"It is the result of what has happened in Italy in the past years. The level of investment is low. Other markets have become much, much bigger than us. Youth systems? We will see Borussia Dortmund play Atalanta with two Italian guys [born in] 2008. Excuse me? What's going on? Why don't we have these Italians, why are they playing for Dortmund?"
"I believe that, financially, our teams need to be more regulated. Not having so much debt. We don't [all] have owners, like Juventus have, who write a big cheque at the end of the season. We need to find again the love for the game, not only on the pitch. We need to be more responsible for what we show the public, there are so many controversies sometimes."
Italian football faces significant challenges in European competition, with Inter eliminated by Bodo/Glimt and no Italian teams reaching the top eight of the Champions League league phase. Del Piero attributes these struggles to systemic issues including insufficient investment compared to other European markets, inadequate youth development systems that lose talented young players to foreign clubs like Borussia Dortmund, and financial instability from excessive debt. He emphasizes that most Italian clubs lack wealthy owners to provide financial support and calls for greater financial regulation. Del Piero stresses the need to restore passion for the game and improve the sport's public image by reducing controversies.
#italian-football-decline #champions-league-performance #youth-development #financial-management #european-competition
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