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Paolo Maldini’s appointment as FIGC technical director is a qualified choice and a step in the right direction. Yet without a compelling story that reunites the entire football nation behind the project, the Azzurri will struggle to live up to their historic success.
Growing up in Luxembourg, Italy’s triumph in the 2006 FIFA World Cup is my first real football memory. It made me fall in love with Italian football despite the language barrier, lack of accessibility, geographical distance and more convenient football choices around me. I became a lifelong Serie A follower, which ultimately inspired me to move countries and learn a new language in order to pursue a career within my beloved Calcio. What hurts more than seeing the national team miss another World Cup is witnessing the disconnection of the supporters and even the people working inside the industry. I write this article out of love for Italian football, through my unique perspective as a cultural outsider and industry insider, with the hope of contributing in some way to its next success.
Paolo Maldini – A great choice, but only one piece of the puzzle
The arrival of Paolo Maldini as FIGC technical director is, at least on paper, a great move. He has the entire nation’s respect thanks to his achievements as a player, has gained valuable experience as a director at AC Milan in his most recent spell at the club, is a well-spoken communicator in multiple languages and shows strong leadership qualities. Most notably, he does not shy away from necessary conflict, a crucial trait to have in a country where change is commonly met with a great amount of resistance. This has been shown repeatedly in the past, as national heroes of similar stature, such as Gennaro Gattuso, Gianluigi Buffon and, most famously, Roberto Baggio, have struggled to make a meaningful impact because the institutional support, structures and resources needed to leverage their contribution were limited.
The first major decision Maldini will help shape is the appointment of a new head coach for the Italian national team. The rumoured names are certainly exciting: Roberto Mancini, Antonio Conte, Andrea Pirlo, even Pep Guardiola. While we will all have our personal preferences and some names will naturally excite us more than others, this is actually not the most crucial part. Italy can both succeed and fail under any of these coaches. The more important point is not simply to make the “right” choice, but to make the chosen option right. Appointing a top-level coach who can improve the quality on the pitch will be vital, but fixing Italy’s crisis demands looking beyond development, tactics and team selections.
The more important point is not simply to make the “right” choice, but to make the chosen option right.
The various narratives
The absence from yet another World Cup, the struggles of Italian clubs in European competitions and even the fact that neither Juventus nor AC Milan qualified for next season’s Champions League have triggered every possible explanation. Without dismissing any of the following points, depending on who you listen to, the problem is risk-averse tactics, a lost defensive tradition, not promoting enough Italians, the lack of international experienced professionals, a lack of systems, an obsession with systems, people in charge who don’t know Calcio, always the same people in charge just at different clubs, Italy not producing talent, Italian talent choosing to move abroad – and the list goes on. Taking a step back, one can notice that many of these points are direct contradictions.
When there is no clear and honest diagnosis from those in charge, it becomes easy for everyone to shift blame and invent their own reasons for why the situation is the way it is. A lacking shared identity is the deeper lying problem. If no one can agree on who Italy is today, it becomes very difficult to define who Italy wants to become, and even harder to secure the real buy-in from players, coaches, executives, clubs and supporters that any serious change would require.
If no one can agree on who Italy is today, it becomes very difficult to define who Italy wants to become, and even harder to secure the real buy-in from players, coaches, executives, clubs and supporters that any serious change would require.
Signs of disconnection and resignation
Hearing people inside the game talk about their own football culture in such negative terms has been one of the most painful parts of this journey. I have worked hard and dedicated years to fulfil my ambition of working within Italian football, yet many Italians no longer seem to share the enthusiasm, pride and love for Calcio that first drew me here. “We Italians are an absolute embarrassment” is a sentence I have heard more than once after another failed World Cup qualification. A staff member I worked with told me, “I only try to survive in Italian football and get my next contract,” as if the industry offered no real space to build something meaningful. Perhaps most strikingly, a colleague advised me to leave, saying: “You studied abroad, you hold various certifications, you speak five languages and you are very ambitious – Italy is not the place for you, nobody will value your skills or personality here.” I want to disagree with that assessment, and I believe it does not have to be true, but it reflects a mood that cannot simply be ignored.
When professionals at different levels of the game share this sense of frustration, it is natural to look towards leadership. Many of the people in charge at the federation and at clubs are under pressure and, in their own way, are suffering as much as those below them. They are often just as quick to criticise “the system” as anyone else, and some of their concerns are justified. Yet if someone holds a decision-making role and nothing in their own environment changes, then they remain partially embedded in the very system they are criticising. Without a clear vision of what Italian football is trying to become, everyone within the current landscape will defend themselves to protect their position and construct their own narratives which, in turn, make it harder to turn criticism into concrete action. Italy needs to tell a bigger, cohesive and convincing story, strong enough to reconnect the country with its football, and one that will be lived both on and off the pitch.
