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. But that same argument could equally be given for Italian football’s current lack of talented superstars.
In recent times the Azzuri have been less than impressive. 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 missed the cunning of Andrea Pirlo, a looming threat from a player of the amplitude of Francesco Totti, and the usually great from of Luca Toni; what is worse, Italy may struggle to find new players to fill the national 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. Disappointingly, Inter failed to contribute any players to the World Cup Squad for Italy. Inter’s first team hardly ever contained an Italian player for most of the season. Young Mario Balotelli and Davide Santon did in fact make a lasting contribution, but were used mostly as substitutes and neither player ended up on the final squad for the showpiece in South Africa.
A quick scout through the Serie A giants reveals a worrying trend. 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. The picture is a little brighter at Juventus, but the team is only saved by Chiellni, Giovinco and De Ceglie rising up to support the phenomenal Marchisio in the midfield. A large amount of Juventus Italian nationals, and especially those that are first team caliber, are all above thirty.
In recent times, players on the Italian national team are less likely to come from the top few teams in Serie A, and players are instead being chosen from the groups which rank just below this group. The 2010 World Cup Italian squad has a total of six players from Juventus, with two coming from Milan, and one from Roma. However, the team also has 3 players from Napoli, another 2 from Sampadoria, 2 from Genoa, two from Fiorentina, and one apiece from Udinese, Cagliari, Bari, and Al Ahli of the UAE.
The trend is not stopping anytime soon, thanks to the ages of top players this may become a worry for both Azzuri managers and the Italian FA alike. A number of these Italian players are not currently participating in the Champions League every season, a wounding phenomenon that will fiercely impact performance abilities when such players are on the pitch.
It isn’t a bleak future by any means, youngsters like Salvatore Bocchetti, Leonardo Bonucci, Giampaolo Pazzini and Domenico Criscito are coming through the ranks, but unlike their predecessors, their football education will come on the pitches of Cagliari, Bari, Palermo and Lazio, rather than the Bernebeu, Nou Camp, Old Trafford and Allianz Arena.
It is a worrying trend for the Italian national side and one that needs to be addressed. Without a strong national identity, can a player really defend a nation with the vim and vigor of patriotism?
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