Italian clubs are on the verge of historic embarrassment in the Champions League

Inter signed Ronaldo and Vieri for a world-record fee in the late 1990s, when Serie A was the envy of world football, blessed with the game’s most talented stars.

Milan then beat Juventus to win the Champions League in 2003, losing to Liverpool on penalties in the final two years later, before defeating the Reds to become European champions again in 2007.

While there have been more recent successes in other European competitions – Atalanta won the Europa League in 2024, and Roma won the Conference League in 2021 – Jose Mourinho’s Inter were the last Italian team to win the Champions League in 2010.

Inter’s European exit comes despite being 10 points ahead of its rival Milan in the Italian League and four more points ahead of defending champion Napoli, who failed to exit the Champions League stage.

“It’s a piece of history,” said journalist Vincenzo Credendino. “Talking about Italy and Inter, this is one of the worst things.

“Inter is the best in Italy, but maybe it’s time to think not about what can happen in a year or two, but about 10 or 15 years – and on this aspect we can see in general that Italian football is not at the same level as the top European leagues.”

The national team must also win through a play-off in March to avoid losing the chance to participate in a third successive World Cup finals this summer, having last lifted the trophy in 2006.

European football expert Julian Lorenz added to BBC Radio 5 Live: “It is a difficult period for Italian football and it shows.”

“Today, Inter Milan put pressure, but it wasn’t enough from them. They have been the best team in Italy in the last few years. And Napoli too, they’re not even close to that.”

“It’s terrible for Italian football at the moment.”

Inter won five of their first eight matches in the European league stage to finish 10th, while Juventus finished 13th and Atalanta 15th.

However, in the play-offs, not everyone faltered against teams lower in the table, but played more aggressive football.

“What does this say about Italian football? Something needs to change,” Ferri added.

“The standard of Italian football is poor. It is a structural problem. We play very slow football. You can ask any coach in Italy and they will all say the same thing.

“I was talking to Claudio Ranieri the other day and he said: ‘Look, when I was in England at Leicester… people don’t train more than they train in Italy. “They do it with another intensity, and then they continue that intensity throughout the matches.”

“We are playing slow, and in Europe you are suffering.”