Written by Matteo Ciaramella
I want to get this article over with as soon as possible, for the record.
Heartbreak. My heart is shattered.
Italy lose 0-1 in the World Cup Playoff Qualifiers to North Macedonia. We will not be seeing the Azzurri in Qatar this winter.
In this blog I cover Serie A, and I enjoy going over the positive notes I have about this league. It is currently in a phase of resurgence, and climbing its way back to the top of European football.
We thought the same about our national team, as they beat the record for longest unbeaten streak in world football and managed to win the 2020 Euros.
We really thought Italian football was making its way back.
But what happened last Thursday night was a wake up call. It is imperative that we change things, and that we do so quickly. And this isn’t because we failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, but because it has happened twice in a row, right after we were eliminated in the group stages in our last two outings.
Every one of these failures since 2010 has been described as a “wake up call”, but from what I’m seeing, we are still sound asleep.
I know that we went to the Euro 2012 final, had a nice run in 2016, and won the whole thing last summer, but from a World Cup perspective, we’ve only gotten worse, worse, and worse.
Let’s get the elephant out of the room: we need a striker. Ciro Immobile may be good domestically with Lazio, but it is clear that he cannot perform with the national team. He is distracted, doesn’t link up well with teammates, and is perhaps a bit nervous with the Azzurri shirt. His touches are wrong, his passes are always intercepted, and his shots cannot find their way into the back of the net. Ciro is by all means a great striker, one of the best of his generation, but unfortunately, his club form almost never translates to the international stage. This does not mean that the man should be excluded from the National team completely; he is a seasoned veteran who is still in his prime, and that has to be respected. However, Roberto Mancini cannot cling to the same strategies when it’s clear that they don’t work. To be frank, Immobile put up fairly poor performances during the Euros as well, and although he did contribute to some goals with clever off ball movements, and dropped deep to help in build up play, the lack of goals should have been an immediate red flag for Mancini to start looking for a new, hungry, young striker for his squad. Unfortunately, this is exactly what the problem with our football system is: youngsters are put on the back burner. Football is constantly evolving, and with it, footballers themselves, so keeping the same old guard year after year is nothing but detrimental. Obviously, there are generational talents that can and should stay in the starting line up for ten or more years, like Bonucci, Chiellini, Verratti, and Insigne, but the rest are all replaceable.
Scamacca deserves a chance. He is one of those striker characterised by his decisive, strong finishing, and will do anything to see the ball beautifully embrace the touch of the net, which is exactly what we lacked against North Macedonia. Sandro Tonali is another emerging talent that should be playing. He is one of the leaders of a phenomenal AC Milan team that is powerfully charging at the Scudetto this year. With defense, passing, and flawless control of the game, he is the perfect regista that we need in our midfield. Jorginho is getting too comfortable – he no longer has that fire fuelling him to give it his all on the pitch. Tonali is known for leaving his heart on the field (an Italian expression), and we need to fill the squad sheet with players like that. How do you think Italy won the Euros? It wasn’t a fluke, by any means. It was a deserved win, because for once, we chose to risk it. The usual starting line up had internationally inexperienced players like Locatelli, Barella, Chiesa, Di Lorenzo, and Spinazzola, all eager to show their worth on the global stage. Their contributions should have shown Mancini and the Italian football system that it is worth it to give youngsters a chance, that it is worth it to let go of the past, that it is worth it to be bold. Italy could have very well fielded a team with, say, Florenzi, Toloi, Cristante, and Belotti instead, but where would that have taken us? Quarter-finals at most. Yet, the free-flowing, relentless, beautiful football displayed by Mancini’s side was in great part enabled by these players. Youngsters are the key to a competitive side: they provide passion and drive, which combined with the experience of the older players, is a match made in heaven.
I am surprised that Italy has not understood this yet, because the evidence of this is right before our eyes. Look at AC Milan. Not only are the Rossoneri currently sitting at the top of the Serie A table with the 5th youngest squad in the league, but the club itself has shown time and time again that a bold and risk-taking mentality is key to success. No one knew who Arrigo Sacchi was when he came in for the Milan job in 1987. They nicknamed him Mr. Nessuno – Mr. Nobody. Yet, the man revolutionised football and went on an absolute tear both domestically, and internationally. This is not to say that Mancini should be replaced, as I think he’s a wonderful coach, but we as a nation are extremely conservative. We stick to what does the job, and hate to progress. Young Italian talent emerges at a slower rate than other European powerhouses because we don’t give them their chances until they’re well into their 20s. Why have players like Toni and Di Natale flourished at such an old age, and why are great youngsters such as Raspadori, Zaccagni, and Pellegrini still rarely included in the National team? Because our system is afraid of change. Coaches and clubs are always reluctant to give young, motivated kids a chance, as that would mean going in a different direction than usual. They don’t want that. They want to stay in their comfort zones, and keep playing it safe. A few weeks back, Juventus was eliminated by Villarreal in the Champions League precisely because Allegri keeps fielding an outdated squad with players that are living off their reputation and past glory days, such as Rabiot and Morata. Quite simply, we reject the idea of moving forward. How can a nation possibly develop if this is the mentality? It can’t, which is why we are being left behind. Italian football loves to live in the past, and rumours of Marcello Lippi and Fabio Cannavaro taking over Mancini’s job are the testament of that. Even after Mancini took over a struggling side, experimented endlessly until he found a good mix of young, driven players, and experienced veterans, and won a Euro championship by playing marvellous, intense, attacking football, we now want to replace him with old faces who do nothing but remind us of the World Cup win in 2006? Not to take anything away from them, but that would be their only purpose, and trying to come back to the old glory days is bound to produce nothing but mediocre, if not poor results. Lippi in charge of the National team for the 3rd time would be the epitome of the conservative, old way of thinking that is so prevalent in the Italian football world. The sole fact that these rumours are going around just shows how many things we need to work on to get out of this precarious situation.
But let’s do everything one step at a time. Give young players a chance, and trust the one coach who has been a risk taker.
Forza Italia.