Marchisio slams ‘truly alarming' Italian youth development

Yahoo

a day ago

Former Juventus and Italy midfielder Claudio Marchisio has criticised the 'truly alarming' lack of development of young Italian players by Serie A clubs – stating the need to implement rules to help prevent an over-reliance on foreign youngsters.
Speaking in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, via TMW, Marchisio said 'I now run an agency as a football agent and the data we have on the use of Italian players is truly alarming. Two or three years ago the Primavera was won by a team that didn't have a single Italian player on the pitch. And only 2% of those non-european youngsters went on to play professionally.
Juventus former football player Claudio Marchisio takes part in the 'Together, a Black & White Show' event, the first Juventus party dedicated to all its fans, at the Pala Alpitour in Turin, on October 10, 2023. (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO / AFP) (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)
'The rules state that foreign players can arrive after the under-16 level. From that point onwards, you see very few Italian or even European players in the youth teams.'
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Marchisio wants new rules to allow young Italians to flourish
Marchisio also provided a recommendation as to how he would protect the interests of Italian youth players, as well as preventing the exploitation of youngsters from poorer countries: 'There's also a significant economic exploitation of teenagers from the poorer parts of the world.
'What could be done? There should be a rule that youth teams can only field a maximum of three non-European players – rising to possibly six or eight in Senior teams.'
BRIGHTON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 14: Gennaro Gattuso, Head Coach of Marseille, looks on prior to the UEFA Europa League match between Brighton & Hove Albion v Olympique de Marseille at American Express Community Stadium on December 14, 2023 in Brighton, England. (Photo by)
He also criticised the globalisation of the sport and how the desire to buy and sell has damaged the beauty of it: 'Rino Gattuso said in his presentation that the percentage of Italian players [in Serie A] is just over 35%. There are Serie A teams that play without a single player trained in our country. Buying and selling has become the norm, like everything else in a globalised society – but the beauty of sport lies in developing talent.'
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Marchisio was a part of one of Italian football's golden generations, playing alongside the likes of Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Pirlo in the team that finished as runners-up in Euro 2012. He was also a key player for Juventus as the Bianconeri lifted seven consecutive Scudetti between 2011-12 and 2017-18.