Fabio Capello believes Italy must ease their emphasis on ‘tactics’ and teach their youngsters more about ‘technique’.
Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 60 years, and Capello argued the problem went beyond results, citing Spain as an example for the Azzurri to follow.
“I hear talk about football schools,“ he told Radio Anch’io Sport.
“At the age of 12, kids are always and only given the ball in Spain, while in Italy, it’s all about tactics.
Fabio Capello believes Italy must ease their emphasis on ‘tactics’ and teach their youngsters more about ‘technique’.
Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 60 years, and Capello argued the problem went beyond results, citing Spain as an example for the Azzurri to follow.
“I hear talk about football schools,“ he told Radio Anch’io Sport.
“At the age of 12, kids are always and only given the ball in Spain, while in Italy, it’s all about tactics.
“It’s much easier to teach tactics than technique: you can correct the tactics, but you can’t correct technique.”
On the back of announcing his retirement from management, Capello reflected on his spell with Jiangsu Suning, leading Roma to the Scudetto in 2001 and the fortunes of the Giallorossi and Juventus in the Champions League, plus the Scudetto race.
“My experience in China was very interesting. It’s a different type of football, but I found it difficult to communicate” added the 71-year-old.
“I constantly had a translator because [the squad] knew little about languages. I could hardly transmit something personally.
“Champions League? It’ll be very difficult for the Italians. Real Madrid and Barcelona both have the advantage.
“Ronaldo’s amazing, he’s a true striker like Van Basten and Trezeguet. Messi, on the other hand, creates everything: the Italians don’t have much of a chance, and I’m sorry about that.
“Roma? I remember putting in a huge effort. At Roma, you get depressed and then excited very easily.
“Rome is beautiful and extraordinary, but it has this certain characteristic. After the Scudetto in 2001, the party went on for six more months, even if I wanted to bring everyone back down to earth.
“Scudetto? Juventus have Allegri, who reads matches well. Napoli have lost the sparkling game that Sarri got them playing earlier in the season.
“Ultimately it’ll come down to details, so the Bianconeri are favourites.”