Bayern Munich boss Jürgen Klinsmann believes Italy's failure in European competition this season proves that Serie A is lagging behind the Premier League and La Liga.
Italy has no representatives in the Champions League quarter-finals and only Udinese remain in the UEFA Cup.
Klinsmann spent time in Serie A with Inter Milan between 1989 and 1992, winning the 1991 UEFA Cup alongside fellow Germans Lothar Matthäus and Andreas Brehme.
"I'm surprised and very deluded, but it is a clear signal that Italian teams are lagging behind," he said in Gazzetta dello Sport.
"It is all well and good being the tactical masters, but that isn't enough these days because the game is about movement on and off the ball.
"In England and Spain the action is quicker, more direct and aggressive. In Serie A games are slow and closed. I have seen that in many Italian matches and they are paying the price in Europe.
"AC Milan is a disaster, while Inter and Juventus are out because they reflect the level of Serie A."
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Italy has no representatives in the Champions League quarter-finals and only Udinese remain in the UEFA Cup.
Klinsmann spent time in Serie A with Inter Milan between 1989 and 1992, winning the 1991 UEFA Cup alongside fellow Germans Lothar Matthäus and Andreas Brehme.
"I'm surprised and very deluded, but it is a clear signal that Italian teams are lagging behind," he said in Gazzetta dello Sport.
"It is all well and good being the tactical masters, but that isn't enough these days because the game is about movement on and off the ball.
"In England and Spain the action is quicker, more direct and aggressive. In Serie A games are slow and closed. I have seen that in many Italian matches and they are paying the price in Europe.
"AC Milan is a disaster, while Inter and Juventus are out because they reflect the level of Serie A."
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