Serie A remains shrouded in gloom.

After four consecutive seasons in the Champions League, AC Milan will once again be absent from the continent's top competition next season due to their significant decline in form last season.

AC Milan (right) and Juventus are both in decline - Photo: Reuters

Don't be surprised if that defeat becomes a milestone that ushers in a sad era for AC Milan, like the haunting period of the 2010s they experienced.

AC Milan has fallen back into a dark period.

In 2011, AC Milan won their 18th Serie A title with a superb Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the squad and a legendary generation of players like Pirlo, Gattuso, and Seedorf, who were still in their prime. But just over a year later, they fell into a serious crisis.

Throughout the 2013-2014 and 2019-2020 seasons, AC Milan failed to finish in the top four of Serie A. It wasn't until the early 2020s that the Rossoneri finally recovered.

But all Rossoneri fans are aware that this is just a temporary struggle. In the arena where AC Milan is most proud – the Champions League – they remain a faded symbol. The San Siro team ranks second on the list of the greatest teams in the history of the tournament with 7 titles, but the last time they reached the final was 18 years ago.

Last season, AC Milan didn't even make it to the round of 16, and the only team that beat them was the small Dutch club Feyenoord. In Serie A, AC Milan dropped to eighth place.

The transfer policy of the Italian giants has long been a source of frustration for fans. AC Milan has spent a lot of money, but has only brought in players considered "rejects" from other teams, such as Emerson Royal, Abraham, Felix, Morata, Walker…

That was clearly AC Milan's attempt to maintain the reputation of a big club – with a host of superstars, but with too many risks. The results showed that almost none of the aforementioned players truly shone.

This summer, the situation at San Siro has become even bleaker. The team has successively let go of Reijnders, Theo Hernandez, and Kalulu – three truly quality players still in their prime – and rolled out the red carpet to bring in Luka Modric, who is almost 40 years old.

Ironically, even AC Milan fans have stopped being dissatisfied with the team. Two months ago, many Milan supporters were even advocating for Reijnders to leave for Manchester City, believing he deserved a better team than his current AC Milan.

Juventus and Inter Milan aren't doing much better.

While not in a dire situation like AC Milan, Juventus made a strong comeback at the end of last season to climb to 4th place, thus securing a spot in next season's Champions League. However, their situation is not much brighter than AC Milan's either.

Last summer, Juventus spent over 200 million euros on the transfer market. In Serie A, that's an investment aimed at winning the championship, not for a top-four finish.

A series of failures in the transfer market has left Juventus financially exhausted this summer. Like AC Milan, they can only focus on free transfers – like Jonathan David – instead of pursuing young, sought-after stars.

Looking at the two most traditional clubs in the league, Italian football fans have reason to worry. Inter Milan – the strongest team in Italy for the past five years – is also not financially well-off.

Despite consistently achieving success both domestically and on the continent (reaching the Champions League final twice in the last three seasons), Inter Milan's finances remain bleak due to top-down problems. As a result, after many consecutive years of success, their squad is increasingly falling apart.

The decline of Juventus, AC Milan, and Inter Milan presents an opportunity for the remaining strong teams in Serie A to rise. However, looking at the bigger picture, Serie A is increasingly lacking the giants who can bring Italian football back to its past glory.

HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/serie-a-van-chim-trong-u-am-20250721090552748.htm