The 2024/25 Champions League season is around the corner, with five Serie A teams looking to take the title back to Italy after 15 years. The last Italian club to conquer the most prestigious European tournament was Inter, doing so in their famous treble-winning 2009/10 campaign under Jose Mourinho.
As the kick-off date looms larger, fans’ enthusiasm is reaching a fever pitch, with hopes high that one of the five Serie A teams can end Italy’s 15-year drought and bring the Champions League trophy back home. However, the competition is as fierce as it gets, while the interest among punters is skyrocketing.
Indeed, this is the field where no online casino can afford to drop the ball, as they must stay ahead of the curve to meet the increasing demand for Champions League betting opportunities and predictions.
With top European clubs also vying for glory, the path to the trophy will be anything but easy for Serie A’s finest. In addition to reigning holders Real Madrid and perennial Premier League champions Manchester City, other usual suspects, such as Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, are keen to climb to the podium.
Therefore, Serie A clubs will likely have to go to great lengths to make a standout success in this year’s competition, especially with the new format in play. But, the Italians have a numerical advantage, with Serie A being the only division with five representatives.
Let’s take a closer look at Italy’s best chance of tasting Champions League glory again.
Inter
Simone Inzaghi’s side steamrolled to a landmark 20th Scudetto last term, leaving second-placed Milan 19 points behind. Inter waited long to achieve that milestone and join Juventus as the only club in Serie A to win 20+ titles. It was a fitting reward for the team’s noticeable surge under Inzaghi.
Inter nearly won their fourth Champions League trophy in 2022/23, only for Manchester City to crush their dreams in the grand final. Unfortunately, they failed to replicate that success in 2023/24. Atletico Madrid got the better of the Nerazzurri in last season’s round of 16 after an epic second-leg comeback.
Perhaps with the arrivals of Piotr Zielinski and Mehdi Taremi, Inter could make the quantum leap in Europe this term.
Milan
After parting ways with Scudetto-winning boss Stefano Pioli, Milan hoped to embark on a new winning cycle under new manager Paulo Fonseca. However, the Portuguese coach has won just one of his first four league games in charge of the seven-time Champions League winners.
Fonseca’s abysmal start at San Siro has cast significant doubt on Milan’s lofty ambitions. The Rossoneri might be Italy’s most successful club in Europe, but it’s been a while since they last played a prominent role in continental football. The closest they got to winning their eighth crown was in 2022/23 when Inter ended their European journey in the last four.
Juventus
After a season-long absence from European football, Juventus return to the continent’s grandest stage under new boss Thiago Motta. A raft of top-class summer arrivals, including Douglas Luiz, Teun Koopmeiners, Nicolas Gonzalez, and Khephren Thuram, has renewed hope in Turin after four disappointing years.
Juventus have enjoyed a decent Serie A start under the ex-Bologna coach, going unbeaten in all four league outings without conceding (W2, D2). Motta will need that defensive resilience to boost Juve’s chances of going the distance in his first European season as a manager.