Thursday, July 2, 2009

Italian Edition: Calcio in Crisis

It’s been a spell of turmoil for Italian Football over the last three months. A number of situations have occurred which have taken the league to a real low compared to other big leagues of England, Spain and even Germany.
1) Kaka’s departure to Real Madrid
2) Retirement of Maldini, Nedved
3) Confederations Cup failure




1) Kaka was recently presented as a Real Madrid player with the number 8 jersey, bringing to end a transfer saga which essentially stretched for roughly 2 years. The details of the transfer are really and truly irrelevant at this point as issues regarding the amount Madrid have spent on him, what Milan will do with the money and other things have been discussed time and time again. What I want to focus on is how his departure affects Italian football. On the face of it, it should affect Milan more given that they’ve lost their best player. But aside from being the Rossoneri’s best player , Kaka was also one of the best players in the league, not to mention the most marketable player. Players like Kaka brought attention to the Serie A. The league has been living in the shadow of the Premiership and La Liga for the past 3 years or so despite Milan’s Champions League triumph of 2007. Something not aided by the recent economic crisis. Serie A obviously still contains many terrific players with the likes of Ibrahimovic, Maicon, Ronaldinho, Pato but none of these players really deliver what Kaka did in terms of marketability. Shirt sales, boot deals, lucrative commercials, the list goes on. Not to mention the fact that Ibrahimovic has been linked to Chelsea, Madrid and Barcelona. Maicon to the free spending Spaniards and Pato to The Blues.


2) A lesser cause for concern but something which has been overlooked is the loss of legends such as Maldini and Nedved. Sure they weren’t the youngest anymore but it’s what these players brought to the game in terms of integrity and loyalty. Something lost to many players in this day and age of the game.


3) And finally to the Confederations Cup in South Africa. This was the last straw for the Italians. An absolute horror showing. I’m not just talking about the 3-0 hammering at the hands of Brazil either but the whole tournament as a whole. Italy lacked dynamism in attack, defensive stability and connection in midfield. The Confederations Cup is a chance to test out things and see where things are going wrong or right before the real test at the World Cup. Marcello Lippi clearly got it wrong but in some ways I think he knew that. In my opinion Lippi knew the limitations of the squad he took with him to South Africa yet wasn’t ready to admit it yet. The displays in South Africa would have showed him where he needs to make changes. Unfortunately it won’t be so easy as there are all over the pitch. One easy problem to fix however is getting rid of the dreaded 4-3-3 formation. Italian success is usually found with the incorporation of a fantasista. Something not included in the 4-3-3. Despite not setting the stage alight in Germany 3 years ago what Totti or Del Piero offered was a link between the midfield and attack. Pirlo, one of the major protagonists of that World Cup triump of 2006 had a good tournament, especially when taking into consideration the form of his other teammates. However without someone to connect the midfield and attack nothing will go right for Italy. Insert Antonio Cassano. Hopefully Lippi can get over whatever problem he has with the Sampdoria man who has found a new lease of life.



However it’s not all bad news for Italy. The U-21s despite being stopped at semi-final stage were a joy to behold and many of the players have a chance at making it into the squad for the World Cup. As Lippi said after the defeat to Brazil; plunging a bunch of youngsters into the team isn’t going to magically fix things. But that being said a number of youngsters can make an impact on the squad and make it easier for the transition when the majority of the team gets too old and retires, which is likely to happen after the 2010 World Cup. The likes of Marco Motta, Domenico Criscito, Fabiano Santacroce, Salvatore Bocchetti, Claudio Marchisio, Mario Balotelli and Sebastian Giovinco are likely candidates for consideration for the future of the Azzurri. If a few of these bunch can produce some terrific seasons with their respective clubs , along with some overlooked by Lippi like Gaetano D’Agostino and some who were injured like Alberto Aquilani and Antonio Di Natale then Italy have a good shot of at least making the semi-finals of next summer’s event. All eyes will be on Lippi to see if through La Nazionale he can bring back some glory and respectability to Italian football amongst the other leagues.

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