After witnessing the disappointing results of Italian teams in European competitions a fortnight ago, the forzaitalianfootball.com podcast members Drew Farmer, Dov Schiavone, Enzo Misuraca and Ogo Sylla discussed the current state of Italian football.
https://soundcloud.com/forzaitalianfootball/the-great-serie-a-debate
It would be easy to criticize Juventus, Roma and Napoli for their recent failures in Europe but there are issues with the Italian game in general. Last week’s special podcast discussed issues concerning Italian football such as finances, player recruitment and tactics.
It is because of the issues discussed that I am convinced Italy needs to change its football culture. It would be easy to think that Serie A teams struggle in Europe because they don’t have the financial resources of the 1980s and 1990s but that is the least of Italian football’s worries, something that Juventus president Andrea Agnelli highlighted himself recently.
At the moment, Italian clubs cannot spend enormous sums cash like they used to and they do not possess the financial backing that English Premier League clubs, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich have. Instead they have invested in veterans and foreigners of an average skill level and sacrificed the development of youngsters.
Italian teams cannot buy the great foreign stars like they did in the past and most of the foreign players in Italy aren’t much better than the Italians. Are the likes of Gustavo Campanharo, Rafael Marques, Valter Birsa or Maxi Lopez much more talented than the local crop?
Italian teams don’t trust youngsters and place too much emphasis on experienced players because of their greater tactical know-how and possibly also because of their reputations. Veterans like Francesco Totti, Antonio Di Natale and Andrea Pirlo are doing well but not all players over 35 years old possess their talent.
Very few players in the twilight of their careers can perform consistently but Italian clubs look too often for the quick fix and that is why youth is ignored. Training youngsters requires time and patience, which very few coaches in Italy have.
Former Italy coach Arrigo Sacchi recently praised the likes of Zdenek Zeman, Maurizio Sarri and Eusebio Di Francesco because of their faith in young talent as well as their attacking philosophies. Despite coaching small teams in Serie A, they want their teams to seize the initiative.
Italian clubs wanting to dictate the play are rare because most of them are too focused on stopping the opposition from playing. Most teams in Europe know how to press and can pass the ball with great fluidity. Italian football is slow and lethargic and Italian teams must learn to adapt to the current evolution of European football.
Italy is historically a successful football nation but that success did not solely come from great financial resources or defensive tactics. Italy has always produced technically-gifted players and there are still some talented players emerging on the Italian peninsula but are the old methods good for the new generation?
At the moment, the answer is no. There are Italian teams that fail to hold on to 1–0 leads but they do slow down once they gain a larger lead out of respect for the opponent. This is another limitation of Italian football.
If Roma’s 7–1 loss against Bayern Munich from a fortnight ago and against Manchester United seven years ago are anything to go by, anyone will thrash an Italian team if they get the chance. Even Inter lost 7–1 to Borussia Moenchengladbach in a European Cup match in 1971, only for the result to be annulled because Inter striker Roberto Boninsegna was struck by a bottle.
It has happened to the Italian national team too. Brazil defeated Italy 4–1 in the 1970 World Cup Final and the Azzurri lost 4–0 to Spain in the Euro 2012 Final. So seeing Italian teams being humiliated is nothing new.
So why should Italian teams show their opponents mercy at any level? As I said before, Italy produces skillful technicians. When Italian teams have the quality, they must not sit on leads. They must go for the kill.
The likes of Juventus, Roma and Napoli have a chance to atone this week for their poor results from two weeks ago. In fact, Juventus have already fired the first salvo in their 3–2 win over Olympiacos on Tuesday night. It is now time for the rest of the Serie A representatives to follow suit.
But even if they do achieve victories this week, the Italian football culture and mentality will still need some freshening up.
Follow Vito Doria on Twitter: @VitoCDoria
You rightly pointed out that much of the blame goes to slow tempo of serie A matches but the problem is who will take an initiative? Napoli look more like a Spanish team with good tempo but fail to sustain it for whole 90 minutes. I think clubs should hire foreign coaches that only can change the “culture”.
There are some Italian coaches with good ideas like Sarri, Di Francesco and Montella but the old school mindset needs to disappear.
Mind you, the pragmatists like Trapattoni and Capello aren’t in Serie A now and if the new breed can make an impact, that would be great.