Juventus have been dethroned and Conte's Inter can now dominate Italian football

Juventus' reign at the top of Italian football was starting to resemble a monarchy, and for longer than most fans in Italy would have liked, it looked never-ending. But Antonio Conte and his Inter side have managed to dethrone the Old Lady, having himself started their stranglehold on the Scudetto in 2011/12.

It seems unlikely that the Nerazzurri will now go and win nine straight Serie A titles like Juventus had done until this season, but there's every reason to believe that they can retain their crown next season, provided that things don't take an unexpected turn over the summer.

?Conte can be a ticking time bomb. His abrupt departure from Juventus in 2014 just a day after the squad had started pre-season training shows how unpredictable he can be, and it was only last summer, after just one year at Inter, that his future was in doubt after public complaints about the club's transfer dealings.

For now, though, Conte and Giuseppe Marotta appear happy at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza and, as long as they're there, it'll be hard to tip anybody as favourites over the Nerazzurri.

The squad assembled has some ageing players and some of those will be moved on this summer. Aleksandar Kolarov is expected to depart, while Arturo Vidal and Samir Handanovic aren't likely to be as important players next season.

Nicolo Barella, Alessandro Bastoni and Lautaro Martinez, meanwhile, represent real talent who still might yet improve, having already played hugely important roles in Inter's first Scudetto since 2010.

With other relatively young players like Sebastiano Esposito, Federico Dimarco and Lucien Agoume all out on loan, there are players already owned by the club who could return a play a role next season or further down the line.

A lot of things depend on what Conte does, or doesn't do, this summer, but with the ex-Juventus boss at the helm, there's every reason for Inter to believe that further Scudetto successes are to come.