Ex-Japan Coach Alberto Zaccheroni says Serie A is back to how it was in the 1970s and 1980s, but he sees a way out.
The current crisis in Italian football has been the cause of a great deal of debate, and the veteran tactician has today offered his take on the situation.
“If there is no money, we must start again from the local pitches, from the day-to-day work, cultivating our youth properly,” Zac told the Gazzetta dello Sport
Ex-Japan Coach Alberto Zaccheroni says Serie A is back to how it was in the 1970s and 1980s, but he sees a way out.
The current crisis in Italian football has been the cause of a great deal of debate, and the veteran tactician has today offered his take on the situation.
“If there is no money, we must start again from the local pitches, from the day-to-day work, cultivating our youth properly,” Zac told the Gazzetta dello Sport
“We must buy less – and with greater carefulness – from abroad.
“We take up a massive load of foreigners without familiarising ourselves with them, without following them first, without knowing what their qualities or their personalities are.
“The first-class foreigners, those who need no introduction, are beyond our economical means now.”
In spite of Zaccheroni's rather bleak outlook, he saw some reasons to stay positive – provided that Italy could develop their best qualities.
“We know that we were never short of talent, and we never will be. In this area we're still the best.
“So let's develop what we've got, let's build an exemplary business and you'll see that in Italy too, like in Germany or in England, the foreign investors will come in droves.
“If work is done properly, money comes in. In Germany, for 15 years the best Coaches have dealt with the youth sectors.”
Zaccheroni argued that the poor business models currently prevailing in Italian football are to blame for the lack of competitors for the title.
“We have gone back to the 1970s and the 1980s, when the Scudetto was always a two-horse race. In the 1990s there were the six or seven sisters, but that seems like a century ago.”
Asked whether he still followed Serie A while he was coaching the Japanese national team, Zaccheroni answered positively.
“I used to do that sometimes, but to follow only one Coach – Antonio Conte.
“His Juventus aimed for intensity, strength, anger, determination and precision – everything you have to throw into the mix today to make sure you don't lose the bus.”
But on the question of whether the new national team under Conte will resemble that model of Juventus, Zaccheroni was more ambiguous.
“I can only say that Conte will try that as hard as he can.”