Over ten years since representing Italy, Cristiano Lucarelli has taken aim at the new generation of players while coming to the defence of coaches such as former Azzurri boss Gian Piero Ventura.
The current coach of Livorno saw major differences in Serie A and the resulting requirements for Azzurri selection to that of his playing days, which he believes has had a negative affect on the national team.
“Serie A is no longer the best league in the world,” he told RMC Sport. “It is the fourth or fifth and, consequently, everything else is affected.
“We do not have great champions, but only potential talents like [Domenico] Berardi and [Federico] Chiesa. [Roberto] Mancini has no certainties.”
Despite 120 career goals in Serie A alone, Lucarelli only made a handful of appearances for the senior Azzurri squad, a far cry to what he sees in the current Italian team.
“There is a problem in creating talent,” he continued. “Everything has changed with respect to past generations; many players are children of social networks and not of the team.
“[Today, players] become a phenomena after a few games and are selected for the national team after scoring just a few goals. However I, with more than 200 goals, watched the World Cup from the sofa.”
Following coaching spells with Messina and Catania, Lucarelli has this season taken charge of the Amaranto, who he scored more than 110 goals for during his playing career.
