Ahead of the Azzurri’s friendly fixture against Spain, Connall Shaw argues that Antonio Conte’s persistent reliance on certain names could be damaging the national team.
Italy have a good national team. Let’s get that out the way with. The Azzurri are capable of reaching great heights and even of returning to their former glory, that shouldn’t be questioned, but have they got the best possible squad at their disposal?
If you want a shorter answer, then I’ll tell you, no.
The team has more or less remained the same over the past few years. Barring one or two new faces, the rest just don’t seem to budge. You can even find a few 2006 World Cup winners in there, who are still keeping up pace after all this time and that’s certainly a pleasure to see, yet several players are lingering around when they just don’t deserve to be.
Ok, so the defence looks solid enough, and there’s no real argument as to why things should be shook up in that department, that is, putting aside the everlasting battle between the inconsistent Mattia De Sciglio and the returned Lorenzo De Silvestri.
With Antonio Conte rumoured to field a 3-4-3, the back-line should theoretically consist of Juventus’ near unbeatable trio of Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli and Leonardo Bonucci. Whilst the later is easily swapped out, the other two are not, and even at that it’s inadvisable, considering the understanding they all hold, having played week in week out with each other in Serie A.
It creates a feeling of real chemistry, a club mentality which can be felt throughout the whole team.
However, it’s not all good news, especially further up the field.
Whilst a considerable bond has been created within the current line-up, Conte’s selections are preventing fresher and more creative players from breaking through into the squad and creating a bigger impact. In fact, Conte’s mindset of always calling up the same names is actually making it harder for certain individuals to be dropped from the national team rather than for others to even get in.
Even Napoli’s scorching hot forward Lorenzo Insigne was denied a place in the squad until recent, a decision which saw fans outraged and in turn blast the 46-year-old tactician for favouritism of his former Juventus squad members and one or two considerably inconsistent members.
Angered Azzurri faithful can’t be blamed for their views either; Despite their undeniable talent, it’s hard to see why it’s fair for the likes of Daniele De Rossi, Antonio Candreva and the somewhat waned and disconnected Ricardo Montolivo to constantly make the starting line up over numerous other players who could likely fill their roles to perfection.
Yes, these players have a great understanding with each-other, but it shouldn’t mean that they merit a starting spot.
The reliance of a ‘club feeling’ is effectively dragging the team down. They aren’t able to reach their full potential as a result of these unmerited call-ups, who are included on the basis of their name alone and not their current form, and it’s seeing Italy lose out to opponents who, quite frankly, they should beat with ease.
The inclusion of Simone Zaza, Eder, Federico Bernardeschi and even the late addition of Stefano Okaka are of course welcome changes from the names we are more accustomed to, yet more of these so called ‘fringe’ players and several upcoming stars need to be included if we are to see a much needed departure from the norm.
That’s not to suggest that the entire squad should be rotated, the 2010 World Cup showed the true horrors that come as a consequence of such a bold move, but what is vital is that Conte does not rely on Italy’s veterans and more established players to take them all the way.
As youth team coach Luigi Di Biagio has argued numerous times, you don’t need to call up all the players who feature for a top team. The Under-21 side has an incredibly strong line up, yet the majority of names are not even starters for Serie A’s biggest sides.
Perhaps Conte’s inevitable departure will bring changes in itself, but he’ll need to look for innovation and take a gamble just like his youth team counterpart, in order to give himself the perfect send off and see his team progress through the European Championship.
