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Just four years ago, Italy were crowned champions of Europe amidst the longest unbeaten run in
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international football history. Now, they're staring failure to qualify for their third
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successive World Cup, having qualified for all previous 20 additions. So what is wrong with the
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Italian national team? A lot of the blame is at club level. Italian clubs are under huge financial
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pressure from top to bottom, and simply put, youth development is not a priority. Coaches at all age
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groups prioritise winning at all costs rather than allowing young players to grow into future
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stars. Individual attributes are second to tactical and physical ones. At first team level
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ready-made players from abroad are preferred, meaning young Italian players' development is
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stunted. Is some of it tactical? Italian football has historically been defensive and low intensity
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Despite the apparent direction of the Premier League, modern football is the antithesis of
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the classic Italian Catanaccio. Whilst this may work in a seven-game tournament, it does not breed
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expansive, versatile footballers who can break down the so-called smaller nations that Italy
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face in qualifiers? Or is it just cyclical? Italy are not the only historically dominant
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national team on something of a drought. You can't produce Maldini, Cannavaro, Pirlo, Del
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Piero and Totti in every single generation. Italian youth teams are showing promise
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Maybe they'll be back sooner than we think
