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Fabio Capello believes Italy’s failure to qualify for back-to-back World Cups is due to a national obsession with following Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona blueprint.
Former Milan, Real Madrid, Juventus and Roma boss Capello claims Italian football should have been following the German ‘heavy metal’ model rather than copying the more intricate noodling of the Spanish style of play.
Capello, who also coached Russia and England, cannot see why Italy would go against their great strengths by trying to match the high technical levels of Spain.
He told Sky Sport Italia: “The explanation is very simple. I have been saying for a long time that we are copying Guardiola’s football of 15 years ago.”
The 75-year-old Capello said this meant “all sideways passing, no verticality, little physical strength”.
Guardiola built a Barcelona team on a possession-based game that was full of nuance, with players drilled to understand and adhere to its intricacies, and they became arguably the greatest club side of all time.
Capello does not see Italian players having the skill set to follow such a formula for success.
“Instead we should follow Klopp’s model, a German-style football,” Capello said.
Italy won the delayed Euro 2020 tournament last year, beating England on penalties in the Wembley final, but a 1-0 play-off semi-final defeat to North Macedonia on Thursday knocked them out of contention to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar.
Roberto Mancini’s team had 564 passes to 309 by North Macedonia, owning 65.4 per cent of possession, and led the shot count 32-4, only to be stunned by a stoppage-time goal from the visitors in Palermo.
The Azzurri will be spectators from a distance for the tournament in November and December, having also missed out on the Russia 2018 finals.
“Macedonia on a physical level were superior to us in terms of dynamism, strength and determination,” Capello said. “It is all clear: until we understand that the model to be copied is the German one, we will not move forward, because if we want to do it like the Spaniards, who have a superior technique, we will never be able to do it, we always do it at 50 per cent.”
Capello said the Italian team to take heed of the German example were Atalanta, whose results showed it had benefits. They sit fifth in Serie A, having finished third last season, and are through to the Europa League quarter-finals.
“In Europe we play at a different pace, and we are not used to it,” Capello said. “At the base there is this wrong idea of football. We are the country of passing back to the goalkeeper.”
