One of the main criticisms that England faces is that the prevalence of foreign players in the Premier League inhibits the growth of the top young English players. But that same argument could equally be given for Italian football’s current lack of talented superstars.
In recent times the Azzuri have been less than impressive. The 2010 World Cup finals were hardly impressive for the Azzuri, with an equilizer in Ireland the only element that pushed them into the finals. Italy’s at the finals continued to dissatisfy fans, especially while playing Paraguay and New Zealand.
For all their renowned defensive abilities, the Italians looked lacking in imagination in attack. Italy felt a loss of Pirlo’s unmistakable guile, Totti’s technique, and Toni’s form, and will moreover struggle to find stars to put in the latest soccer jersey. Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan were the Serie A and Coppa Italia winners of 2010 before they went on to lift the European Champions League with a 2-0 victory over Bayern Munich in Madrid. However, in spite of the great season, Inter failed to send a single player into the Italina World Cup team. Inter’s first team hardly ever contained an Italian player for most of the season. Young Mario Balotelli and Davide Santon did in fact make a lasting contribution, but were used mostly as substitutes and neither player ended up on the final squad for the showpiece in South Africa.
Looking through Serie A big teams is enough to confirm this worrying trend. AC Milan have more Italians in their first team squad, but the vast majority are approaching or beyond 30 years of age. The picture is a little brighter at Juventus, but the team is only saved by Chiellni, Giovinco and De Ceglie rising up to support the phenomenal Marchisio in the midfield. A large amount of Juventus Italian nationals, and especially those that are first team caliber, are all above thirty.
More and more, the majority of the players on the Italian national team are not coming out of the top four to five teams from Serie A, but instead from the teams which sit just outside of this elite crew. The current Italian World Cup squad boasts 6 players from Juventus (3 under the age of 30), 3 from Milan (0 under 30), one from Roma, but contains 3 players from Napoli, 2 from Sampdoria, 2 from Genoa, 2 from Fiorentina, one each from Bari, Cagliari and Udinese, plus one from Al Ahli from the UAE (Fabio Cannavaro).
The trend is not stopping anytime soon, thanks to the ages of top players this may become a worry for both Azzuri managers and the Italian FA alike. A great many Italian players are declining participation in the Champions League each season, a fact that hurts Italian players’ performance against the competition.
It isn’t a bleak future by any means, youngsters like Salvatore Bocchetti, Leonardo Bonucci, Giampaolo Pazzini and Domenico Criscito are coming through the ranks, but unlike their predecessors, their football education will come on the pitches of Cagliari, Bari, Palermo and Lazio, rather than the Bernebeu, Nou Camp, Old Trafford and Allianz Arena.
The shift is a nuisance to the Italian side and a change that needs to be addressed. Can the heroes of a country really be considered heroes if they don’t have their hearts in a national cause?
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