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. Italy seems to be under fire for the same sort of situation, with such a lack of talented Italian football players.
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 Italy soccer apparel. Inter Milan made Jose Mourinho proud as the won the Serie A and Coppa Italia in 2010, ending up lifting the Europeans Champions League 2-0 against Bayern Munich at a match in Madrid. However, in spite of the great season, Inter failed to send a single player into the Italina World Cup team. For most of the season, Inter’s first team barely contained an Italian player. Only youngsters Davide Santon and Mario Balotelli made a lasting contribution and they were used mainly from the substitutes bench and neither made the final squad for the summer’s showpiece event 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. It’s a slightly rosier picture at Juventus, but only just thanks to the likes of Chiellini, Giovinco and De Ceglie coming through the ranks to supplement the impressive Marchisio in midfield. A large amount of Juventus Italian nationals, and especially those that are first team caliber, are all above thirty.
Increasingly, the bulk of the Italian national team is not now coming from the top four or five teams in Serie A, but from the teams who sit just outside of that elite group. The 2010 World Cup Italian squad has a total of six players from Juventus, with two coming from Milan, and one from Roma. However, the team also has 3 players from Napoli, another 2 from Sampadoria, 2 from Genoa, two from Fiorentina, and one apiece from Udinese, Cagliari, Bari, and Al Ahli of the UAE.
It is a trend which considering the age of many of the players from the top clubs, looks likely to continue and it must be a worry for the Italian FA and any Azzuri team manager. A number of these Italian players are not currently participating in the Champions League every season, a wounding phenomenon that will fiercely impact performance abilities when such players are on the pitch.
Italy does have hope for the future, with players like Domenico Criscito, Salvatore Bocchetti, Giampaolo Pazzini, and Leonardo Bonucci as up and coming players. Sadly, though, these players are likely to gain their football education not on the pitches of Old Trafford, Allianz Arena, Bernebeu and Nou Camp but on those of Palermo, Bari, Cagliari, and Lazio.
The Italian side needs to begin worrying about the state of their leagues. Without a strong national identity, can a player really defend a nation with the vim and vigor of patriotism?
Tags: azzuri soccer, soccer, soccer news