The 1997–98 Serie A saw Juventus win their 25th national title, with Internazionale placing second; both teams qualified for the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League. Udinese, Roma, Fiorentina, Parma qualified for the 1998–99 UEFA Cup. Lazio qualified for the UEFA Cup Winners Cup courtesy of winning the Coppa Italia. Bologna and Sampdoria qualified for the 1998 UEFA Intertoto Cup. Brescia, Atalanta, Lecce and Napoli were relegated to Serie B.
During the 1997–98 Italian football season, Società Sportiva Lazio competed in the Serie A, Coppa Italia and UEFA Cup.
In the 1998–99 season, Associazione Calcio Milan returned to their previous winning ways under the guidance of new manager Alberto Zaccheroni. Hired from Udinese, Zaccheroni brought striker Oliver Bierhoff and right-wingback Thomas Helveg with him from his former club. He introduced Milan to his unorthodox 3–4–3 formation in which Bierhoff was a perfect centre forward, scoring 20 goals in the league.
Associazione Calcio Fiorentina enjoyed its best season in the 1990s on the pitch, but was left wondering what might have been. Leading the domestic Serie A championship a long way into the season, Fiorentina's title charge fell to pieces, as it lost unnecessary points while eventual champions Milan and runners-up Lazio continued winning their matches. In the end, Fiorentina salvaged third place in the league, qualifying for the UEFA Champions League in 1999–2000.
Udinese Calcio only faded a little bit compared to its club record-breaking 1997–98 season, in which it finished third in Serie A. With topscorer Oliver Bierhoff, midfielder Thomas Helveg and coach Alberto Zaccheroni all departing for Milan, Udinese was looking to be on the back foot prior to the start of the season.
Associazione Calcio Fiorentina had its best season for a long time, finishing tied for third in Serie A, plus winning the Coppa Italia following a clear double victory over Atalanta in the final. Strengthened by Stefan Schwarz and Michele Serena, Fiorentina were able to concede fewer goals than previously, but even though Rui Costa and Gabriel Batistuta continued their special partnership, the goals did not come with such ease as the year before.
In the 1996–97 season, Udinese Calcio had its best season since the days of Zico during the 1980s. With goal-scoring trio Oliver Bierhoff, Márcio Amoroso and Paolo Poggi on top form, Udinese finished fifth. Bierhoff and Poggi scored 13 goals each, while Amoroso scored 12.
In the 1997–98 season, the Italian football club Inter Milan, managed by Luigi Simoni, won the UEFA Cup and achieved second place in the Serie A league.
AC Milan had a second consecutive disastrous season. Fabio Capello returned as coach, following the dismal second half of the 1996–97 league campaign, but failed to turn the corner, and Milan was a shadow of the team he had left the year before. With Capello's reputation seemingly ruined, he was sacked at the end of the season, with Milan finishing a mere 10th in the league.
Juventus Football Club had one of its most successful seasons in the club's history, winning the domestic league competition and reaching the final of the Champions League. There, Juventus stumbled on Real Madrid by Predrag Mijatović' solitary goal, which ensured Juventus lost the final for the second year running. The progress to the final had been much less smooth than in the 1995–96 and 1996–97 European campaigns, prompting fears among supporters that the side was experiencing a decline. Indeed, on their way to the final in Amsterdam, the Italians had lost three games compared to none the previous season. They had needed to win their matchday six fixture against Manchester United to reach the quarter-final, where Dynamo Kyiv held them to a 1–1 draw in Turin in the first leg.
S.S.C. Napoli crashed out of Serie A following a disastrous season. It only clinched 14 points out of 34 matches, despite having the services of several experienced Serie A players. Napoli went through four coaches over the course of the season, and hardly took a point in the second half of the season. Given the disastrous form of the team, Claudio Bellucci's ten goals were impressive, while thought top scorer Igor Protti was one of the largest disappointments of the entire series. The lack of defensive skills cost Napoli many points, and more than two goals were conceded on average. This was despite Roberto Ayala's brilliance, which earned him a transfer to A.C. Milan.
Associazione Sportiva Roma was reinvigorated under new coach Zdeněk Zeman, who recently had been coaching arch rivals Lazio. Zeman brought his attacking 4–3–3 with him, resulting in Roma scoring 67 goals, but also conceding 42, an extreme rarity in defensive-minded Italian football. Roma finished fourth, three places above Lazio in the table. That was the first time it had happened in five years, which delighted the Roma board, and Zeman stayed on for a further season. The season also saw the international breakthrough of former youth-team product Francesco Totti, who at 21 was ready for increased responsibility and captaincy, responding with 13 league goals from a position on the left-wing of the attack. Also noticeable was new signing Cafu's offensive skills as a right-wing back, granting him a reputation among the world's top wing backs.
During the 1997-98 season Bologna F.C. competed in Serie A and Coppa Italia.
Associazione Calcio Fiorentina came off second best in a competitive battle for fourth in Serie A. Under Alberto Malesani's leadership, Fiorentina played an attacking 3–5–2 formation, where goal scoring duo Gabriel Batistuta and Luís Oliveira scored an accumulated 36 goals between them. Following the end of the season, Malesani accepted an offer from Parma, thus departing the club after only one season in charge. Sensationally, Giovanni Trapattoni became his successor, remarking that Fiorentina was serious about winning the league.
During the 1997–98 season, the club's eighth in Serie A, Parma Associazione Calcio competed in Serie A, the Coppa Italia, and the UEFA Champions League.
Unione Calcio Sampdoria finished ninth in Serie A, despite the absence of club stalwart Roberto Mancini, who had followed coach Sven-Göran Eriksson to Lazio. Former Argentine World Cup-winning coach César Luis Menotti took charge, but failed to match the results of Eriksson, and was replaced by the 1991 championship winning coach Vujadin Boškov, who guided the team to a safe mid-table slot.
Piacenza Calcio recorded their best ever finish in the top echelon of Italian football, finishing 12th in Serie A, but just two points above the relegation zone. This was in spite of key players Pasquale Luiso (Vicenza) and Eusebio Di Francesco (Roma) leaving the club before the season began.
During the 1997-98 season Vicenza competed in Serie A, Coppa Italia and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.
During the 2000–01 season Brescia Calcio competed in Serie A and Coppa Italia.
