Champions League Comment: Remember When Italian Teams Were Unbeatable At Home?

Goal
:   

The Champions League Round of 16 brought up many interesting statistics and prospects ahead of the second legs, but one that simply cannot be ignored is that all three Italian teams – Inter, Milan and Roma – lost on home soil.

Inter fell to a last-minute tap-in from Bayern Munich, Milan lost out to Tottenham Hotspur, and Roma were picked apart by Shakhtar Donetsk. Three teams over the last two weeks, came, saw and conquered the Serie A representatives.

Serie A’s home wipeout is a symptom of their malaise. Since Milan won the Champions League in 2007, only Inter have made it past the final eight and only once did any other Italian side make it to the quarter-finals; Roma in 2008.

Once upon a time, foreign teams feared coming to Italy – the San Siro, the Stadio Olimpico, the Stadio Delle Alpi were all viewed as fortresses that were near unbreakable and clean sheets were expected. Italian defences were considered too strong to break down and it was considered a miracle to walk away from the pitch having a goal or result in your pocket.

Juventus’ side of the mid-90s which won the Champions League in 1996 and then made the next two successive finals were a defensive masterclass and the Rossoneri’s team in the middle part of the past decade, that featured great, top class defenders like Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Nesta, who acted as a wall of massive proportions.

This season however, based on the first legs of the Round of 16 in Europe’s top competition, the Serie A defenses were almost laughable by comparison.