A glum debate has followed the elimination this week of AC Milan and Roma from the Champions League, leaving holders Inter Milan to face an uphill battle for the quarter-finals next week.
At first sight, Roma's 3-0 hammering by Ukraine champions Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday, following a 3-2 defeat in Rome, was the most bitter pill to swallow.
Seven-time champions Milan were eliminated only on a 1-0 aggregate after drawing 0-0 at Tottenham Hotspur Wednesday, but it should be considered that, while Roma are going through a rather bad season, the seven-time European champions currently lead the Italian Serie A.
At first sight, Roma's 3-0 hammering by Ukraine champions Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday, following a 3-2 defeat in Rome, was the most bitter pill to swallow.
Seven-time champions Milan were eliminated only on a 1-0 aggregate after drawing 0-0 at Tottenham Hotspur Wednesday, but it should be considered that, while Roma are going through a rather bad season, the seven-time European champions currently lead the Italian Serie A.
The Giallorossi from Rome added to their poor performance several harsh, gratuitous fouls that only mired their image as they left the continental arena.
Violent play also seems to have become a trademark of the Rome side, whose players have collected seven suspensions in the current Serie A season, where they lie sixth.
French defender Philippe Mexes was dismissed in Donetsk, while his captain Daniele De Rossi is in for a long suspension - and a fine from his club - when ruling body UEFA looks at his televised off-the-ball elbowing of an opponent.
New Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri, meanwhile, tried to allay a third elimination in the round of 16 after triumphs in 2003 and 2007.
"Nobody thought that we were not going to score, looking at the chances we managed to create (at Tottenham)," Allegri said. "This is part of the game and we are to comment on a somewhat false result."
This season, however, Milan's performance in Europe was far from encouraging from the start.
They qualified as second in the group phase with the lowest eight-point tally, and with seven goals scored and as many conceded.
Inter and Roma did not fare better as they also qualified as second, with 12-11 and 10-11 goal records respectively.
Italian commentators were not overly critic of Milan, but noted that football is about scoring, and wondered at the ineffectiveness of stars Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Pato on the continental stage.
"With honour, but without goals," titled Milanese daily Il Corriere della Sera, while La Gazzetta dello Sport headlined, "Milan dry their tears," focusing on the sadness of veteran and four-time trophy winner Clarence Seedorf.
In general, however, and despite Inter's recent triumph, the Italian trend has headed downward lately, as testified by the five-year-based coefficient of ruling body UEFA.
Italy's demotion from third place appears inevitable to the advantage of Germany, who will go from three to four clubs in the 2012-13 Champions League.
To complete a dismal picture of the season, Sampdoria did not go past the preliminary round of the Champions League and are already out of the Europa League alongside Palermo, Juventus and Napoli.
Inter have a 1-0 home defeat to reverse away to Bayern Munich, but even a second straight success in the tournament is unlikely to prevent the Serie A from sending only three teams to the elite tournament.
Violent play also seems to have become a trademark of the Rome side, whose players have collected seven suspensions in the current Serie A season, where they lie sixth.
French defender Philippe Mexes was dismissed in Donetsk, while his captain Daniele De Rossi is in for a long suspension - and a fine from his club - when ruling body UEFA looks at his televised off-the-ball elbowing of an opponent.
New Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri, meanwhile, tried to allay a third elimination in the round of 16 after triumphs in 2003 and 2007.
"Nobody thought that we were not going to score, looking at the chances we managed to create (at Tottenham)," Allegri said. "This is part of the game and we are to comment on a somewhat false result."
This season, however, Milan's performance in Europe was far from encouraging from the start.
They qualified as second in the group phase with the lowest eight-point tally, and with seven goals scored and as many conceded.
Inter and Roma did not fare better as they also qualified as second, with 12-11 and 10-11 goal records respectively.
Italian commentators were not overly critic of Milan, but noted that football is about scoring, and wondered at the ineffectiveness of stars Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Pato on the continental stage.
"With honour, but without goals," titled Milanese daily Il Corriere della Sera, while La Gazzetta dello Sport headlined, "Milan dry their tears," focusing on the sadness of veteran and four-time trophy winner Clarence Seedorf.
In general, however, and despite Inter's recent triumph, the Italian trend has headed downward lately, as testified by the five-year-based coefficient of ruling body UEFA.
Italy's demotion from third place appears inevitable to the advantage of Germany, who will go from three to four clubs in the 2012-13 Champions League.
To complete a dismal picture of the season, Sampdoria did not go past the preliminary round of the Champions League and are already out of the Europa League alongside Palermo, Juventus and Napoli.
Inter have a 1-0 home defeat to reverse away to Bayern Munich, but even a second straight success in the tournament is unlikely to prevent the Serie A from sending only three teams to the elite tournament.
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