Against Northern Ireland, Italy struggled in front of goal for the umpteenth time in the World Cup Qualifiers. Is the Growth Decree to blame for the lack of attacking talent in Italy?
Italian teams were encouraged to take advantage of a fiscal boost on the transfer market when the Growth Decree arrived in 2019.
The new fiscal rules and tax discount made calcio a tax haven for foreign talent and had concrete effects on the club’s budget and balance sheets.
But the Serie A teams’ counting on taking advantage of the Growth Decree might have affected the domestic growth of talent, especially in attack.
In the aftermath of the success at EURO 2020 – when Italy overcame England at Wembley on penalties in the Final – the Azzurri have struggled to show the same determination during the three recent international breaks.
Italy have since finished third in the UEFA Nations League Finals and second in Group C of the European World Cup Qualifiers, needing two more wins in the play-offs to secure a place in Qatar 2022. But the centre-forward emergency didn’t start after the European Championship.
Mancini’s men were at times hailed by their free-flowing attacking style and Italy’s complete turnaround, squandering the Catenaccio label and threw the ‘door-bolt’ that defined the Azzurri out of the window.
Italy went flying through the qualifiers for the European Championship and scored for fun, but during the Finals it was a different story.
During the European Championship, the defenders were again praised for their contributions at both ends, with centre-backs celebrating tackles like goals and full-backs Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Leonardo Spinazzola storming down the flanks.
Up front, however, the Azzurri were bleak, as the offerings of Ciro Immobile and Andrea Belotti were heavily criticised by fans and, of course, the Italian media.
The lack of a clinical striker continued to be a problem in the World Cup Qualifiers too, where Italy eventually ended up second behind Switzerland in Group C and finishing the competition, applying a ‘false nine’ during the 0-0 draw against Northern Ireland in Belfast.
Lazio striker Ciro Immobile is struggling to replicate the numbers from club level, with only 15 goals in 54 caps with the Azzurri, while Torino captain Andrea Belotti has not grabbed the opportunities when they arise.
The 27-year-old, who has been linked with a move to one of the Serie A giants when his contract expires in June 2022, might hope the possible suitors are looking away from his numbers with the national team.
With 12 goals in 41 caps, the two main strikers at Italy are struggling to match some of the international stars in the league.
Young and promising strikers like Gianluca Scamacca, Moise Kean and Giacomo Raspadori are still being held back a bit at club level too, as the Italian teams are looking for international talent when searching for goals.
When clubs dive into the transfer market, they are often looking for a quick fix and most likely a way to score more goals.
The international talent in Serie A has been constant, but the Growth Decree has only strengthened the foreign stars’ position at the top Italian teams.
Immobile is in fact the only Italian starter among the top 10 teams of the current Serie A, while the league leaders are depending on foreign goods.
Some were already in the league, while others arrived after the top flight teams started taking advantage of the Growth Decree.
Napoli, who are currently joint Serie A leaders with Milan, have Victor Osimhen and Dries Mertens as their two main candidates for the centre-forward position, while the Rossoneri are looking to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Olivier Giroud or Ante Rebic for the role of lone striker in the 4-2-3-1 formation of Stefano Pioli.
Roma signed Tammy Abraham from Chelsea over the summer, as he replaced current Inter striker Edin Dzeko, who usually combines with either Lautaro Martinez or Alexis Sanchez at San Siro.
And if Abraham doesn’t start up front for the Giallorossi, you will find Eldor Shomurodov or Borja Mayoral in his place. Atalanta have been one of the highest scoring clubs in Europe of late and are currently relying on Colombian duo Duvan Zapata and Luis Muriel as their main strikers.
Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic continues to excel since his breakthrough in 2020-21 and is being linked to giants Juventus, who have brought Kean back to the Allianz Stadium.
But the Italy international is behind Spain international Alvaro Morata in the pecking order, as even Bologna looked to Austria to find their spearhead this summer.
Marko Arnautovic’s arrival has helped the Rossoblu in the initial months of the season, while Giovanni Simeone has kickstarted his career at Hellas Verona after moving to the Bentegodi from Cagliari.
The transfer market is one of the biggest talking points in Italian football and the foreign players are often preferred over the significant costs of domestic operations and also due to the tax advantages of the Growth Decree currently in place.