The 2025-26 Champions League has been a tough campaign for Serie A.
Napoli somehow finished 30th in the league phase, while Juventus and Inter Milan fell in rather shambolic fashion in the knockout phase play-offs. The Nerazzurri suffered arguably the biggest shock in modern times by bowing out to the brilliant Bodo/Glimt.
At least Juventus can claim a farcical red card handed out to Lloyd Kelly as a reason for their demise. They did lead Galatasaray 3-0 at one stage of the second leg after all. However, their 5-2 loss in Istanbul always made progression a tough task. As did a dismissal in that game too.
Atalanta are the sole representatives in the Champions League last 16, and La Dea will have to be the full Italian job from now on.
In this article, we’ll cover:
Conte’s struggles reflect the league
Antonio Conte’s Champions League record is extremely poor. The serial league title winner has gone past the round of 16 just once despite managing all of Juventus, Inter, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur in the competition previously. He has as many losses as wins from his 50 games – 17.
His strange run is a near-reflection of Italy’s struggles over the same time period. Before we fully dive into that, let’s circle back and give some proper credit to Atalanta who continue to fly the flag for the peninsula.
Their comeback victory over Borussia Dortmund was both remarkable and dramatic. Even more so considering Ademola Lookman departed for Atletico Madrid in January.
Lookman was the hat-trick hero in Dublin in May 2024 when Gian Piero Gasperini masterminded a stunning Europa League success over the then-unbeatable Bayer Leverkusen.
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That win ties in with the downturn in fortunes for the league as a whole with it being the first and only win in the competition this century. That tally is made even more dismal when you consider Serie A’s previous stranglehold over the trophy prior.
In the 11 seasons between 1988-89 to 1998-99, there were eight Italian winners of the old Uefa Cup. And four finals were all-Italian affairs.
That sharp decline unsurprisingly translate to the Champions League where not since Inter in 2010 has the famous trophy come back to its one-time home.
| Seasons | Serie A sides in Champions League last-16 |
|---|---|
| 2011-12 | 3 (Inter, AC Milan, Napoli) |
| 2012-13 | 2 (Juventus, AC Milan) |
| 2013-14 | 1 (AC Milan) |
| 2014-15 | 1 (Juventus) |
| 2015-16 | 2 (Juventus, Roma) |
| 2016-17 | 2 (Napoli, Juventus) |
| 2017-18 | 2 (Juventus, Roma) |
| 2018-19 | 2 (Juventus, Roma) |
| 2019-20 | 3 (Atalanta, Juventus, Napoli) |
| 2020-21 | 3 (Atalanta, Juventus, Lazio) |
| 2021-22 | 2 (Inter, Juventus) |
| 2022-23 | 3 (Inter, AC Milan, Napoli) |
| 2023-24 | 3 (Inter, Lazio, Napoli) |
| 2024-25 | 1 (Inter) |
| 2025-26 | 1 (Atalanta) |
Inter have made finals in 2023 and 2025 as well as Juventus in 2015 and 2017. But, overall, it’s been a serious struggle.
Issues both internal and external
The financial might of the Premier League and the state ownership of Paris Saint-Germain has completely transformed European football, and not for the better. But Italy have never recovered from their own ruin of the early 2000s and the Calciopoli scandal.
There’s myriad issues elsewhere like Simone Inzaghi’s departure from Inter and their ageing squad. Or Juventus’ continued mismanagement in the years since Cristiano Ronaldo’s costly arrival. Generally speaking, though, you look at the squads and the size of the budgets, and competing is a hope, not a true belief.
It’s not just an issue for Italy but Europe as a whole. While Uefa will undoubtedly use the presence of clubs from nine different countries in Friday’s draw to extol the virtues of the Swiss model, the competitive balance is not right.
The competitive balance in Europe is not healthy
Six English sides and one Italian side in the last-16 speaks as much to that as anything. Even more so when you look at Tottenham finishing fourth in the 36-team European table while they sit fifth from bottom in the Premier League.
Though only Arsenal look certain to progress to the quarter-finals – and possibly Liverpool – the odds of an Italian presence in the last eight are slim at best.
Atalanta ensured new history would not be made with no Serie A side in the last-16 for the first time. But unless they can bounce another Bundesliga side in the all-conquering Bayern Munich, another piece of history will repeat itself.
An exit will mean no Italian side in the quarter-finals for the fourth time in six seasons. It’s a damning statistic and one that makes it crystal clear that their lack of success this campaign is not an anomaly but the status quo in European football.