One of the main criticisms that England faces is that the prevalence of foreign players in the Premier League inhibits the growth of the top young English players. However, this criticism could also be applied to Italy’s team due to their marked lack of football superstars.
The Azzuri have failed to impress lately. After a less than impressive qualifying campaign for the 2010 World Cup finals in which an equaliser in Ireland pushed them into the final after a sequence of drawn games, Italy has faced growing disappointment. Italy’s disappointment only grew in the finals, where their first two games against Paraguay and New Zealand were supremely lackluster.
Italy was hurt by their lack of ingenuity in attack, despite their renowned defensive abilities. Italy felt a loss of Pirlo’s unmistakable guile, Totti’s technique, and Toni’s form, and will moreover struggle to find stars to put in the latest soccer jersey. Inter Milan made Jose Mourinho proud as the won the Serie A and Coppa Italia in 2010, ending up lifting the Europeans Champions League 2-0 against Bayern Munich at a match in Madrid. However, in spite of the great season, Inter failed to send a single player into the Italina World Cup team. For most of the season, Inter’s first team barely contained an Italian player. Only youngsters Davide Santon and Mario Balotelli made a lasting contribution and they were used mainly from the substitutes bench and neither made the final squad for the summer’s showpiece event in South Africa.
If we look to the rest of Serie A, it becomes apparent that the giants of the league are facing the same conundrum. AC Milan can be commended for a higher amount of Italians in their first team, but this victory is diminished by the fact that most of these people are nearing or beyond thirty. It’s a slightly rosier picture at Juventus, but only just thanks to the likes of Chiellini, Giovinco and De Ceglie coming through the ranks to supplement the impressive Marchisio in midfield. The vast majority of Juventus Italian nationals, certainly those who would be considered for the first team, are also 30+.
More and more, the majority of the players on the Italian national team are not coming out of the top four to five teams from Serie A, but instead from the teams which sit just outside of this elite crew. The Italian World Cup team has, at present, 6 players hailing from Juventus, with three under the age of thirty, 3 from Milan, one from Roma, but also has 3 from Napoli, two from Genoa, two coming from Sampdoria, 2 from Fiorentina, and one each who come from Bari, Cagliari and Udinese. There is also a player from Al Ahli of the UAE (Fabio Cannavaro).
The tendency against national players is one that is unlikely to stop soon, which may become a torment to the Italian FA as well as future Azzuri team managers. A great many Italian players are declining participation in the Champions League each season, a fact that hurts Italian players’ performance against the competition.
Italy’s future is not totally dismal, with such players like Salvatore Bocchetti, Leonardo Bonucci, Domenico Criscito, and Giampaolo Pazzini rising through the order, however, these players will be receiving an education in soccer from places like Lazio, Palermo, Bari, and Cagliari rather than Nou Camp, Old Trafford, Allianz Arena, or Bernebeu.
The Italian side needs to begin worrying about the state of their leagues. Can a champions be said to be truly champions of a country, when it contains no nationals from that country and contributes no players to the national cause?
Tags: azzuri soccer, soccer, soccer news