Does Italy need a Reserve League?

By: Francesco | April 16th, 2009

Ever since 17 year old Manchester United striker Federico Macheda has scored those two goals in the last two league games, the Italian media has been publishing articles about how Italy doesn’t put faith in young players. On the one hand, it is true, Italy is a traditional society and most managers have the traditional view that players have to mature first and if you play them regularly too early you will “burn” them. The only exception to the rule is if the player is a real world class superstar. In Italy, most players are still considered to be young at the age of 25, but in other countries players that are 18 are getting regular playing time. I’m not saying that teams need to start fielding sides filled with teenagers, but there are probably many youngsters scattered across Italy that are ready for first team action and are still playing at the Primavera level. So today I was reading an article which had an interview with Italy U-21 manager Pierluigi Casiraghi, and he brought up the idea that Italy should have a reserve league.

“Here in Italy players like Montolivo, Pazzini and Aquilani sono are still considered young - Casiraghi said – In foreign countries young players are given a chance with the first team often, even players aged 16 and 17 if they deserve it. In England the Reserve division is an excellent system, in Italy there should be a league like this, that would allow young players to mature more rapidly.”

Let’s take the example of Sebastian Giovinco to see how Italy works. Giovinco is one of the brightest Italian young prospects and one of the best to come out of Juve’s youth system in the last 5 years. In any other country, a player with Giovinco’s technique and potential would have easily have made his first team debut at a young age, maybe around 17/18. In Italy, Giovinco had to wait until he was 20 years old to make his Juventus first team debut in 2007.

The reserve league would be a great idea, as currently the only thing Italy has close to a reserve league is the Primavera division, which is the league of U-20 players of each club. Even though it is a youth league, senior players occasionally play with their club’s respective Primavera team if they are coming back from injury or need to get into form.

A Reserve league would allow Primavera standouts to consistently play against older players and gain valuable experience. It would also benefit older players who don’t see much first team action because instead of sitting on the bench or in the stands every weekend, they could get some match time with the reserve squad. And of course, this benefits the first team because when players impress they can be promoted to the first team and get a chance in league and cup matches.

Of course, this is Italy, and everything works backwards, so the chances of this actually happening are probably slim to none. But it would really be a great thing to have. Maybe with more Italian youngsters doing well abroad Italy will finally take the hint. But it’s doubtful.