Almost only brought talent into the squad
©IMAGO
Italy’s interim national coach Silvio Baldini is heading into the upcoming two friendly matches in Luxembourg and Greece with “anticipation” and “great pride”. During his press conference on Friday, the actual U21 coach also used the big stage to criticize youth work in Italian professional football, sometimes using drastic words.
“Italian football is in the hands of officials who think about their own interests and not about the further development of football,” stated Baldini. The 67-year-old, who looked after the Empoli and Parma teams in Serie A in the 2000s, complained: “You rely on transfers of older players instead of young talents because that serves your own interests.”
Baldini doesn’t have to mince his words on the issue, which has been one of the prevailing points of contention in Italy at least since the World Cup was missed again – “These are things that I have always said,” he emphasized. And so the native Tuscan didn’t miss the opportunity to be abusive towards the decision-makers at the professional level: “I call some people crooks,” said Balidni – literally “lestofanti”, which could also be translated as “scoundrels” or “scammers”. Unfortunately, in the coach’s opinion, “it is precisely these people who often have the reins of this sport in their hands. As long as we don’t have reputable officials, this will remain a problem.”
Baldini: “What’s the point of signing a 39-year-old?”
Aging stars who set the tone in Italian football – too few young talents; This was the picture that a report from the national association FIGC painted of calcio last month. It was an appeal to politics, clubs and the league. Baldini now reiterated: “The problem does not depend on the association, but on the decisions of the clubs. What sense does it make to sign a 39-year-old player instead of promoting a young player from your own youth ranks? As long as Italian clubs are not led by far-sighted and serious management, the situation will not change.”
Before the upcoming international matches, which, to the chagrin of the Italian fans, once again do not serve as preparation for the World Cup, Baldini called up 19 debutants with an average age of 21 years. No field player has reached the age of 23. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma (27) is the only one who is above it. The youngest players include the 18-year-old Dortmund players Samuele Inácio and Luca Reggiani, who Baldini himself hasn’t even used in the U21 team.
Only Donnarumma signals willingness – Baldini “not disappointed about it”
Baldini’s clear strategy is to primarily include junior national players in the squad for the games on June 3rd in Luxembourg and June 7th in Greece. The interim coach also had to admit that he had almost none of the seasoned national players available after the shock in the World Cup qualification – except for goalkeeper Donnarumma: “He was the only one who contacted me and offered me his support,” said Baldini, who reads a clear message from this: “Italian football wants to see a change.” He was convinced that “the boys will do very well. With the U21 we saw that the team appeared united and still had potential for development.”
Baldini emphasized: “I was not disappointed that no one else contacted me. The wound after Bosnia is still far too big. Even if they had called me, I would not have changed the nominations – also with a view to my future work. Sometimes it is better to rest and not take part.”
