England has been facing more and more criticism over the fact that the Premier League is so overpopulated with foreign players that young English players don’t have the opportunity to grow adequately. However, this criticism could also be applied to Italy’s team due to their marked lack of football superstars.
In recent times the Azzuri have been less than impressive. Their qualifying campaign for the 2010 World Cup finals was hardly impressive, relying on a last gasp equaliser in Ireland to put them into the finals after a series of unimpressive drawn games. 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. They missed the guile of Andrea Pirlo, they missed the threat of a player of the calibre of Francesco Totti and an in form Luca Toni and what is more, they may well struggle to find adequate long term replacements for all these players to put in the latest soccer apparel.Inter Milan won both Serie A and Coppa Italia in 2010 prior to lifting the European Champions Leauge with a 2-0 game, beating out Bayern Munich in Madrid. However despite this glorious season, Inter did not contribute a single player to the Italian World Cup squad. 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. Even though AC Milan boasts a higher percentage of Italians in their first squad, most of the players are nearly or over 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. Still, a majority of Juventus’s Italian nationals exceed the age of thirty, especially those that could be considered as first team material.
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.
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. Many of these Italian players are now not playing in the Champions League each season and that will have an impact on their abilities to perform against the very best.
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?