What it looks like when a country tells its story successfully
Let’s look at two examples of two nations who have successfully told their story, and as a result have both achieved historic success at recent tournaments: Norway and Japan. Their stories are deeply rooted within their history and tapped into their specific identities.
More than just viking aesthetics
Alt for Norge – “Everything for Norway” is the slogan that carries a lot of national history, which has become a main pillar of their football identity. This symbol of resistance and unity is something every Norwegian can get behind, and they certainly have done so. What further engrained the slogan into their football culture is the equally named documentary which was released in 2022, showcasing how the underdog Norwegian national team has surprised the world with its qualities in the 90’s. It also helped to connect generations, as the family names Haaland, Sørloth and Thorstvedt have been representing their nation in the past and present. Newer elements like the “Viking Row” have emerged, and have become a real social-media phenomenon.
From the outside, many might overlook it as just another choreographed football chant. But for Norwegians, this is a way of expressing their belonging to the community, linking football with their personal cultural heritage. It’s way more than just aesthetics or a gimmick, it’s a deep, coherent story told through an authentic shared language which connects all the dots and gets everyone behind the team. You cannot just copy it, as it wouldn’t make any cultural or communicative sense if Italians started rowing together as it wouldn’t link to their identity nor resonate with the public.
It’s way more than just aesthetics or a gimmick, it’s a deep, coherent story told through an authentic shared language which connects all the dots and gets everyone behind the team.
Planting a football dream in an entire generation
Captain Tsubasa is a Manga and Anime which tells the adventurous story of a boy dreaming to win the world cup for Japan. What’s fascinating about this is that the author created this story in 1981. At that time, Japan did not have a football culture, they did not even have a professional league and the interest for sports within the country was largely dominated by baseball. Captain Tsubasa introduced football, its tactics, its terminology, its dynamics, and planted a dream in the entire generation of young children through a form of art that every Japanese kid is already familiar with. More than a decade after the show was released, the J League was founded and the first professional football league match was held in 1993. And a few years later in 1998, the Japanese national team managed to qualify for their first ever World Cup and further increased their tournament results in the following years. The story came first and helped to shape Japan’s emerging football culture. In the years that followed, this reinforced culture supported the development of infrastructure, technical quality and a professional league which ultimately contributed to the nation’s success.
The storytelling is not over yet, as the tradition got picked up by another Manga and Anime called Blue Lock. The narrative has gone into the next chapter, but the purpose remains the same, winning the World Cup. Blue Lock tells the story about a camp designed to identify and produce a selfish striker who can carry Japan to World Cup glory. The Japanese Football Association has collaborated with the creators, ensuring that the message that is sent out to the population is aligned with the real life ambitions and values of Japanese football. Real life football camps inspired by the fictional world of Blue Lock have been organized in a combined effort to promote, develop and identify talent. Of course the project is not just a story, the daily work is carried out by qualified football experts, with the Anime simply used as a powerful cultural reference point. Yet these fictional characters are far from just being a gimmick, they are the channels through which Japan communicates its most ambitious football project, and the public has embraced it.
Italy must tell their own story
Italy doesn’t have to start from zero like Japan had to do. History is most certainly not missing, but the absence of a shared story with a vision for the country’s future pushed Italy further into this crisis. Italy is one of the most historic football nations in the world with 4 stars on the badge, a strong tactical tradition and some of the most successful clubs, players and coaches football has ever produced. These elements are all resources for a great story, but the FIGC, Serie A and the clubs need to build a narrative around these and repeat it consistently over time through suited, culturally relevant channels and persuasive communication.
People who live Italian football every day such as players, coaches, staff, supporters, media, journalists, sponsors, etc. need to be involved not just in the story, but also in the storytelling. To further deepen the sense of connection, everybody will have to feel valued as a crucial participant in the story, not simply as a spectator of it. Both the Norwegian and Japanese supporters have been empowered by their respective narratives to act and believe that they can have a direct impact on the success of their nation. No single director, coach, player, tactical change or new facility can lift Italy back up on their own, but a combined effort of people who can identify with the greater cause and are given the tools to articulate it throughout the entire duration of the process can bring the Azzurri back to its greatness.
Last personal words
I moved to Italy to build a career in its football industry fully aware that the nation is going through one of the toughest periods in its modern football history. Choosing Italy was certainly not efficient. I know there are easier ways for me to succeed elsewhere, but it was Italy who evoked my passion for the game when I was a child, and I feel a genuine sense of gratitude for it. This passion carried on and creeped into my professional and private life, making me study sports management and move countries, simply because I wanted to be part of Italian football. I strongly believe that Italy can get back to where it belongs, and I am happy to stay during these tough times and help to build the future success.
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