Alessandro Del Piero believes Italian football has ‘become boring’ and compares Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp’s playing styles: ‘Luckily there is no dominant thought.’
The 2006 Italy World Cup winner gave an interview to Il Corriere della Sera, discussing how football has evolved over the years.
The interviewer asked Del Piero if he agreed with Gianfranco Zola when he said the No.10 ‘started to disappear’ during the Arrigo Sacchi era.
“Sacchi has changed football, but his ideal No.10 was Ruud Gullit, a friend of mine,” noted Del Piero.
“Don’t get me wrong. He [Gullit] had so many qualities, but probably not those concerning technique or creativity. He had other specialities. He was perfect for that Milan side and Sacchi was very exigent.
“Roberto Donadoni was underrated and provided quantity and quality,” continued Del Piero.
“Zola is right. A different football was born at that time. To run became the priority. To run and follow strict tactical directions.
“It is hard to compare different eras in football. I grew up with the football of Scirea and Platini,” added the ex-Juventus striker.
“Scirea, like Beckenbauer, was a player who would build from the back and use his freedom to start the attack. Today, we play man-on-man. Gasperini, Juric, Tudor. There is a desire for integral tactics and to move all players simultaneously. There are different examples too, but generally, everyone must know how to do everything in today’s football. Even defenders and goalkeepers touch the ball well.”
However, the former striker is glad to see different examples too.
“Many new generations of coaches grow up with the myth of Guardiola who applies this philosophy,” he said.
“It’s okay for him because he wins so, it’s generally accepted that he’s right. However, there are different realities in England. Klopp has a different philosophy. More vertical. And he’s won, too. There is no dominant thought in football. Luckily, I’d say.”
Italian clubs reached three European finals last year and the national team won the Euros two years ago. However, we haven’t qualified for the last two World Cups and Serie A is nowhere near the levels of the 90s. What has gone wrong in Italian football?
“The stats are clear. Football has become boring in Italy because the level has decreased compared to the past,” argued Del Piero.
“The best players used to play here. Everyone wanted to compete here. Now the best players go to the Premier League, La Liga, or even France or Germany. Not here. Football is not boring in England.
“There are other factors too. Technology for example. Mobile phones and video games give a level of satisfaction unknown in my childhood. Digital society makes us live better but takes creativity away from us.”
The 1996 Champions League winner believes change must start from academies.
“I don’t know the youth sectors well, but I know the philosophy of many coaches,” he said.
“The first request today is to have physicality. Some youth sectors won’t even consider guys born after March. I was born in November and used to play against children born in January. They were nearly one year older than me and that time makes the difference when you are 13 or 14. A good youth coach is not one who wins titles but one who brings his players to the next level.
“Youth coaches must be teachers of football but, on the contrary, many only think about winning so their careers can progress. The judgment method is wrong. What counts is how many guys improve, not how many points you earn in one season.”
Del Piero is the player with the most Juventus appearances (705) and the best scorer in the Bianconeri’s history with 290 goals.
he is right we lack physicality enduarance we will never achieve unless we change for the national team
I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a dozen times – it’s the infrastructure; the stadiums, the training grounds, the academies. They all need modernising and Serie A needs to promote itself with much more skill. But that depends on the product. The hideous stadiums on TV do not help sell the product
Italian footballers in Italy cannot advance after U21’s because most of them end up in Serie B, not Serie A. Serie A has the most footballers from other countries. That’s why the can’t beat the smaller nations, They learn strategy and tactics in Italy and then use them against Italy in the international qualifiers. That’s why they can’t qualify.