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. 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. 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 at the finals continued to dissatisfy fans, especially while playing Paraguay and New Zealand.
For all their renowned defensive abilities, the Italians looked lacking in imagination in attack. 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 merchandise.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. Disappointingly, Inter failed to contribute any players to the World Cup Squad for Italy. 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.
A quick scout through the Serie A giants reveals a worrying trend. AC Milan have more Italians in their first team squad, but the vast majority are approaching or beyond 30 years of age. Juventus boasts a few Italian players, including Chiellni, Giovinco and De Ceglie, who all back up the magnificent Marchisio in the midfield. The vast majority of Juventus Italian nationals, certainly those who would be considered for the first team, are also 30+.
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 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. 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.
It is a worrying trend for the Italian national side and one that needs to be addressed. 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?
