😨 No Italian sides in CL last 16? Last time: 1987❗ | OneFootball

The two days of European matches have ended, with only Bologna and Fiorentina giving us some satisfaction in the Europa and Conference League, while in the Champions League we were filled with defeats.

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The 5-2 defeat of Juventus by Galatasaray, the 3-1 loss of Inter to Bodo/Glimt, and the 2-0 defeat of Atalanta by Dortmund are results that are hard to overturn, so it is possible that we won't have even one team in the Champions League round of 16: an event that hasn't happened since 1987/88. Back then, it was still called the European Cup.

❗NO Italians? The "positive" numbers and two exceptions

Since the top European competition has been called the Champions League (1992), it has never happened that there were no Italian teams in the round of 16. In absolute terms, we have to go back to 87/88.

Two exceptions are the 2000/01 and 2001/02 seasons: the round of 16 was not played, but in both cases, more Italian teams reached the "second" group stage, which led directly to the quarterfinals.

In fact, starting from 2002 until 2025, it happened 13 times that there were 3 Italian clubs in the round of 16. Among these years, the 2002/03 season stands out, with Milan-Inter and Juventus-Real Madrid in the semifinals.

🧐 87/88: No Italians due to... the draw

The last European season without Italians in the round of 16 dates back to 1987/88, when Napoli was stopped in the round of 32 of the European Cup against Real Madrid. At that time, the draw was conducted without seeding: thus, the champions of Italy and Spain faced each other right in the first round.

There were no group stages or League Phase, and in the first match, Napoli played in a Santiago Bernabeu closed to the public, due to Real Madrid fans throwing flares onto the field during the previous year's return semifinal against Bayern Munich.

The Napoli of Maradona and Careca lost 2-0 in the first leg due to a penalty by Michel and an own goal by De Napoli. In the return leg, after Francini's goal in the 9th minute, Butragueno equalized.

It's understandable why this match is a purely statistical reference, as being eliminated by Real Madrid can hurt but cannot go down in history as a "failure." Risking it against Galatasaray and Bodo/Glimt would have a decidedly different meaning.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.

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