Napoli’s victory over Eintracht Frankfurt yesterday confirmed the full ‘caclio’ in the quarterfinals of the Champions League tar joins Inter and Milan, who previously knocked out Porto and Tottenham, respectively. Not three Italian teams out of eight have survived the tournament since 2006It’s been 17 years, and this is the fourth time in history that this has happened.
Seventeen years of recess where ‘calcio’ is losing strength and weight on the European scene, except for the Champions League won by Inter in 2010 and the two finals that Juventus lost in 2015 and 2016, against Barcelona and Real Madrid . It took him twelve years to return to Inter, eleven in Milan, while Napoli were in the quarterfinals for the first time in their history.
But in this edition, which strangely does not match the best level of either Inter or Milan, serves as a springboard for Italian football which is gradually recovering the lost ground.
And it is that Naples returns to focus on Serie A with its total football; and, in Europe, Italy is positioned as the country contributing the most teams, ahead of Spain (Real Madrid), Portugal (Benfica), Germany (Bayern Munich) and England (Chelsea and Manchester City).
This Napoli should receive a special mention, which has been confirmed as the great European revelation, with big names like Kvaratskhelia and Osimhen, and has earned the respect of its other opponents before what will be the first participation in its history. in this round. The Parthenopean team had never been to the highest continental competition.
The clean sheet
It’s not just that Inter, Napoli and Milan reached the quarterfinals. It is that they did not score a goal in the entire round of 16 tie. The 1-0 in the first leg obtained at San Siro served the Interistas and Milan fans to make the 0-0 in the second leg against Porto and Tottenham great.
For their part, Napoli ended the tie with a total balance of 5-0, sweeping Eintracht.
Milan always got away
With three precedents of three Italian teams in the quarterfinals (it was always Inter, Milan and Juventus), the ‘rossonero’ team was always the one to go the furthest.
To see three Italian teams in the quarterfinal for the first time, you have to go back to 2003, a year in which Milan lifted the ‘Orejona’ after beating Juventus in what was, until now, the only final between the teams of Italian. Inter completed the trident of Italian teams with full access to the semifinals, although they lost in this round against Milan.
In the 2004-05 campaign it was the second time this condition was met, again by the same stars. This time, only Milan accessed the semifinals, before winning a historic Champions League against Liverpool where they came back from 0-3 in the second half, a match hosted by Istanbul (Turkey), a city that this year also organized the final next June 10.
In 2006, it was the last time three Italians met in the quarterfinals, an edition in which Milan was again one of the furthest, a semifinal in which they succumbed to a Barcelona that ended up lifting the title.
possible derby
The quarterfinals of the 2004–05 campaign provided the Milanese’s final appearance in the Champions League. Two seasons earlier, in 2002-03, they met in the semifinals.
This Friday’s draw could provide a new European ‘Derbi della Madonnina’, a match between two teams that are not going through their best moments, but that will ensure the Italian presence in the semifinals.
Neapolitan fans, ‘Nerazzurri’ and ‘Rossoneri’ are already thinking about the draw, the possible crosses and the possibility of entering the semis; with the underlying collective aim of bringing Italy as far as possible from its borders and as close as possible to the Turkish.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
