But hardly had the celebrations concluded when Italian football started on its now usual round of summer recriminations. This time the targets of the authorities investigation were not however the nonentities of past seasons. Instead Milan, Juventus, Lazio and Fiorentina were under scrutiny.
The investigation is now over, sanctions have been delivered so what does Serie A minus Juventus hold for season 2006 / 2007?
At the bottom end it is normal for newly promoted clubs to struggle and avoiding immediate return to Serie B is generally considered acceptable but frequently unavoidable.
Torino, having added Pancaro, Fiore, Barone and Abbiati to their squad and under new coach Alberto Zaccheroni should comfortably buck that trend.
Not so Catania who look likely to return whence they came by season's end. I suspect they will be joined in the drop by Reggina ( whose fifteen point calciopoli sanction will be too much ) and Messina after a close run affair with Empoli, Ascoli, Chievo and Atalanta who have returned to Serie A after only one season at the lower level.
So much for the bottom. What will happen at the top?
It is strange to be anticipating the 9/10 September Serie A start without Juventus but the club will be back. It will take more than a politically inspired vendetta masterminded by an embittered prosecutor to terminally damage the Old Lady.
The summer has seen the usual flurry of transfers with Inter's Massimo Moratti being by far the most energetic in the market despite having announced the club was for sale after last season's exit from the Champions League at the hand of Villarreal. Crespo, Ibrahimovic, Maicon, Grosso and Vieira are among the star arrivals and they should be there or thereabouts when the prizes are handed out - but one must never underestimate Inter's serial ability to screw things up.
Milan have been less active in the mercato with possibly the most notable activity being the Shevchenko €45 million move to Chelsea. The tifosi of the Curva Sud were sad to see him depart but as club owner and godfather to Sheva's son Silvio Berlusconi said: ' Milan has no wish to retain a player who does not want to be here '.
Efforts to replace Shevchenko were frantic and only ended with the arrival of Brazilian Ricardo Oliveira from Real Betis with Johan Vogel moving in the opposite direction. Most notable of the other arrivals is Giuseppe Favalli from Inter and the young Rennes prodigy Yoann Gorcuff.
Will the limited signings and the eight point calciopoli penalty be too much of a handicap for Milan?...At Champions League level probably yes but not for Serie A where they will be ultra-competitive.
The only other likely contenders are Fiorentina and Roma.
The Viola have a nineteen point calciopoli sanction to overcome but they have retained last season's top scorer and World Cup winner Luca Toni and with Adrian Mutu and Manuele Blasi on loan from Juventus in the line-up they will be a credible force.
Roma who have a fit again Totti back in harness have not notably strengthened with Inter's David Pizarro being their highest profile arrival. They have lost Argentinean defender Leandro Cufre to Monaco but still retain Christian Panucci, Philippe Mexes and Daniele DeRossi which ensure they remain very competitive.
Do not expect any surprises from potential mid-table residents like Sampdoria, Parma, Udinese and Livorno who will all provide well drilled opposition to the front runners but the most we can expect from them is the occasional upset.
So who will prevail?
Milan to overcome the eight point sanction and shade it from Inter who will suffer from fractious relations between big name egos with Roma in third place followed by Udinese and Fiorentina.
CARINO