Starting the 2018-19 campaign by setting a new club record for consecutive victories, Juventus have proceeded business as usual. Whether taking part in Serie A or the Champions League, the Turin giants have been steamrolling opponents with ease, putting themselves in an extremely comfortable position in both competitions. They had already won the Scudetto in each of the last seven seasons, and have shown that bookmakers were absolutely right to favor them to lift any trophy they are attempting to win this year.

However, it was a very different story last July as the summer of 2017 saw the Bianconeri rocked to their very core. The club had grown used to being the center of the Italian football universe, so it was jarring to see the headquarters of AC Milan suddenly become the focal point of global attention. The reason was simple as — after years of mediocrity — the San Siro-based side were making a major splash in the transfer market as they were set to complete a move that was appeared as if it would substantially weaken the reigning champions.

Out of nowhere, Milan announced that Leonardo Bonucci — an Italy international and one of the pillars of Juve’s success — was joining them in a €40 million deal. He was simultaneously named club captain and it was not only a jaw-dropping defection by the talented defender, but also an acquisition that could have drastically altered the landscape of the entire league and shifted the balance of power away from the Bianconeri.

Sadly for Milan supporters, it was instead a false dawn, their new owner Yonghong Li quickly ousted when it became apparent that he simply did not have the financial power to maintain such a giant club and a hastily assembled team stumbled through the 2017-18 season. Ultimately they would finish in sixth place as Juve scooped another league and cup double; Bonucci left looking on as they gleefully paraded the trophies through the streets of Turin. 

He knew he’d made a mistake. The only way to rectify it was to seek a switchback, his agent making contact almost as soon as the final game was played, and eventually the two clubs found a solution that saw Mattia Caldara and Gonzalo Higuain move in the opposite direction.

“Things happened during the last four months of my first spell with Juventus,” Bonucci told the Corriere dello Sport newspaper recently. “They hurt my pride and affected me on a personal level, and I wasn’t good enough to just let it go but with time and seeing it from the outside, I realized that leaving Juventus wasn’t the right decision because only here and with this shirt can I express my potential on and off the field.”

The 31-year-old went on to add that he “was lucky enough to return and had realized that this was the only thing I really wanted,” with events since having fully justified those beliefs. Milan once again look some distance away from contending for the title, while Juventus continue to go from strength to strength.

Resigning Bonucci was one of a number of moves that happened following Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival, with new teammates including Portuguese right back Joao Cancelo, former Liverpool midfielder Emre Can, and Italy goalkeeper Mattia Perin. The latter has yet to break into Coach Max Allegri’s first choice XI, but the others were a clear signal that the Old Lady had shifted into “win now” mode, recognition of the fact that the signing of CR7 has opened a small window of opportunity.

Ronaldo has given them a chance to become Champions League winners for the first time since 1996, but at 33 years old, they must look to maximize the remainder of his prime and seize their chance immediately. Juventus have already shown rapid progress this term after that lightning-fast start and they look even more imperious than ever, piling up wins and sweeping aside would be rivals with surprising ease.

Playing his own part in that by reinforcing the defense and spraying his trademark long balls all over the pitch, Leonardo Bonucci almost looks like he’s never been away.

Adam Digby is an Italian football writer for FourFourTwo, The Independent, and elsewhere. Author of "Juventus: A History In Black & White." Follow Adam on Twitter.