FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Every time the discussion about the new national team coach opens in Italy, a question that has been stirring debate for decades returns: can the "Axurri" bench be trusted with a foreign technician?
The history of the four-time world champion team shows that this idea has almost always been unacceptable. The Italian Football Federation has consistently chosen local coaches, turning the national team bench into a symbol of tradition.
The solo experiment with Helenio Herrera
To find a non-Italian coach on the Italy bench we have to go back a full 60 years, to 1966. After the humiliating elimination by North Korea at the World Cup in England, the federation decided to try an unusual formula.
Legendary Argentine Helenio Herrera, known for his successes with Inter and the famous "Catenaçio" style, was named along with Italian Ferruccio Valcarexhi to manage the national team.
Only four games on the bench
The experiment did not last long. The pair managed Italy for just four matches, recording three wins and one draw. Herrera then retired to devote himself to Inter, while Valcarexhi took over the team alone.
The decision proved successful, as Valcarexhi led Italy to triumph in the 1968 European Championship and then to the 1970 World Cup final.
The tradition continues today.
Even before, there had been sporadic cases of foreign technicians in auxiliary or advisory roles, such as Hungarian Lajos Zeizler in the 1954 World Cup and Englishman William Garbutt in the 1920s, but never as the sole coach of the national team.
Although modern football has led many major teams to entrust their management to foreign coaches, Italy remains true to its philosophy. The bench of the "Azzurri" continues to be considered territory reserved for Italian coaches, preserving a tradition that has not changed for decades.
Lini një Përgjigje