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Extended Clip - Italy Under-17 Euro Champions: Francesco Camarda, Mattia Liberali & Azzurrini Wonderkids (Ep. 425)
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After Italy win the U17 EURO's in emphatic style, Nima Tavallaey and Carlo Garganese analyze, discuss and contextualize what this means going forward for youth team football in Italy as well as do a profile on the main stars of the tournament Francesco Camarda, Mattia Liberali and all the other Azzurrini wonderkids.
This is an extended clip from this weeks free Monday episode of The Italian Football Podcast which is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google podcasts.
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Transcript
Italy's Youth Football Triumphs
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to pay homage to to italy under seventeens who are european champions the first time in history that Italy are under 17 European champions. and They did actually win at under 16 level in 1982 and in 1987. They actually got stripped of ah of the 1987 title because they they played an over age player and or someone wasn't registered that should have been registered. and But this this used to be previously no previously used to be ah categorized as an under 16 tournament.
00:00:41
Speaker
And then it changed, I think, 20 or so years, 25 years ago to an under 17 tournament. Italy had never won this tournament and they are now champions for the first time and absolutely deserve
Key Matches and Players
00:00:53
Speaker
it, champions. They played a fantastic tournament. I watched all of their games. They beat Portugal 3-0 in the final after a brilliant double two goals from that man that everybody has been talking about for the last year, Francesco Camarda. um won all three games in the group, then beat England in the quarter finals on penalties, Denmark in the semi-finals, and then Portugal, Thrash Portugal in the final. Fantastic achievement, well done to the Azovini. I want to go through, though, Nima, the stars of this team. I want to start off with
00:01:25
Speaker
Francesco Camada, who is the one that stood out above everyone else. Two goals in the final. The first goal in the final was a fantastic solo goal. And second one was a really clinical finish. He was player of the tournament. One player of the tournament. He scored four goals in the tournament. He also scored a stunning strike against Slovakia in the group stages. He looks like the real deal. He really does. He has he has a bit of everything. he He has the physique. He has the technique. He can use both feet. He's got a great shot. ah He can finish, he can he can make goals for himself like he did in the in the in the final. ah He's good in the air, he can bring others into play, he can come deep, he can go in behind. He just looks like a such a complete player, doesn't really seem, you know, on the surface to really have any weaknesses and we all know
00:02:13
Speaker
about his scoring record, scoring 500-odd goals in in the Milan youth level, of course, made his debut, so broke the record for but playing for Milan at the age of 15, earlier in the past season. ah He's just about to sign a new contract, and he just has signed a new contract with Milan. um This guy is is, what do you think of this guy now? He's special, isn't he? He's special. He's got this really special aura about him and he um the fact that he does so well with his like when he plays with his with his peers and looks so, so good um and so natural um and and and just it doesn't just everything flows with him. um And and it's just so he's a very interesting play to watch. It's going to be interesting to see what happens next season with him.
00:03:01
Speaker
What do Milan do? Do they send him to Serie C? Do they keep him? do they they Do they want him just to learn with the first team and play with the youth team another season? I mean, it's going to be very interesting to see what they do with him because he he definitely is one to watch. I mean, he's really it's one thing to score at club level, um gajillion goals that he has, but to to then turn up to the under 17 euros and be the player of the tournament. scoring twice in the final and was just outstanding, or had a fantastic tournament, ah best player on the team that won, that that that raises the bar a little bit, that that makes things much more interesting and and so I'm really yeah um'm really paying attention to him now. Yeah I agree and I want to expand on your point at the end about what they do with him next ah next season or this current season because I think that is
00:03:53
Speaker
definitely going to be very, very important for his
Standout Performers
00:03:55
Speaker
development. Another Milan player, Mattia Liberale, he was the other standout player in the tournament for Italy, for me, along with Camada. He's more of an outside forward, more of an attack in mid field attacking attacking midfield. He's got a lovely left foot, he's a great dribbler, close ball control, more diminutive. ah He scored the goal of the tournament against England in the quarter-final with and he Check out that goal to equalise. Incredible dribble, like close ball control. Just kind of really quick feet and then shot and scored. um He has been labelled as the Italian Phil Foden by Alessandro Acosta-Curta, the Milan centre-back legend and for his the way he plays. Acosta-Curta sees Phil Foden in him.
