Italy national team boss Antonio Conte believes that a player’s age has nothing to do with their capabilities on the pitch.
The 45-year-old uses himself, along with several other Serie A talents, as an example to prove that a player can be ready for first team exposure at an early age, though he insists that Italian clubs still have a lot of improvements to make to their youth academies in order to catch up to other European countries.
Conte spoke to Il Nuovo Calcio about what he looks for in a player and touched on the need for change in Italy’s youth programs, while also commenting on the importance of Serie B for helping younger Italians prove their quality.
“In some football schools the youth players are immediately taught to be kept at a certain tactical level,” said the former Juventus coach.
“While in reality, up to a certain age, the fun and free interpretation of technical gestures, such as a dribble or a shot, should really come first.
“Compared to other European countries, we have less elements to help the youth grow at a better rate.
“We have organised several meetings with coaches from Serie A and Serie B, as well as those responsible for Primavera teams and student teams.
“It has shown that a lot of the boys are not fully ready when they are given a chance in the first team.
“In addition to the tactical and technical aspects of growth, we realised that there was a gap in physical growth. Maybe we have forgotten that our players are also athletes.
“The strong, quality young players will get the first chances to play. I made my Serie A debut at 16-years-old and I was doing all of the same work as my older team-mates.
“Gianluigi Buffon also did it at 16-years-old, and Paul Pogba did it at 18-years-old. Andrea Ranocchia took a strong place in the central defence with me coaching him at Arezzo and then became captain.
“The age on a strong player’s identity card doesn’t count, ever.
“There is even an important movement going on in Serie B. Today we have three players that worked out well from their time in the league as Simone Zaza, Alessandro Florenzi and Ciro Immobile have all went on to play with the national team.
“Of course, it is out of place to say that right now there are a lot of players in Serie B who could be ready for the national team, but if some of them can maintain their quality and be consistent then maybe they can earn a spot at a big club or in the national team.”
