It might have to do with being Italian considering Italian teams only ever start playing proper football after the quarter finals of any tournament.
1:0 against Malta... exciting...
Yeah, I was about to say that.

Those games can be boring no matter who's playing but then again, so can every game. And at least in case of the better teams there's a good chance you get to see some quality football.
I lost interest in club football years ago (or pretend to because the club I originally supported is crap nowadays) so that's how I stay somewhat current.