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AC Milan tore up the script to clinch their 19th Scudetto this season after 11 years of hibernation in Serie A.

The Italian club had not tasted league glory since 2011 heading into the latest campaign and that drought was very much expected to continue at the start of it. 

Nobody anticipated Stefano Pioli's young, undecorated squad going on to become champions, with a top-four finish and Champions League qualification originally their prime target.

Nevertheless, sometimes the impossible can quickly become reality, and that was certainly the case for a Milan side who overcame many negative moments with pride and sacrifice to get their hands on the title.

Sportsmail has taken a look at how a sleeping giant rose again to reclaim its crown. 

Maldini the architect of Milan reconstruction

It is difficult to pick out just a single charismatic leader from Milan's extraordinary and unexpected success, but there is one man who deserves most of the credit: Paolo Maldini. 

In August 2018 Maldini accepted a proposal from the Elliott fund and agreed to head back to the San Siro nine years after departing as a player. Four years on from that return, he has helped guide the club back to the top of Italian football.

The legendary former defender is the architect of Milan's reconstruction this season, both from a technical and financial standpoint, with his great diplomatic ability attracting several top players and restoring enthusiasm and energy to an environment which seemed to have lost all hope of returning to Serie A's summit.

After masterminding his first Scudetto as technical director, Maldini told Milan TV: 'It's all beautiful, after so many years for me and for Milan to win again is fantastic. Beautiful because deserved, after three crazy years.

'Fans have been exceptional in recent years, never lacking their support. We have to thank the spirit of the group that has never abandoned us.'

Maldini quarreled with a small section of Milan's hardcore fans, who accused him of lacking respect for the club, on the day he waved goodbye as a player in 2009. 

Yet after clinching the title at Sassuolo's Mapei Stadium he was serenaded with chants from the travelling support, marking a reconciliation between the two parties nine years on from that poisonous farewell. This is now a club full of harmony from top to bottom.

Maldini bolstered Pioli's ranks with the right players last summer and in January, however he was also responsible for keeping the head coach in his position. 

Back in 2020 Milan CEO Ivan Gazidis had already chosen Ralf Rangnick, Manchester United's unsuccessful interim boss this season, as his replacement. 

That was until Maldini intervened, urging Gazidis to keep the faith with Pioli. In the end his advice paid off.

Childhood fairytale comes true for Tonali

In the 92nd minute of their clash with Lazio, Sandro Tonali popped up with the most important goal of his career and perhaps Milan's entire season on April 24. 

It sealed a vital 2-1 win in their bid to become champions, and without it the title would be Inter's.

Fairytales typically have happy endings and in the case of Tonali his story is full of tears and love for Milan. It began in his childhood, when he enjoyed playing in the Rossoneri shirt in a church courtyard just outside of his school.

At that time Carlo Ancelotti's side were kings of Europe and the world, and in the midst of their success Tonali was carving out his own journey to the top while dreaming of becoming a future Milan star. 

Two years ago he called Gennaro Gattuso and asked for his blessing to take the famous No 8 shirt, now he sits as one of the heroes in his beloved club's 19th Scudetto win.