Fabio Capello believes the goalscoring records of and in Serie A were signs that Italy’s humiliation was on the cards.
The Azzurri won last summer’s European Championships, but that success largely papered over the gaping cracks which have been regularly exposed during Italy’s attempts to qualify for Qatar 2022.
A shock defeat against North Macedonia in last night’s play-off ultimately put the final nail in Italy’s hopes of joining the world’s elite international teams in November, but Capello insists the warning signs have been there for a while.
The former England manager pointed to the success strikers, past and present, have enjoyed in recent seasons and also told Italian managers they had become obsessed with trying to emulate Pep Guardiola’s style of football.
‘Italian football has imitated Guardiola for 15 years,’ Capello told .
‘There were no vertical passes or physical strength, there is no habit to making challenges. On the other hand, we should follow Jurgen Klopp’s playing style.
‘The only ones doing that in Italy are  and look at their results. Vincenzo Italiano is trying something similar, same as Alexander Blessin at  who is offering even something more than Klopp. The German way is the model to follow, we don’t have the technique to look at the Spanish one.’
‘There is a high pace in European competition and we are not accustomed to it,’ the ex-coach continued.
‘There are not enough young Italian players, but there is a wrong idea at its base. We are the country of the back pass to the goalkeeper.
‘Victor Osimhen, Romelu Lukaku and Tammy Abraham were just normal strikers abroad. They became champions in Italy. This should raise some questions.
‘Sometimes, I am surprised to read some stats. ‘That player made 45 passes…’ Ok, but how many were key passes? How many of those passes were useful?’
Abraham was deemed surplus to requirements by Chelsea last summer but has taken Serie A by storm this season with Roma and last weekend broke a record previously held by Gabriel Batistuta.
Lukaku’s goals, meanwhile, fired Inter to the Scudetto last season but he has struggled to live up to his £97million club record fee since returning to Stamford Bridge and has been ousted from Thomas Tuchel’s starting line-up by Kai Havertz in recent weeks.
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