Serie A teams need to up the ante in European competitions

The glory days when Serie A clubs were the dominant force in European football have sadly become nothing more than a distant memory.

Inter were the last Italian team to win the Champions League in 2009/10 and that miserable streak is unlikely to end this season.

While Inter are rated as 28/1 shots on new betting sites to lift the trophy in May, you would be hard-pressed to believe they will get the job done.

Inter are on course reach the last-16, where they could be joined Atalanta, Juventus and Napoli. Serie A teams are also in contention to progress in UEFA’s second and third tier competitions.

Roma and Bologna are battling to make it through in the Europa League, while Fiorentina have reached the knockout round play-offs in the Europa Conference League.

Atalanta triumphed in the Europa League in 2023/24, while Roma were the winners of the inaugural edition of the Europa Conference League two years earlier.

However, for a country rated as one of the big hitters in world football, success in those competitions does little to justify that lofty status.

With that in mind, read on as we assess why Serie A teams have fallen behind their rivals in Europe and how they can rewrite the narrative.

Debunking the ‘wealth’ argument

Many people believe that finances have contributed to the failure of Serie A teams in Europe, but that argument is flawed.

When assessing the market value of the players in each team in the top five European leagues, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich top the standings in terms of trophies won.

However, anyone who thinks that richer clubs win more trophies in Europe is mistaken, as they have each claimed just one Champions League title in the last ten years.

That point is further hammered home in the Premier League, where the 20 teams have collectively assembled squads worth €12.57bn.

This has not delivered dominance in Europe, with English teams winning just eight of the 24 trophies up for grabs across the three competitions in the last ten seasons.

Serie A clubs collectively have the third-highest market valuation of the ‘Big Five’ leagues, with little to separate them from their counterparts in La Liga.

However, while Spanish teams have collected ten European trophies during that timeframe, Atalanta and Roma are the only Italian clubs to claim continental silverware in the same span.

Serie A has been left behind in the tactical stakes

Milan’s 4-0 victory over Barcelona in the 1993/94 Champions League final hammered home the belief that Serie A clubs were light years ahead of their rivals tactically.

Tactics again played a crucial role in Inter’s 2-0 victory over Bayern Munich in 2009/10, with manager Jose Mourinho delivering one of his famed defensive masterclasses.

However, the former Chelsea boss recognised that the tactical landscape was shifting, and he left Italian football behind to join Real Madrid.

Serie A has subsequently fallen behind the other top European leagues in terms of tactics, commitment, initiative and athleticism. The latter element is particularly pertinent.

Statistics from a few seasons ago highlighted that the worst team in the Bundesliga ran more than the top teams in Serie A. The pace of play was also much slower.

This lack of dynamism has continued, as evidenced by the success of players from other leagues who have become standout performers in Serie A.

For instance, Romelu Lukaku flopped at Manchester United, but swept all before him in Serie A. The league is littered with other similar examples.

Italian teams must crank up the intensity

Given the passionate nature of Italian people, it seems unthinkable that a lack of intensity has become commonplace across Serie A.

This has had a knock-on effect on the national team, who have failed to qualify for the last two World Cups and are in danger of missing out on the 2026 edition.

Fixing the problem requires a shift back to a time when Italian teams were not only technically proficient but also intense from a defensive perspective.

La Liga giants Atletico Madrid offer Serie A clubs a template they could implement which would increase their chances of competing again in Europe.

Manager Diego Simeone repeatedly builds teams which are greater than the sum of its parts. They give absolutely nothing away for free.

Serie A clubs have somehow lost that mentality, aside from the infrequent occasions where it reappears before vanishing without a trace again.

Italian football needs to shake off its penchant for slow play by introducing more intensity and speed. The rest of Europe has moved on, and Serie A teams must act, or the gap will widen further.