Former Inter and Udinese Coach Andrea Stramaccioni says the best players ‘still prefer other leagues’ over Serie A.
The 39-year-old also believes that the higher intensity of training abroad plays a part in players struggling to adapt after leaving the peninsula.
"It’s true, in Italy we’ve begun to spend again, but top-level foreign players still prefer leagues like the Premier League, Bundesliga and La Liga,” Stramaccioni said to Corriere dello Sport.
Former Inter and Udinese Coach Andrea Stramaccioni says the best players ‘still prefer other leagues’ over Serie A.
The 39-year-old also believes that the higher intensity of training abroad plays a part in players struggling to adapt after leaving the peninsula.
"It’s true, in Italy we’ve begun to spend again, but top-level foreign players still prefer leagues like the Premier League, Bundesliga and La Liga,” Stramaccioni said to Corriere dello Sport.
“Edin Dzeko, but also Carlos Tevez and Gervinho in the past, were not first-choice players before coming to us.
“The same goes for Stevan Jovetic, Eric Lamela and Ciro Immobile – players who are important in Italy but suffered abroad.
“It’s a matter of preparation and the type of training – they work with more intensity abroad.
“A while ago I was watching Guardiola’s Bayern Munich – Bayern had to play a friendly against a team made up of fans who had won a competition from a sponsor.
“The players went at them at 100 miles an hour – Schweinsteiger, Lahm and Ribery played as if they were in the Champions League and after the first half they’d already scored 12 goals but weren’t slowing down.
“In Italy we must train with that pace and that intensity, but it is a question of mentality.”