Honest question here, Nick. I've noticed what, from my perspective, seems like a tendency for Italians to label players by their international identities far more than footie followers in other countries. The foreign flags in the stands of clubs for one, representing the nationalities of the fans' favorite club players. But also things like Italian calcio announcers frequently calling players by their nationality -- e.g., I often hear "il ucranio" uttered more than I would hear "Sheva" (length of name aside, this is very true with other examples as well).
Would you agree with that?