Juventus – Pride Of Italy?
Last night Juventus thrashed Artmedia 4-0 in the Champions League, and all four goalscorers were Italian. Carlo Garganese believes that the Italian element of the Bianconeri is something they should be very proud of…
»Comments (35) Print This Story Send To A Friend Contact Us galleria zoom There are many things that are wrong about the modern game, and one of these is the general lack of national identity among many of the biggest clubs in Europe.
The worst culprits are all too well known. The English Premier League consists of 66% foreigners. Arsenal do not possess a single first teamer who is English, and everyone remembers their Champions League quarter final against Liverpool last season when only two of the 22 players on the field were homegrown.
With the exception of Manchester United, England’s situation is pretty shambolic if you are going to be completely honest, and anyone who tries to claim that this is how football should be is living in Cloud Cuckoo Land.
However, other big teams outside of England are also at fault. Inter are just as bad as Arsenal, and have no Italians in their starting line-up, other than the washed-up Marco Materazzi, who will probably soon be benched by Jose Mourinho, and teenage wonderkid Mario Balotelli, who was born in Sicily but whose parents are in fact Ghanaian.
Both Barcelona and Real Madrid only have four Spaniards who can be considered as first team players. This is also the case for Chelsea.
One European giant, however, who have stuck with tradition and made a conscious effort to build their team around players from their own country, is Juventus.
Last night the Bianconeri played most of the first leg of their Champions League third qualifying round against Artmedia with seven Italians. Indeed this number could have been higher if it were not for an injury to Cristiano Zanetti, and the absence of Sebastian Giovinco (as well as Paolo De Ceglie and Claudio Marchisio) at the Olympics.
All four of Juve’s scorers in the 4-0 win were Italian; Mauro Camoranesi (despite his Argentine roots), Alessandro Del Piero, Giorgio Chiellini and Nicola Legrottaglie. This statistic alone is so refreshing when you look at sides like Inter, Arsenal and Liverpool.
It also brings back memories to a time when squads in Europe were really representing their countries. Juventus won the 1977 UEFA Cup with 11 Italians, all of them internationals. Even their substitute from the final win over Athletic Bilbao, Sergio Gori, had gone to the 1970 World Cup with the Azzurri.
I am very much in favour of the utilisation of foreigners as they help to improve the quality of each league they play in. But it is also important to respect the traditions on which the beautiful game was built, and this is something that Juventus are certainly doing with their Italian core.
Were they to go on and win the Champions League this season, it would surely hold more value for Juventini than it would if their team consisted of 11 foreigners. In 1967 Celtic famously won the European Cup with a team who were all born within a 30-mile radius of Glasgow. This is a sense of great pride among Celtic supporters, as they know this extraordinary feat will never be achieved again.
Carlo Garganese
i think its well said.. how u think guys? :flag3:
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Juve is my favourite FC since '96 and I support this team in good times and in bad times! I have car tatto on my car (rear window) with club's name on it. 
