Five standouts of the Italian season

Juventus won the title and will play Napoli in the Cup final but who were the standout stars in Serie A this season?Antonio Conte -- The Juventus coach started this season with just over three months of Serie A experience but he has looked anything but a novice. Having twice guided a team to promotion to the top flight, including with Siena last season, Conte had proved he could coach teams in the upper regions of their respective leagues. What he brought was great energy and determination to a Juve side that under-performed drastically in their previous two seasons. Juve lacked fire in their bellies but that has changed now. Conte has proved he belongs at this level. Andrea Pirlo -- Many thought the elegant midfielder had come to the end of the road as a top level performer when AC Milan let him go in the summer. But Pirlo proved there is more than enough life yet in the old dog. He may have lost his place to Mark van Bommel at Milan but he went to Juve and won not just a starting berth but the admiration of everyone. Pirlo was the catalyst and playmaker supreme that ensured Juve were always a dominant presence on the pitch. He was so good this season that many people were simply stunned that Milan could have made such a mistake.Antonio Di Natale -- At 34 many have thought Di Natale was passed his best for a couple of years now and yet he remains one of the most dangerous strikers in the league. No other striker has been a more consistent goalscorer than Di Natale over the last few seasons -- he finished top scorer in each of the previous two -- and he is a major reason Udinese have qualified for the Champions League for a second year in a row. Rumour has it, he's even played his way back into Italy reckoning ahead of the Euros.Diego Milito -- It really has been a season for the veterans in Italy and Milito has been the epitome of triumph over adversity. He looked lost during Inter Milan's early troubles as he made a number of astonishing close range misses that saw him at times left out of the team. But since the turn of the year Milito found his form and the goals started to flow. His moment came in the Milan derby when he plundered a hat-trick as Inter downed the champions and handed the title to Juve.Rodrigo Palacio -- Denied a move to Milan in the summer he may well get his wish this time around after a fine season in a struggling team. Palacio was Milan's first choice target during the off season but they were put off by Genoa's asking price and Milan turned their attentions elsewhere. Palacio signed a contract extension with Genoa but their struggles this season, saving themselves from relegation only on the final day, mean they may struggle to hold onto the talented Argentine. Far from an out and out forward, he is an ideal player to operate in the trequartista attacking midfield role behind the front two, somewhere Milan need reinforcements given Kevin-Prince Boateng's injury troubles this season.

Source: AFP