Roberto Samaden, director of Atalanta’s youth sector, promotes Cagliari as the ideal context for Marco Palestra’s growth, but raises an alarm about Italian youth football.
Roberto Samaden, head of Atalanta’s youth sector, analyzed Marco Palestra’s growth path. In an interview with TMW, he promoted the choice of Cagliari as a destination for the young talent, highlighting how the Sardinian environment was decisive for his development.
“A peaceful journey in a club that believed in him”
Samaden described the player’s situation in Sardinia as optimal. The rossoblù club has offered the player a context where he can express himself without excessive pressure. “Gym? He completes his journey in complete tranquility, he has found the right environment in which to have fun and grow”, explained the manager. He then added a key element: “And above all, a team that believed in him owes it to those who believed in him and to themselves.”
“The disaster of Italian youth football”
The discussion then expanded to a criticism of the national football system. According to Samaden, Palestra’s positive case fits into a problematic general framework. In an interview that you can read on Cagliari News 24used stark words to describe the situation. “The environment where young people grow up is a disaster,” he said, agreeing with Marotta’s analyzes on the “culture of results”. His reflection ends on a bitter note: “But once we have reached the disaster we are all in, it is useless to talk about the fact that there are no more speakers and that we need to work on technique.”