Remember the 2022-2023 season, where Italy had placed a representative in the final of each European competition. Inter in the Champions League, AS Roma in the Europa League and Fiorentina in the Conference League certainly each lost theirs, but had shown that Italian football had retained its vigor. In 2023, 2024, and 2025, Italian clubs had performed well in the UEFA index, establishing themselves as the second major force behind England. Last season, Inter shined again in the Champions League, defeating Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona before losing to PSG in the final.
But this season, even the Lombard club seems to be losing control, like its scathing defeat (3-1) against Bodo Glimt in the first leg. And if the internal locomotive brakes, it is not helped by the rest of the team. The reigning Serie A champion, Naples, disappeared from the league stage, with a sad 30th place. Juventus was swept away by Galatasaray (5-2) and is clearly on the verge of elimination, while Atalanta lost 2-0 on the lawn of Borussia Dortmund. Three defeats and ten goals conceded. The 3 Italian clubs involved in the play-off already have their backs against the wall, and the level currently displayed makes the Italian press pessimistic about the chances of catching up.
Save the furniture
Three years ago, Italy placed 3 representatives in the quarter-finals of the Champions League (Inter, AC Milan and Naples). In 2026, there could no longer be an Italian club from the round of 16. A big blow in store for the UEFA index. “We are in free fall, overtaken and left behind not only by England, but also by Germany, Portugal and Spain. A fifth place in the Champions League next season is almost impossible. For the moment, it is mainly a matter of saving the furniture, speculating on possible, but very complicated, recovery”written as follows Sports Mediaset.
What’s wrong this season? The tactical specificities, with teams arranged in 3-5-2 or 3-4-3, no longer mask the lack of resources. “The European dimension of our teams is what it is, investments are limited, especially compared to English football, and the chances of doing well often rely more on tactical sense than on technique”reminds Sports Mediaset. There remains Bologna, in the play-off, and AS Roma in the Europa League, and Fiorentina, in the Conference League, to restore the Italian image, but the blow dealt to the three transalpine representatives in the Champions League hurts. Already last season, AC Milan and Juventus bit the dust in the play-off, eliminated respectively by Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven. Two Dutch clubs whose financial means do not surpass those of the Italians. A burst of pride is therefore expected next week. “We absolutely must avoid such a brutal and rapid exit from Europe”concludes Sports Mediaset.
