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. Italy seems to be under fire for the same sort of situation, with such a lack of talented Italian football players.
The Azzuri have failed to impress lately. 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.
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 latest 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. Inter’s first team hardly ever contained an Italian player for most of the season. 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 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. 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 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 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. 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.
Italy does have hope for the future, with players like Domenico Criscito, Salvatore Bocchetti, Giampaolo Pazzini, and Leonardo Bonucci as up and coming players. Sadly, though, these players are likely to gain their football education not on the pitches of Old Trafford, Allianz Arena, Bernebeu and Nou Camp but on those of Palermo, Bari, Cagliari, and Lazio.
The shift is a nuisance to the Italian side and a change that needs to be addressed. Without a strong national identity, can a player really defend a nation with the vim and vigor of patriotism?
