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. 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. At the finals, the Italians also failed to impress, especially in their first two games against Paraguay and New Zealand.
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 new 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. However, in spite of the great season, Inter failed to send a single player into the Italina World Cup team. 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.
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 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.
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 great many Italian players are declining participation in the Champions League each season, a fact that hurts Italian players’ performance against the competition.
Italy’s future is not totally dismal, with such players like Salvatore Bocchetti, Leonardo Bonucci, Domenico Criscito, and Giampaolo Pazzini rising through the order, however, these players will be receiving an education in soccer from places like Lazio, Palermo, Bari, and Cagliari rather than Nou Camp, Old Trafford, Allianz Arena, or Bernebeu.
The Italian side needs to begin worrying about the state of their leagues. Without a strong national identity, can a player really defend a nation with the vim and vigor of patriotism?
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