Marking the first time in seven years that Italy has not placed a team in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League, all three Serie A representatives were eliminated this week, and all at the hands of superior English Premier League teams.
Coupled with the ousting of AC Milan and Sampdoria in the UEFA Cup last week, Italian newspaper Gazzetta Della Sport has called the run of bad luck “a curse!” Meanwhile, the calmer head of familiar AC Milan name Adriano Galliani said “the biggest reason for this crisis is economics,” pointing out that English and Spanish teams “are far superior” in the size of stadiums and the amount of revenue they earn to buy players.
The economic sentiment was echoed by Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho, who offered that “to win the Champions League you need a boat full of money” after his team crashed out with a 2-0 loss at Manchester United. Elsewhere, Roma coach Francesco Totti said its heartbreak loss to Arsenal felt “like getting knifed.”