Mobbed: David Trezeguet rejoices with supporters (GraziaNeri/Allsport)

Inter's twice World Player of the Year Ronaldo was in tears as he slumped on the bench, head in hands, after his team crashed to a 4-2 defeat at Lazio.

Inter, desperate to end a 13-year spell without Italy's treasured 'scudetto', began the day one point ahead of Juventus and knowing that victory over Lazio would bring them the long-awaited title.

That dream was crushed as Juventus eased to a 2-0 win at Udinese to secure their 26th league title.

It also ensured revenge for their coach Marcello Lippi who was sacked by Inter after the first game of last season before returning to Juventus this term.

The silver-haired coach had won three titles in his first spell at the club, but said the latest was the sweetest.

'They were all great feelings but this one is the strongest,' Lippi said.

'Being away for two years (seasons) and coming back to win like this is a very great feeling'.

NORTH AND SOUTH

Juve can boast a fan base across the length and breadth of Italy and celebrations broke out across the country.

Thousands of fans took to the streets as far away as Palermo and Catania in Sicily, at Italy's southern tip.

There was some tension in Milan where celebrating Juve fans were involved in brief scuffles with inconsolable Inter supporters as they made their way home from the centre of the city where they had planned to celebrate.

But it was pure joy in Turin where tens of thousands of jubilant Juventus fans packed the city centre to celebrate their first championship since 1998.

'It's always a huge sense of joy. It's always as if it's the first time for us,' said Patrizia Rodomonti above the deafening noise of car horns and jubilant chanting.

Juventus were six points behind Inter at the start of April but a run of five straight wins enabled them to close on their stuttering rivals, eventually overtaking them on the final day.

It was a particularly bitter finale for Inter coach Hector Cuper who had suffered defeat in three successive European finals with Spanish clubs Real Mallorca and Valencia before taking over at Inter this season.

	Boss Marcello Lippi celebrates with Juve's fans at Udinese (GraziaNeri/Allsport)

'It was terrible,' said Cuper who lost the last two Champions League finals with Valencia and the Cup Winners' Cup final while in charge of Real Mallorca the previous season. 'In the second half my team lost their heads. But it is hard to reason at a time like this,' the Argentine added.

Lazio's performance was the perfect reply to the cynics who had hinted they might not give their all in case they gave a chance to their fierce local rivals AS Roma to snatch the title.

Defending champions AS Roma had only a slight chance to claim top spot and had to settle for second after a 1-0 win at Torino.

In a bizarre twist, Lazio fans turned against their own team and supported Inter, leading president Sergio Cragnotti to declare: 'I am deeply disappointed....I think today I have lost the fans forever.'

Despite the pre-match suspicions and insinuations that Lippi had described as 'sickening', there was an air of reconciliation after a day of drama that was free of the refereeing controversy that has plagued much of the campaign.

Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon admitted feeling great sympathy for Inter.