Alessandro Altobelli, interview: “Italy, regret the World Cup. Why not give wild cards?”

Is Spillo Altobelli, as a world champion, having fun watching the American World Cup?
“Well, not really. So far we haven’t seen much on the pitch. I’ve seen teams win by many goals, but that doesn’t automatically mean that they were great matches. What I expect from a World Cup is a higher level, both from a technical and emotional point of view. For the moment I haven’t yet seen football that leaves its mark. I hope that it will happen in the next few weeks and that the stars will light up: Messi, Mbappé, Lamine… I admit, however, that I also had another thought mischievous…”.

Which?
“But how on earth can Italy not play in a World Cup involving 48 teams? A World Cup in which there are teams like this, who in my time would have scored few points even in their qualifying groups? It’s not a question of disrespect towards anyone, but a simple observation. In reality, however, I recognize that this thought is wrong: Italy had the opportunity and missed it. It’s our fault alone if we’re not in the USA, despite having had more space to enter.”

In reality, the broadening of the base at the entrance to the final phase rewarded the non-European national teams more in percentage terms.
“Oh yes. We notice a general quality that has dropped, it was predictable. Let’s say that with so many teams there is the risk of losing something along the way.”

What do you mean?
“There are more national teams, more matches, more audiences, more corners of the world that are rightly touched by the show, but also many teams that seem far from the level we are used to and that we should expect from an event of this level. Even if you always find the surprise, see Cape Verde against Spain. I, however, have more in my eyes the poor Curaçao against Germany: two teams of too different sizes! But we are still at the beginning of the tournament and I hope that the great national teams will be able to raise the show: for example, Brazil and Spain were not crazy…”.

What is the ideal number of teams to have the right competition?
“The 24 of my time would no longer be feasible, the 48 of today are exaggerated and I say this with respect for my great friend Gianni Infantino: for me, as a former footballer, it is better to stay in the middle. But I understand the reasons. Football wants to involve new markets, new nations, new fans. But a balance must be found between the global dimension and technical quality.”

Is it really possible to find it in an era like this?
“Business has become a fundamental component of modern sport, there is nothing wrong with it, and even major competitions are designed taking these aspects into account, but I also think that we must not lose sight of the main product, which is what we then see on the pitch. I am a bit nostalgic and I love the football of the past: I like goalkeepers who save, defenders who defend, midfielders who pass, wingers who dribble and attackers who score. Sometimes, it seems to me that these we lose bases.”

And what do you say about the organization of the tournament, which was born amidst some controversy?
“The controversies are the result of political situations that do not concern football, they are inevitable in the times we live in. Personally, from the outside, I think it is a great World Cup from an organizational point of view, given that it is necessary to cover not one, but three immense countries. The opening was extraordinary. I am talking about the scenography, the visual impact. Even looking at the stadiums you can clearly see that there is no lack of interest: there are a lot of people, despite the tickets costing an arm and a leg. It means that the World Cup continues to exert a fascination huge.”

Point blank: do you think we’ll be there next time too?
“I turn the problem around, I go further. The great national teams like ours, which are the heritage of world football and therefore of everyone, should always be there, regardless. We don’t need preferential lanes, but normal wild cards. In recent years it has been our turn to stay out, but in the future it could happen to others and even in that case the competition would lose its charm. It wouldn’t be a perfect solution, but why not think about it?”.