Italian football is at its lowest level in almost four decades after a large-scale European exodus at club level followed the country’s failure to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive year and exacerbated a leadership and structural crisis.
The eliminations of Bologna and Fiorentina on Thursday in the Europa League and Conference League respectively ensured that there will be no Italian teams in European competition this season.
Italy’s last remaining Champions League contender Atalanta bowed out in the round of 16 last month.
It is the first time since the 1986/87 season that Italian clubs have been excluded across the board from the European semi-finals in a season with three major continental competitions.
The elimination at club level has exacerbated the emergency in a country where football is a national passion.
Inter Milan made the Champions League final 2025where they were defeated by Paris St-Germain, and Atalanta won the Europa League in 2024, but Italy have now come to a standstill on several fronts.
Coupled with the national team’s ongoing World Cup exile, Italian football has been plunged into an identity crisis as the country concludes its ‘annus horribilis’ season.
SYSTEMIC RESET
Italy suffered from one collective shock in March after a 4-1 penalty shootout defeat against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the final of the World Cup qualifying play-off after a 1–1 draw after extra time to the departure from coach Gennaro Gattuso.
The dismissal of Italian football Federation President Gabriele Gravina followed the fallout, admitting that the foundations of the domestic game had crumbled.
“The crisis is deep, Italian football must be redesigned,” Gravina said – a warning now amplified by several Italian coaches.
Fabio Capello noted this week that “it is practically impossible to get worse than this; we have hit rock bottom.”
Carlo Ancelotti, who is in charge of five-time world champions Brazil, told Italian media on Friday that the country has lost its way both on the pitch and financially.
“We already lack talent in other areas of the pitch, but the excessive focus on tactics has distorted our characteristics, the characteristics on which we have always built our history,” he said.
He noted that the financial gap between Serie A and its rivals has stripped the league of its former allure.
“The big foreign players are no longer coming to Italy. Abroad, with substantial TV rights and powerful investors, a more attractive market is being formed.”
The crisis appears to be permeating every level of football, with crumbling infrastructure now dominating headlines as Italy prepares to co-host the 2032 European Championship with Turkey.
Italian media have warned that stadium projects are significantly behind schedule and construction has yet to begin on several key venues.
“I hope the infrastructure is ready,” said UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said earlier this month. “Otherwise the tournament will not be played in Italy.”
LOOKING FORWARD
As the season draws to a close, Italy faces a period of restructuring. A new coach and FIGC president have yet to be announced following the resignations of Gattuso and Gravina.
Media reports suggest Napoli manager Antonio Conte and AC Milan boss Max Allegri are the frontrunners to succeed Gattuso.
A decision on the next coach is unlikely before the FIGC elections on June 22. Until then, Italian football is in a state of suspended animation, waiting to see whether the new leadership will opt for a total reset or a more pragmatic rebuilding phase.
In the wake of a season of systemic failure, the push for structural reforms signals that the status quo is no longer an option for the Italian football that once dominated the sport.
