Juventus’ failure to reach the Europa League final after losing to Benfica on aggregate means Italy has been demoted to fifth in UEFA’s five-year rankings.
Benfica reached their second straight Europa League final by virtue of a 2-1 aggregate win over the Bianconeri, Benfica helped Portugal rise above Italy to fourth in the rankings.
Although that does not mean any change in the allocation of berths in Europe for the next two seasons at least, it is nevertheless a further blow to Italian football, above and beyond Juve’s elimination.
As a result, it is the first time since 1984 that Serie A has dropped so low in the rankings. Two years after that historic ebb, Italy rose to the top of the standings, holding its place there — with the exception of 1990 — until 1999.
Since then, Spanish and English football have overtaken calcio with Germany moving ahead two years ago.
Russia and France are also closing in, although Juve’s achievement in reaching the semifinals of the Europa League has at least given the Italian game a boost for the current season with only Spain, England and Germany picking up more ranking points.
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