The 2023-24 season is proving to be a difficult one for Italian football on the European stage and beyond.
A series of tough results has started a new conversation about the health of the game in the country.
The concerns are not just about one team. They cover the whole picture, from the national team to the clubs at the top of Serie A. Here is a look at the current state of play.
World Cup Worries
For a country with four World Cup titles, the thought of missing the 2026 World Cup tournament is hard to accept. This would be the third time in a row they have failed to qualify. The national team is still working to find its footing after missing out on the 2018, 2022 and 2026 editions, and the pressure is on to make sure it does not happen again in 2030.
European Struggles for the Champions
At the club level, the results have been just as worrying. Napoli, the team that won the Serie A title last season, had a short and disappointing run in the Champions League. They were knocked out in the league phase, failing to finish high enough to advance. It was an early exit for one of Italy’s top sides.
A Heavy Loss for the League Leaders
Even the current league leaders are not safe from embarrassment. Inter Milan, who sit at the top of Serie A, traveled to Norway to face Bodø/Glimt. What was expected to be a tough away game turned into a major upset. Inter was completely outplayed and lost by a big score, a result that shocked fans and showed the gap that can exist on the European stage. Yet again at the Sansiro lost by 2-1
Playoff Pain
The bad news kept coming in the knockout playoff rounds. Atalanta and Juventus, two of Italy’s biggest clubs, both faced heavy defeats. Each team lost their first playoff game by two or more goals, leaving them with a very difficult task in the second leg. Both are now at serious risk of being eliminated from their competitions.
A Long Wait for European Glory
These results add to a long period without the biggest prize in club football. An Italian team has not won the Champions League since Inter Milan did it in the 2009-10 season. That is nearly 15 years ago. For a league that was once known as the best in the world, the wait for another European champion continues to grow.
Taken together, these results point to a difficult period for Italian football. With the national team struggling to qualify for the World Cup and the top clubs failing to make deep runs in Europe, there are many questions that need answers. The rest of the season will be important to see if things can turn around.
Italian football stands on the brink of a Champions League “debacle” – with the prospect of no Serie A clubs competing in this season’s last 16.
Since the reintroduction of the last-16 knockout round to Europe’s showpiece competition in 2003-04, there has always been at least one Italian representative – on 12 occasions in the past 22 years, there have been three.
In fact, there has been at least one Italian side in the last 16 of the competition – or first knockout round when it took other formats – every year since 1987-88, when Napoli went out in the first round of the European Cup to Real Madrid.