It seems like only yesterday when Fabio Cannavaro stood triumphant in Berlin, World Cup trophy thrust into the air, celebrating a long overdue victory for the Italian football team and the nation itself. It was the end result of the determination of a collection of individuals, the passion of a team bonded by brotherhood-like camaraderie and above all the spirit of a nation united by unwavering patriotism. Controversy aside, Italian football was at a point in its existence where it was thriving and was most definitely top of the footballing class.
Things did not stay this way however. The tail end of summer saw Italian football dealt a blow that would send it into a downwards spiral. Calciopoli, the match-fixing scandal, saw several big teams condemned initially, with only Juventus truly suffering, their sentence being demotion to Serie B with a heavy points deduction. The biggest club in Italian football was humiliated on a global scale. The future of Italian football would suffer as well, losing its biggest and most recognisable icon.
Suffer it most certainly did. Aside from a Milan victory in the 2007 Champions league and an Inter team fielding a total of zero Italian players claiming the title in 2010, Italy has been poorly represented in the past five years. It could be argued that two out of five is not a bad achievement but the disappointment lies in the lack of dominance that people had come to expect of Italian teams. As such, next year sees Italy have its Champions League allocation drop from four teams to three, while Germany take advantage and go from three teams to four. For the Azzurri, there was defeat in Euro 2008 to Spain, albeit the eventual winners, and a premature exit from the World Cup in South Africa two years later.
It appears Italian football has reached something of a depression, a purgatory it must escape from. The national team has a talented crop of players but nothing to match the calibre of a Totti, a Del Piero, a Baggio. These are all players that inspired the national team to success, often single-handedly and with one moment of flair and genius. These players weren’t just footballers, they were football itself. Cassano had promise but ‘Peter Pan’ never fully showed the world his capabilities. What is really needed is another player (or players) of that ability and presence, without the character flaws that hold a lot of Italian players back these days. On an individual level, Italy needs a new breed of heroes.
On a bigger scale, Italy is missing its favourite pupil: Juventus. Scraping pleadingly at any form of European football this season, Juventus are in unfamiliar territory that shames them. A return to Scudetto-dominating greatness for the felled Turin giant would force Italy, and more importantly, the world, to take notice. Italy needs an overhaul. It needs the kind of player discussed before and it needs its clubs to shine on a European level. When this all comes together, Italy will shine once again.
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