Italian sides’ repeated failings at the Champions League playoff stage looks set to end after UEFA gifts Serie A with four slots from 2018.
Roma’s 3-0 home capitulation to Porto featuring two red cards was just the latest Italian failing at the Champions League playoff stage. The loss of the fourth qualifying space for the 2011-12 season has seen Serie A almost invariably represented by just the two sides with every side other than AC Milan failing to make it to the group stage. Sides who finished fourth were actually more successful than those who finished third with Lazio going through in 2007-8, Juventus and Fiorentina in 2008-9 along with the Viola again in 2009-10. The turning point was Sampdoria’s dramatic elimination to a Claudio Pizzarro winner in extra-time as Werder Bremen beat Samp after the Italians went into the break 3-0 up only for Markus Rosenburg to send it to extra-time in stoppage time.
Udinese were then in the somewhat peculiar situation of attempting to boost Serie A’s continental prestige. The underdogs from Friuli competed with Arsenal in the 2011-12 competition and only a penalty save from one of Roma’s weakest performers against Porto Wojciech Szczesny prevented Antonio Di Natale from making it level on aggregate albeit with the English side ahead on away goals before an eventual 3-1 result on aggregate. Francesco Guidolin’s side then drew with Sporting Braga one year later 2-2 on aggregate in an action-packed match that concluded with Brazilian attacking midfielder Maicosuel as the villain after chipping his spot kick straight to the goalkeeper.
Milan were then the exception to the rule in the three-team era as they comfortably beat PSV Eindhoven 4-1 on aggregate with Kevin-Prince Boateng starring.
In 2014-15 Napoli picked up the baton of playoff failure with a 4-2 aggregate loss to Athletic Club. Gonzalo Higuain levelled the scores at the Stadio San Paolo after the Basques took the lead. Jose Callejon missed one good chance before Michu summed up the failure of his time with the Partenopei by misplacing a pass when he had a clear sight of goal. The fact that it was the Spaniard who was made a scapegoat is in some ways telling of why Italian sides keep failing at this stage.
It speaks badly for Napoli’s preparations for that game that they were bringing on a loanee from Swansea City with fitness problems in an attempt to find a goal to send them to the group stage of Europe’s elite competition. In the end, Michu made a grand total of six Napoli appearances for the Partenopei.
In 2015 Lazio picked up a respectable 1-0 home win over Bayer Leverkusen but then looked unfit, ill-disciplined and tactically ill-prepared as they lost 3-0 in Germany with a red card hindering a side from the capital again.
Be it arrogance and an expectation that Serie A sides belong in the group stage, or be it excessive caution in recruitment ahead of these vital two-legged ties, too many of the bigger Serie A sides look out of their depth in such vital fixtures. It’s understandable for Sampdoria and Udinese to fall at the first hurdle as they were sides punching above their weight. Yet, for sides such as Lazio, Roma and Napoli to falter so early and so consistently is embarrassing, bad for the league and only brings tougher draws as the coefficient drops.
However, with all that said and done, Italy is set to be rewarded for all its recent failures in the playoff stage and none of this will matter soon. Thanks to lobbying from Milan director Umberto Gandini as part of the European Club Association, UEFA has agreed to change the qualification system so the top four sides from the top four leagues go straight into the groups in order to quash the possibility of a European Super League. With the new criteria considering past performances, the underperforming duo of Inter and Milan should now have a foothold to be serious competitors in Europe again and the increased finances on offer from UEFA could weaken Juve’s stranglehold on Serie A.
All in all, these changes appear to be a gift to Italy after years in the wilderness when it was a rare sight to witness more than two Serie A sides in the group stage. The question will now be whether they can deliver on the big stage once more from 2018 and if this apparent protection of the elite clubs will alter the balance of power and ultimately harm competitiveness.
