Capello: "In Italy we no longer know how to defend"

"We no longer know how to defend. Too little care is given to the defensive phase. I still haven’t seen in this Italy side the hunger to win the ball back. I love the national team madly; even at home I stand up for the anthem, but I do not regret not having coached them." Speaking with Gianni Valenti, deputy editor-in-chief of Gazzetta and scientific director of the Trento Sport Festival, Fabio Capello looked back over his career: four Serie A titles as a player and his time with the national team, then five Serie A titles and a European Cup as a manager with AC Milan and Roma, plus his spell in Madrid, his time in charge of national teams, and his experiences in England, Russia and China. "Managers have too little courage when it comes to playing young players, who should be tested to assess them. The lads must be allowed to show their qualities and instead more chances are given to foreign players.

From a playing point of view, the focus is on possession and players are discouraged from daring, from playing vertically. I would like to see Italian football return to what it was and what made us proud. Today I do not have much confidence; there is no humility to understand where to go all together." Once the event had formally ended, Capello spoke again and explained why: "I really have to say this: let young people enjoy themselves by playing football. I coached youth sectors for five years. At the start of the football year I would gather the parents and say: I do not want to hear you shouting at the referee, opponents or anyone else. If it happens, your son does not play."