It has often been stated that one of the main problems England face is that the Premier League is populated by so many foreign players that this hinders the progress of England’s top stars and in particular the youngsters, in the Premier League. Italy seems to be under fire for the same sort of situation, with such a lack of talented Italian football players.
The Azzuri has been playing rather poorly in recent times. The 2010 World Cup finals were hardly impressive for the Azzuri, with an equilizer in Ireland the only element that pushed them into the finals. Italy’s disappointment only grew in the finals, where their first two games against Paraguay and New Zealand were supremely lackluster.
Despite Italy’s strong reputation for defense, their lack of imagination in attack was painful. 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 Italy soccer jersey. Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan were the Serie A and Coppa Italia winners of 2010 before they went on to lift the European Champions League with a 2-0 victory over Bayern Munich in Madrid. However despite this glorious season, Inter did not contribute a single player to the Italian World Cup squad. For most of the season, Inter’s first team barely contained an Italian player. 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.
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 have more Italians in their first team squad, but the vast majority are approaching or beyond 30 years of age. 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. A large amount of Juventus Italian nationals, and especially those that are first team caliber, are all above thirty.
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).
It is a trend which considering the age of many of the players from the top clubs, looks likely to continue and it must be a worry for the Italian FA and any Azzuri team manager. 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.
The shift is a nuisance to the Italian side and a change that needs to be addressed. Can the heroes of a country really be considered heroes if they don’t have their hearts in a national cause?
