Ancelotti: Italy lost one ‘fundamental’ thing, football ‘not only about scoring’

“We already lack talent in other areas of the pitch, but the excessive focus on tactics has distorted our characteristics, the ones on which we have always built our history.”

José Mourinho’s Inter were the last Serie A club to win the Champions League in 2009-10, and only Atalanta made it to the Round of 16 of Europe’s elite competition this season, with Inter and Juventus eliminated in the knockout-playoff and Napoli in the league phase.

“The great foreign players no longer come to Italy. Abroad, with substantial TV rights and powerful investors, a more attractive market is formed,” Ancelotti said.

“So in Serie A, there are no longer internationally outstanding players like Falcao, Maradona, Platini, Krol, Rummenigge, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and all the others from a distant era. Who do young Italian players learn from?”

Como is one of the most exciting emerging clubs in Serie A, but Ancelotti feels they are not making a significant contribution to Italian football.

“I don’t see many Italian players there,” argued the Brazil coach.

“But talking about defensive fragility, Atalanta play aggressive one-on-one football and, for this reason, they take enormous risks. Just watch their match against Bayern again.”

Lastly, Ancelotti added: “Either we recover defenders, or rather the defensive mentality that has brought us club and national team success, or we will continue to suffer. Football is not only about scoring more goals than your opponent, but also about conceding fewer. That’s not a trivial statement.”