Juventus fails in Champions League ahead of Italy playoff
By ANDREW DAMPF
AP Sports Writer
ROME (AP) — There were expectations that Italy’s European Championship title would translate to success for the country’s clubs in continental competition. But the dazzling, quick-passing play of Roberto Mancini’s national team that gained admirers worldwide in June and July was nowhere to be seen when Juventus was eliminated by Villarreal in the Champions League. It leaves Italy without a representative in the quarterfinals of the elite competition for the second consecutive season. It marked the third consecutive season that Juventus was eliminated at home in the round of 16.