Italian football is staring into the abyss of a Champions League catastrophe, with the once-dominant Serie A facing the real possibility of having no clubs in the last 16 of Europe’s elite competition for the first time in nearly four decades.
Since the reintroduction of the Champions League last-16 knockout round in 2003–04, Italy has always had at least one representative.
On 12 occasions in the last 22 seasons, there have been three Italian teams at that stage, but now, after a sequence of damaging results, that proud record hangs by a thread.
Inter Milan Suffers Champions League Playoff Exit
The crisis intensified on Tuesday night when Inter Milan were stunned by Norwegian debutants, Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League play-offs.
Inter Milan, who were finalists just last season, lost 2–1 at San Siro, following a 3–1 first-leg defeat, crashing out 4–3 on aggregate.
It was a humiliating as this is the first time Inter have ever been eliminated from the Champions League by a club outside Europe’s top five leagues (England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France).
Juventus and Atalanta on the Ropes
With Inter gone, Italian hopes now rest precariously on Juventus and Atalanta, both facing daunting second-leg tasks.
Failure for both would mean no Serie A club reaches the Champions League last 16.
This is an occurrence that has not happened since 1987–88, when Napoli were eliminated by Real Madrid in the European Cup first round.
Despite finishing 10th, 13th and 15th in the league phase, Inter, Juventus and Atalanta have been undone in the play-offs by more intense, high-tempo sides.
From European Kings to Chasing the Elite
The contrast is stark. In the late 1990s, Inter shattered transfer records to sign Ronaldo and Christian Vieri, during an era when Serie A was widely regarded as the world’s strongest league.
Italian dominance followed:
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AC Milan won the Champions League in 2003 and 2007
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Lost the 2005 final to Liverpool on penalties
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Inter, under Jose Mourinho, last lifted the trophy in 2010
Since then, European success has largely dried up at the highest level. Inter’s collapse is even more baffling considering their domestic form.
They currently sit 10 points clear of AC Milan in Serie A and four ahead of defending champions Napoli, who failed to escape the Champions League league phase altogether.
The problems extend beyond club football. Italy’s national team, who were European champions five years ago, must navigate a play-off in March to avoid missing a third consecutive World Cup, having last lifted the trophy in 2006.
As Juventus and Atalanta prepare for their decisive second legs tonight, Italian football stands at a crossroads, where failure could mark one of the darkest European chapters in Serie A history and progress would offer temporary relief.
