to City after a three-year stint with Spanish giants Barcelona. His unparalleled determination paved the way for City’s historic success in 2012 when he netted six goals and provided seven valuable assists in the entire season. The 36-year-old is now attached with a club in China named Qingdao Huanghai.

Sergio Aguero

Manchester City’s most prolific forward of all time, Sergio Aguero has only nourished and turned into a world class striker. He is going strong with the Citizens and his goal scoring abilities have taken new leaps. Since scoring the memorable title-winner against QPR, the Argentine striker has gone on to become the club’s top-scorer.

Read | Five Players who played for both Manchester City and Manchester United

Carlos Tevez

Manchester United fans were displeased when they witnessed their ex-player lifting the title with their neighbours. Although, Tevez played just 13 games in the league in 2012, he scored four goals and gave three invaluable assists. He traversed around making his way to Juventus, Boca Juniors and SH Shenhua in subsequent years, but decided to come back to Boca Juniors in 2018.

Mario Balotelli

Known for his flamboyance and gimmicks on the pitch, Mario Balotelli provided the goals that City desperately needed back then. He netted 13 goals and was slowly emerging as one of the most promising forwards in the world at the time. Since leaving City in 2013, the Italian striker has become more of a journeyman, representing the likes of AC Milan (twice), Liverpool, Nice, Marseille before settling at Brescia Calcio in Serie A.

Edin Dzeko

Currently leading the pack at AS Roma in Italy, Edin Dzeko’s equalizer in stoppage time turned the tides for City and made them believe that they could lift the title. He enjoyed a successful campaign with the Citizens with 14 goals and made a famous comeback possible that will be echoed across the Etihad stadium for ages.

Feature image courtesy: AFP/ Paul Ellis

The European qualifier between England and Bulgaria was overshadowed by racial slurs from the Bulgarian fans in the stand, and sparked a long-term debate about the state of racism that still prevails. The match was halted twice due to inappropriate chants addressed towards English centre back Tyrone Mings, with one section of the crowd even performing Nazi salutes.

England’s 6-0 victory was sidelined due to the chaos that ensued, and the players expressed their disappointment over the unfortunate turn of events. After a huge backlash by the footballing fraternity, Belgian football chief Borislav Mihaylov resigned from his post, showing that the UEFA will be harsh on instances of situations inciting racism. Although, similar instances in the past have blighted the game and left the fans fuming. Here we look at three instances when players acted upon the racial abuse they faced from the crowds in the stadium.

Mario Balotelli’s resolve against AS Roma

Known for his grand personality and unflinching confidence on the pitch, Mario Balotelli has often been a victim of racial chants. During an encounter against AS Roma back in 2013, Mario was subjected to offensive monkey chants at the San Siro stadium in Milan.

The then AC Milan forward responded by putting a finger on his lips, showcasing it to the offending supporters. Despite repeated announcements in the stadium to stop the unnecessary chants, the chants continued for a while and the match wasn’t abandoned.

Mario’s stance against the offensive supporters was acknowledged by players across the spectrum but the true perpetrators were never identified. He was subjected to another racial profiling back in 2017 when he was playing for Nice against Bastia in the French league. However, this time Ligue 1 took disciplinary action against Bastia and the club endured a three-match ban at home for the fans as they played behind closed doors.

Kevin Constant decided enough is enough

In a pre-season friendly against Sassuolo, the AC Milan midfielder was the subject of huge abuse by the home supporters and advertently kicked the ball into the crowd in frustration. He decided to walk off the pitch while the referee issued a warning to abandon the match if the racial assaults continued.

The Guinean international was substituted, and expressed his displeasure when the club displayed only half-hearted support for the incident. Although he walked off, play resumed and the match was completed.

Kevin Prince Boateng led a player walk-off

Kevin Prince Boateng led a player walk-off against fourth division side Pro Patria when the former was subjected to racial abuse by the supporters. It was a friendly fixture that didn’t end well as the match was abandoned after just 26 minutes. Boateng decided to pick up the ball and address it to his teammates that they will not be taking part in this sadistic fest.

As a result of the same, Pro Patria were forced to play a match behind closed doors but that didn’t seem a long-term solution.

England’s decision to continue against Bulgaria was brave but the answer to racism is still a work-in-progress and will need UEFA to build up a solid policy to ensure fair play in the future.

Feature image courtesy: AFP/ Paul Ellis