Italian football dreams of dominating the European Cup again

This year's Champions League final will certainly feature a Serie A representative when AC Milan and Inter Milan "invite" each other to play the Milan derby right in the semi-finals. Juventus and AS Roma can do even more by "avoiding" an early confrontation and the possibility of an all-Italian Europa League final could completely take place on May 31.

With Fiorentina in the top 4 teams of the Europa Conference League, it can be said that Italian football has made a spectacular comeback with a new record in the semi-finals of European cups this season. Having the largest number of players does not mean the highest chance of winning on all 3 fronts, but clearly, the football village of the boot-shaped country shows that they are not willing to be the shadow of their powerful neighbors in Europe forever.

The last time Serie A had three representatives in the Champions League quarter-finals was the 2004-2005 season. Looking at the bigger picture, this year, for the first time in history, Italian football has five representatives in the semi-finals of European cups, although currently, the golden age of Italian football has not been clearly recreated.

AC Milan entered the Champions League semi-finals when the chance to defend the Serie A title ran out. (Photo: REUTERS)

Since the 2017 final, where Juventus lost 1-4 to Real Madrid, Serie A representatives seem to have only participated in European Cups for fun. AS Roma has been half-hearted despite defeating the "giant" Barcelona in the 2018 season; Atalanta is only a "dark horse" while the group of top names including Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan has completely disappeared.

Ineffective management, many clubs fell into the hands of Chinese owners and then changed owners, Italian football for a long time was vague about transfer policy, brand building and shaping the playing style. Everything changed only this season with the strong rise of Napoli and 2 Milan teams. At the most important stage of the season, Italian football had the timely presence of Juventus, AS Roma and Fiorentina.

Not all experts in Europe are optimistic about the return of Italian football. Because, for many, the above results only come from the individual efforts of each team, not from the innovation of this football village as a whole.

Last season's Serie A champions AC Milan have an average squad worth £571m, with striker Olivier Giroud turning 37 soon. Inter Milan are set to lose several key players at the end of the season and their highest-paid striker Romelu Lukaku has scored just one goal.

Many similar problems can be seen somewhere in Napoli, AS Roma, Fiorentina, Juventus…, which have turned Serie A into a B-class tournament at the European level. The return of Italian football, therefore, seems far away!

Juventus “revived” partly thanks to being given back 15 points in Serie A, suddenly appearing in the top 3 positions and securing a place in the European Cup next season. With AS Roma, coach Jose Mourinho and his team are full of hope to win the second European Cup in 2 consecutive seasons after winning the Europa Conference League last year.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/the-thao/bong-da-y-lai-mo-thong-tri-cup-chau-au-20230423212813137.htm