00:04:42
Speaker
the way he plays. He was fantastic in his tournament. He's got two goals as well. and So he he is another player definitely, definitely to watch. he He really does look like, technically, he looks like a really special player, liberale. And then there's another little left footer. Italy had a lot of very interesting left footed players, little left footed players, diminutive left footed players in this tournament. Another one is Mattia Moscani. ah who plays for Inter. Also kind of Inter, I don't know how much you've seen him in there, like an outside attacker, attacking midfield, that kind of player as well, like Liberale, a little bit similar to Liberale in style of play, like left foot, technical, creative, kind of quite good, close ball control, Dribbler. And and he was he was really, really good as well, maybe slightly less so than the other two, but also you can see technically very good player.
00:05:33
Speaker
ah these These three were a great trio. They linked up really well. Their understanding was really good. ah Lovely little triangles and they kind of just had too much for their opponents these three in attack. The opponents just couldn't handle them. It was really it really was a great, great team to watch. that What was so special about this Italy team is that they were all really comfortable on the ball. Very. very comfortable on the ball. Very comfortable on the ball. They looked, they played a possession game that I thought was very interesting to pursue. Spanish-like, wasn't it? Yeah, that's exactly. It was more Spanish than Italian, traditionally, if we're going to use stereotypes and label and label stuff. I thought they were much better. There wasn't anybody that had the ball that you thought like they were uncomfortable when they had it, that they were playing like little short passes and pass and go triangles. You know, the midfielders as well. I mean, Fedelico Colletta was the goalscorer in midfield. He scored three in the tournament. He scored the winner in the semis, uh, femme final against Denmark. And he scored the opener, uh, in the final as well. He plays for Roma. Um, but the other player that impressed me probably more than anyone else was Christian Kama, a left back. Um, he, he, uh, very fast, but again, diminutive, very dangerous going forward, joined the attack a lot, got in behind,
00:06:48
Speaker
ah made those kind of burst in runs. It kind of reminded me a little bit of Jordi Alba, ah kind of the way he played. I really, really liked him ah in the tournament. He scored a goal. He was in the team in the tournament. Italy had five players in the UEFA team in the tournament. They had Camada Liberale, Karma, the other full back. Benjamin, who plays for Real Madrid, his youth team, he's the right back. He was in the team, the tournament as well. And also the goalkeeper Massimo Pasina of Bologna. and He was in the team, the tournament as well. um There's also Barcelona centre back, Andrea Natali, who's the son of
00:07:26
Speaker
son of the former defender, Bologna defender. Did he play for Bologna, Cezalina, Tally? I think he did. and Yeah, former Itzelli, our centre-back. He's very highly rated. He played really, really well in the final. He struggled against England, though, in the quarters. He had a bad game against them, but he was really good in the final. ah He's wanted by Bevacousin. Bevacousin are actually in negotiations to sign him. and So quite interesting that two of these players, one plays for Real Madrid and one plays for Barcelona, two of the defenders. But it's a very special group of players, I think, never. um You can see you could see that they were cut above. Only the England game. The England game was tough. I think it may be slightly fortunate to win that quarterfinal. They went to penalties. they won ah England had a good team as well. But other than that, every single game, and they were head and shoulders above their opponents in every game. In the Denmark game in the semifinals, they should have won about 6 or 7-0. It was unbelievable how many chances they had. And again, against Portugal, they just completely blew
Italy's Youth Titles
00:08:22
Speaker
them away.
00:08:22
Speaker
in the first half. So so yeah, we're the reigning under-17 champions of Europe now, we're the reigning under-19 champions of Europe from last year, we're the under-20 World Cup runners up from last year. So it shows, I mean, we are now officially the best youth youth team, youth we've got the best yeah youth national teams in the world ah based on the trophies at the moment. so It shows that we have the talent. It shows that at the moment we're doing better than any country at youth level. The problem is, as I have complained, as we have complained so much, is that we ah do not have the pathway ah in getting these players to develop from youth from this youth quality at youth level to become top senior players and getting them to play regularly in Syria.
