It’s no exaggeration to say that Roma’s European runs have been special over the past few years. While the wait to return to Champions League football for the first time since 2018-19 has been agonising, Roma have aimed to make the most of being the big fish in the smaller ponds of the Europa League or Conference League.
Just spelling out where Roma have reached in the past few seasons makes it sink in. In 2020-21, Europa League semi-finalists. In 2021-22, Conference League winners. In 2022-23, Europa League runners-up on penalties. In 2023-24, Europa League semi-finalists. Had you forecasted that five years ago, it would have been more hope than expectation from Roma fans, who hadn’t seen their side in a European final since 1991 and had only reached one semi-final (miraculously, in the 2017-18 Champions League) since then.
And even at the darkest times of Roma’s turbulent 2024-25 season, there were hopes that the run could continue. While it looked like Roma were in danger of missing out on progression past the new league phase of the Europa League when Ivan Jurić’s side were losing to sides like Elfsborg, the return of Claudio Ranieri to the dugout – and the subsequent restoration of stability – got fans dreaming of their beloved coach crowning his career with a trophy.
That very experience Roma have built up in Europe over the past few years was reason enough to back them to go far. Alas, it wasn’t to be. While Roma did well to overcome Porto and then earn a first-leg lead over Athletic Club, the Spanish side proved to be the final hurdle. When Roma visited San Mamés, Athletic ensured they wouldn’t be returning for that year’s final.
The date of elimination, March 13th, is Roma’s earliest for a European campaign since their most recent in the Champions League back in 2018-19, just before Ranieri took the reins for a second time. Now, he has just 10 matches left in charge of Roma.
Having no European football left on the schedule will feel like an empty void given the expectations of recent seasons, largely inspired by José Mourinho, whose achievement of back-to-back finals – and it could easily have been back-to-back trophies – is unparalleled at this club. But even Paulo Fonseca before him and Daniele De Rossi after him had Roma in contention.
For a brief moment, with Eldor Shomurodov’s stoppage-time winner in the first leg, it looked as if Ranieri had picked up the torch. But Roma just weren’t good enough in Bilbao and allowed the Spaniards to pass to the quarter-finals. It served as a reminder of the limitations on the pitch seen earlier in the season, which Ranieri has done well to override in 2025. His decision to leave Manu Koné out to protect him for a game Roma won’t even get to play deserves to be examined, but against the backdrop of everything earlier in the season, Ranieri did well to get Roma into the knockout phase.
Now, the question is what European competition he can set them up to be in next season – if any. At the time of their Europa League exit, Roma are the most in-form team in Serie A. They were 12th in the table and 12 points off the top four when Ranieri returned in November. Now, they’re seventh and six away.
Of the sides above them, Roma still have Juventus, Lazio, Inter and Atalanta to play. It could be a tough section of the season after a relatively easier one. Will Roma benefit from going into those games with momentum? Or could they be their undoing?
Let’s take the optimistic side for a moment. Juventus and Lazio aren’t uncatchable and Roma have the chance to take points off them. Whether they will is another matter, but incredibly, getting into the top four isn’t completely out of the question. If Ranieri was to achieve that with what he inherited, it would be his biggest achievement since winning the Premier League with Leicester City.
Last season, fifth place was enough for an Italian side to get into the Champions League. Roma frustratingly missed out, coming sixth again. This season, it will almost certainly have to be top four. It might be just out of reach for Roma, who will have to push to try and secure Europa League football again.
There’s also the worst-case scenario where Roma come unstuck against these stronger teams and tumble back down the table. Could they return to the Conference League, or miss out on Europe altogether?
It’s that risk of the latter that made the defeat to Athletic even more painful than it should have been. Roma don’t even know if they will be in Europe next season. And while a season out of it can benefit teams – especially one who will have a new coach, given more time through the week to implement his ideas – Roma would need to be ready to charge domestically. Napoli have got themselves in a title race while having no European commitments this season, but that was a team who won the Scudetto two seasons ago. Roma have endemically been coming sixth.
Nevertheless, there are some strong ingredients to work with in this squad, depending on how much of it stays together. Mile Svilar, Evan Ndicka, Angeliño, Koné and Paulo Dybala are capable of reaching top-four levels. If not now, could they guide Roma there by 2026?
51 former Roma players have played in the Champions League since Roma last did. There’s been a former Roma player without fail in every Champions League final since 2017. The club getting back there themselves remains the be-all-and-end-all target, and for now, they have been hoping to use their Thursday nights as a springboard.
Financially, Roma can’t really afford to be out of Europe for too long with this kind of squad. Even if they get Conference League football for next season, they should view it as an opportunity rather than a burden. Winning the first edition was a massive boost for the club and one of the main things they’ve had to celebrate in the past 15 years.
But it’s all ifs, buts and maybes at the moment. Roma will have to fight for as many of the next 30 points as they can amass before seeing where they end up.
Their European run had to end at some point. It deserves major acclaim and appreciation. Only time will tell what next season involves, but the battle is on for any form of European involvement. The troops are rallied and it’s time to chase down those final targets of Ranieri’s reign.

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