Fabio Capello predicts Italian football won’t return to the top for almost ten years and believes Paulo Dybala ‘should have challenged’ Juventus.
The former tactician analysed the crisis of Italian football in an interview with Il Corriere dello Sport. La Nazionale have missed out on the second successive World Cup, while no Serie A club has qualified for the Champions League quarter-finals. Roma and Atalanta are the only Italian clubs left in European competitions.
Yesterday, Atalanta picked up a 1-1 draw against RB Leipzig in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals, while Roma lost 2-1 away at Bodo/Glimt in the first round of the Conference League quarter-finals.
“Italian football is far behind the others. The ball doesn’t move quickly, referees blow the whistle too often. They stop the play too frequently. Every challenge is a foul, so there is never intensity,” said Capello.
“The biggest problem remains that the best players don’t come to Italy anymore. You won’t learn anything if you don’t meet the best ones. We need stadiums and infrastructures.”
Does it mean that Italian football won’t return to the top for five or six years?
“Even eight. In Italy, everyone intervenes. Politicians, neighbourhood associations and so on…as for youth sectors, those in charge should have a trip to Spain where they work on the technique, not on tactics.”
Paulo Dybala, Dusan Vlahovic and Nicolò Zaniolo are among the best players in the league. How does Capello rate them?
“I like Vlahovic, he has pace, physical strength and desire to improve. He knows how to work for the team and stay inside the box. But Max [Allegri] is right when he says that he must learn how to play in a top club, managing the pressure and the different phases in a game.
“You can’t question Dybala technically, but he has had any sort of physical issue. One advice? If he was happy in Turin, he should have challenged Juventus. Ask them for a one-year contract and show how much he’s worth.
“The same goes for Zaniolo. He suffered two serious injuries and remained out for 18 months. He must rediscover self-confidence because he has the technical skills.”
Dybala will leave Juventus at the end of his contract in the summer. The Old Lady decided against offering him a new deal and no longer considers La Joya as one of the main players in the future. Zaniolo is one of the possible replacements that Juventus are considering. His contract with Roma runs out in June 2024.
🔥 #Capello esclusivo: "Ridateci il calcio all'italiana" | L'intervista esclusiva del direttore Ivan #Zazzaroni ✍️ https://t.co/qjsu3z13xi
— Corriere dello Sport (@CorSport) April 8, 2022
Haven’t you got anything better to do than to give your worthless opinion on football? You blame everyone else for your failings, especially when you were England manager!
Everything he said is true
@Gel, he talks a lot of sense actually, and hopefully with his profile in Italian football, authorities will listen. However, this is Italy! Highlighting the problems is fine but realising any solutions will no doubt be blocked or hit a dead end.
I would Hope Dybala reads this and asks Juve for a chance!
@ GEL. If you lost a bet when he was England manager then take your case to GOAL.COM as you are in the wrong place.
All he said make sense.
But the issue of big players don’t come to Italy anymore is no point to me. Just say Italian don’t have the money, because football now is about the money not name, now a player will reject Madrid and go sign for PSG or CITY and they will tell you THE COACH AND CITY CONVINCED ME.
If a 23years old quality player can leave Europe and go play in China and say IT HAS ALWAYS BE MY DREAM TO COME HERE then you should understand.
If GENOA have the money, they will BARCELONA to a player.
The problem in ITALY is INFASTRUCTURE,STADIUM, RED TAPES, Bureaucracy, all these rubbish is what pulling Italian football down, and it will continue until somebody decided to have sense.
It makes me laugh how most commentators are clue less, so those very poor african countires that qualified are better in all areas than italy. Lets get some facts, italy’s golden spells 30 & 40’s and 76 to 2005, was made on there being restricted foreign players. Not the qiality of stadiums or the politics or the other rubbish being pushed here. You only produce players when you give kids a go. I do agree tatics is over played, skills is what counts first, then the tatics and then physical running. Now as for other countries, how many of you actually understand how france and germany who recently won world cups was executed. Simple the foreign legion. Count how many were true french and not origins from another country. Germany’s last world cup win had 9 of the 11 from other countries. Italy is one of the last bastions that plays players of true italian heritage. Mbappe was a son of a refugee, Zidane parents were from Algeria, Michele Platini both parents were italian. Messi Maradona etc all of italian heritage. Get rid of the foreigners and watch them win world cups.
Claudio, you’re wrong about the stadiums .. the new stadiums are needs to bring more interest which brings investors to Italy .. how do you think the premature league got their tv money?? Nowadays it’s a whole package to sell ..the excitement of the league is needed ..new stadiums is a huge part of it
@ ralph – I am Italian, not English. And I would not bet on any national team managed by Capello.
We will see who is right when Italy win another trophy in the next ten years.
Well Italy were made up of Juventus man, so the team gels inherently enough…what is left now is Bonucci and Chiellini who are injury prone…no wonder Italy does not make it..
Forget 10 years, they have been behind for longer then that and the issue is mentality. The Italians are stubborn, stuck in their ways and do not like the word modernise. Plus they are broke and simply do not have the resources at their disposal.
Claudio well said bring in the homegrown youth and italian will be u stoppage forget all these other fly by night talents. Only reason why they are relevant is the media keeps them relevant and sells out italian.
if these italian coaches know whats wrong with italian football why dont they put there hands up for administrative job
Italy won the Euro playing what most say is modern football. They set a new recrord streak of games unbeaten previously held by Spain and Brazil. The system needs a lot of renovations but it’s not as bad as many make out. The good thing is that Italians love the drama. The bad thing is that change takes a lot of time. Solve the second one to go with the first one and the system with a few tweaks will be the best again.
Well put, Jax.