Italy, Cies research: the ranking of under-21 use, Italy at the bottom

“Trust the young”. These days, it seems almost a motto, to be repeated until the end, following the national team’s failure to qualify for the World Cup. At the base, however, there is a clear truth: the unders in Italy find very little space, less than in (almost) all other European countries. The Cies observatory has published data relating to the employment of players not yet 21 in leagues around the world. Taking into account the percentage of minutes played from January 2021 to today, the tournaments in Venezuela and Saudi Arabia represent two opposite extremes: in the first, the under 21s played 18.8% of the total minutes available; in the second, just 1.6%.

In Europe

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By restricting the search to Europe, it emerges that Denmark – with its Superliga – sets a good example: in the top national competition, the youngest made their way in 16.5% of the total minutes. The Austrian Bundesliga (13.3%) and the Serbian Super Liga (12%) also did well, unlike most of the “top” leagues.

Flop Serie A …

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While the 20-year-olds of Ligue 1 played 9.1% of the minutes – 2% more than their colleagues in the German Bundesliga -, the statistics become less exciting if you look at the Premier League (4.4%), Liga ( 4.2%) and, finally, Serie A (3.9%). Our league is among the worst in Europe according to what emerged from the Cies statistics: only Greece and Turkey – which respectively reached 3.2% and 2.3% – recorded lower numbers.

… and Serie B

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What worries most, however, is the typically Italian tendency – and not only in Serie A – to grant few opportunities to under-professionals. Among the second European divisions, in fact, our Serie B (stopped at 4.9%) places itself in front of only 2.Bundesliga, while Segunda Division, Championship and Ligue 2 are respectively at 6.1%, 8.1% and 8.6%. Despite the examples of Barella, Tonali, Bastoni, Scamacca & Co, we are still the ones who believe least in young people.