In Europe, no Italian club made it past the quarter-finals - while Atalanta were the only Serie A side to reach the Champions League last 16. But that was nothing compared to the national team. Italy did not qualify for the third World Cup in a row.
An unthinkable prospect given they have won the competition four times. The first two failures to qualify were masked over by the Euro 2020 triumph at Wembley. That at least gave the nation hope.
The third World Cup failure was one last straw. A 48-team World Cup did not include Italy. It brought about the resignations of not just head coach Gennaro Gattuso, but also Italian FA president Gabriele Gravina and Gianluigi Buffon as the team's head of delegation.
"It's a sensitive subject that affects me a lot, because not qualifying for three World Cups in a row is tough, and Italy certainly doesn't deserve that," Italy captain Gianluigi Donnarumma tells Sky Sports. Now Italy have gone back to the future. Roberto Mancini, the manager who won the Euros five years ago, is back at the helm.
The only way forward is to work," adds Donnarumma. "There has now been a change of coach, the return of Mr Mancini - and the objective is to work and try to take Italy back to where it deserves to be. "I know it's not easy for the fans, but especially for us, because only we know how much it means to us to play in a competition like the World Cup.
"So we'll give everything to bring Italy back to where it deserves to be. We have a great responsibility because history says that Italy should always be there. History has taught us that.
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