World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro believes there is a crisis of sorts affecting Italian football that must be resolved on two fronts. The former Azzuri and Juventus defender spoke with Il Messaggero following Italy’s 1-1 draw with North Macedonia at the weekend and pointed to what he sees as key issues that the national team need to address as a priority:
“It seems that darkness has fallen after Berlin (after the World Cup win in 2006, ed.). We exited the World Cup twice in the first round since then and did not qualify for the next two editions. There was the European Championship, of course.”
“There is in-depth work to be done on two fronts. The first is the technical one: the strength of the Italian footballing school must be recovered. The second aspect is related to the clubs and their ability to strengthen thanks to their own stadiums: something that can no longer be postponed. Otherwise, our football will become the supermarket of the Premier and Saudi Arabia.”
“Spalletti? He needs time to convey his ideas. National team players you see for a few days, train them and send them out on the pitch. We are waiting for this match (against Ukraine) and we trust in progress, even if our problems have been affected laterally by the growth of other national teams.”
