The 2 days of European matches have ended, with solely Bologna and Fiorentina giving us some satisfaction within the Europa and Convention League, whereas within the Champions League we had been crammed with defeats.
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The 5-2 defeat of Juventus by Galatasaray, the 3-1 lack of Inter to Bodo/Glimt, and the 2-0 defeat of Atalanta by Dortmund are outcomes which can be laborious to overturn, so it’s potential that we cannot have even one staff within the Champions League spherical of 16: an occasion that hasn’t occurred since 1987/88. Again then, it was nonetheless referred to as the European Cup.
❗NO Italians? The “optimistic” numbers and two exceptions
Because the high European competitors has been referred to as the Champions League (1992), it has by no means occurred that there have been no Italian groups within the spherical of 16. In absolute phrases, now we have to return to 87/88.
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Two exceptions are the 2000/01 and 2001/02 seasons: the spherical of 16 was not performed, however in each instances, extra Italian groups reached the “second” group stage, which led on to the quarterfinals.
Actually, ranging from 2002 till 2025, it occurred 13 occasions that there have been 3 Italian golf equipment within the spherical of 16. Amongst these years, the 2002/03 season stands out, with Milan-Inter and Juventus-Actual Madrid within the semifinals.
🧐 87/88: No Italians on account of… the draw
The final European season with out Italians within the spherical of 16 dates again to 1987/88, when Napoli was stopped within the spherical of 32 of the European Cup towards Actual Madrid. At the moment, the draw was carried out with out seeding: thus, the champions of Italy and Spain confronted one another proper within the first spherical.
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There have been no group phases or League Section, and within the first match, Napoli performed in a Santiago Bernabeu closed to the general public, on account of Actual Madrid followers throwing flares onto the sphere throughout the earlier 12 months’s return semifinal towards Bayern Munich.
The Napoli of Maradona and Careca misplaced 2-0 within the first leg on account of a penalty by Michel and an personal aim by De Napoli. Within the return leg, after Francini’s aim within the ninth minute, Butragueno equalized.
It is comprehensible why this match is a purely statistical reference, as being eradicated by Actual Madrid can damage however can not go down in historical past as a “failure.” Risking it towards Galatasaray and Bodo/Glimt would have a decidedly totally different that means.
This text was translated into English by Synthetic Intelligence.