Sampdoria and Juve out

In Europa League action last night both Sampdoria and Juventus crashed out of the continent's second favourite competition. This is a massive blow for Italian football. The Italian league will lose a Champions League spot, because their coefficient in the European competitions is now lower than that of the German Bundesliga. Italy will go from four to three teams in the Champions League while Germany will increase from three to four. This will not go into effect until the beginning of the 2011-2012 season.

If you have watched any of the matches played by Italian teams in the Europa League this season, you will have seen teams full of reserve players and patch worked line-ups. No doubt Sampdoria and Juve are putting all their eggs in one basket and aiming for the Champions League places in Serie A, the coveted top four.

Meanwhile, Germany's Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund continue to duke it out in the competition  with Bayer already making it to the round of 32; and will begin play again in Feburary.