There was a time when Italian football ruled Europe and the world. During the 1980s and early 1990s, if you were a top-class international footballer, Serie A is where you usually ended up. Some of the greatest players ever to grace a football pitch spent time playing in Italy, including Michel Platini (Juventus) Diego Maradona (Napoli) and Rudd Gullitt (Milan).
That dominance resulted in success at continental level too. Between 1983 and 1996, an Italian team featured in eight out of fourteen European Cup finals. Milan won it twice, Juventus twice, and there were also European Cup final appearances for Roma and Sampdoria.
But the dominance of Italian domestic football is a thing of the past. A series of scandals and the rise of the Premier League conspired to reduce broadcaster and advertising interest, and as the money drained out of Italian football, so the top players began to look elsewhere: to England or to Spain; to Bayern Munich or to big-spending Paris St-Germain. The last time an Italian club won the Champions League was in 2010, when Internazionale triumphed under Jose Mourinho, and only twice in the last eight seasons has an Italian team – Juventus – reached the final.
In fact, it is Juventus who have almost singlehandedly maintained the reputation of Italian football in European competition in recent years. This year, in addition to dominating domestically, they are once again through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, where they will meet a dangerous Ajax side responsible for knocking out the defending champions Real Madrid.
There is, of course, a way to go yet before we can talk about Juventus winning in Europe. The last eight of the Champions League this year still includes most of the cream of European football, and it would be no surprise to see any of the remaining teams taking part in the final. English fans who are following the competition on BT Sport might even hope that they can witness and all-English final, given that they have four teams in the last eight. Manchester City are also the 9/4 favourites.
But Juventus, who have been so close to European glory in recent seasons, have an extra edge this time round, in the form of the man who has so often stood in their way in the Champions League. Ronaldo, while undoubtedly one of the greatest players ever, has often saved his best performances for European football, and has five Champions League winners’ medals to his name.
Of course, Juventus are not entirely representative of Italian domestic football’s strength. Having won Serie A for seven seasons in a row, they have opened up a considerable gap over the rest of Italian football. But there is no doubt that if they were to lift the Champions League trophy this season, it would be both a boost to Italian football and perhaps a catalyst for other clubs to raise their game and help to return Italian football to the summit in Europe. And with Ronaldo on their side, there will be plenty of Juventus fans checking out the best prices on their team in the weeks ahead.