Transition Challenges to Serie A
00:09:14
Speaker
And the biggest example of that is
00:09:17
Speaker
But go back to a year ago, under 19 European champions, under 20 World Cup runners-up, how many of those players have played regularly or barely played at all in Serie A last season? Barely any. I think Coyote is probably the only real example of someone that was but was playing regularly, and that only came about because of a ah serious injury to Dodo that would rule him out for most of the season. so This is the problem, Limma. This is what needs to change. We need to change the culture in getting these players to have chances. Yeah, no, I do. I agree. I think that's what I'm saying with Camarda, to see what Milan do with him now and what Inter and all the Roma and everyone else who who owns the rights to these players, what they do with them next season. because um and And not just this team, but also the under 19 and under 20s and everything that's going on with them. ah I want to see them, you know,
00:10:10
Speaker
ah It's gonna be interesting to see how they handle them. Do they, you know, do they play them in the Serie B, which I think is not a bad idea if they're 17, 18? And then, or or do you try to integrate them in the Serie A, in a smaller team, like Frosinone, I did with the Soleil and all these other guys, even though they were 20 something, 23 years old. But yeah, it's, it's i think I think you do have a point in what you say that I don't think, I think Italy needs to start opening opening up more to younger players. I really think so. yeah Yeah, because I mean, it i ah we actually have a question on this in the Q and&A about what's the best way to do about it. we do And we do we do discuss about that. um But I think that is one of the advantages of creating the next gen team or B team is that, um you know, if Milan, for example, they they have no problem in paying in playing Kamada and Liberale,
00:11:07
Speaker
in their next gen team. And if they don't get the results, it's not the end of the world. They don't really care that much because it's not about winning with their next gen team or their B team, it's about development. and Whereas if you loan them out to a team, even if it's steady a B team, you know, those those teams have objectives that if they fail to meet those objectives, it has consequences on the manager, on the president, on the financial situation, on the on the on the other players. and So they they then become reluctant to to give them the chance to develop and to make mistakes and and and to trust. um And so that is the
00:11:47
Speaker
probably one of the positives, which maybe we didn't discuss in the Q&A episode of of ah of having Milan having this next-gen team, Juventus having a next-gen team, Atalanta having a next-gen team, and the other teams creating these next-gen teams is that they
Improving Player Development
00:12:01
Speaker
are able to play these players. The problem is, though, that if these teams are stuck in the Serie G or lower, that level is probably not high enough, what it isn't, in my opinion, high enough for these players to be able to develop at the level. They need to be playing Serie B at the very lowest ah or Serie A. They have to be. That's where these players, I mean, if you look at Barcelona, I think Barcelona, for example, some of the Spanish clubs have gone too far. They've actually risked ruining their youngsters, their young phenomenons like Gavi, like Pedri. Now they're playing Yamal at 16, they're playing Cubasi at 17. When these plays are phenomenons and they're already top players, they already look like top players.
00:12:36
Speaker
You know they've got to be careful not to overdo it and ruin these plays. but you know Burn them out. But if Italy had these players, they wouldn't have been playing. Do do you think they would have played, you know, Yamal? You think, where would Yamal be at 16? He would have been probably loaned out to Celiaci or stuck playing with the primavera team, you know? So this is where the culture ah culture has to change because, you know, if in two... years i I don't want to be sitting here in two years' time and we're talking about what happened to Camarda and then maybe we'll be sitting here and saying, well, maybe he wasn't really good enough. And I think that's the wrong way of discussing it. Because how does he have a chance of being good enough if he doesn't get ever get the chance to play? So that's the problem. I think i think the next gen thing is the right move forward and and also loaning him to study a B teams to see that, you know, the right environment, regardless of where they go. they I want them in the right environment, someplace where they can develop in peace. um and And that they can show and take the, you know, to to develop because it's not just
00:13:35
Speaker
you know they're still growing, they're still young lads, you know both mentally and physically, they're still growing. um And so I think it's they need to be in a good nurturing environment where they can develop every aspect of of you know of of their of their game and also off the pitch, because I think that's very important too. I think a lot lot of times people don't understand how important off the pitch the maturity is as well. Absolutely.