Saturday night, the AC Milan played in Palermo and came with the announcement under the wheels - in consideration of the shape curve is the result of both teams was about as surprising as the fact that it is colder in winter than in most other seasons. Partly responsible breach misery and jaundice was the Rossoneri who had to fill a total of 11 failures in the bench with a number of youth players. It has been particularly hard on the defensive, where failed with the injured Nesta, Kaladze, Favalli and Onyewu and the rotgesperrten Bonera equal to 5 of 6 nominal central defenders. Coach Leonardo refers thus logically one of the greatest talents of the Italian defender U-20/21, Michelangelo Albertazzi, in the squad. Albertazzi, built in January 1991, a young man who makes a couple of years has been talked about and considered one of the great hopes of the defenders is true at least of good non-poor country. Already with 16 years Arsenal tried to persuade him to change to the island. Given the catastrophic situation in central defense personnel appears nothing more logical than him to try it out first on the team. Not? Then has played Massimo Oddo, a trained full-back, the catastrophic form since 3 years so is convincingly proven that this season for his role even attacking midfielder Abate "retrained" and was spending Oddo most of the time on the bench. The hole in the center of defense will be filled with a 34-year-old fullback, who is in his proper role unaufstellbar already. Result? After Oddo already indebted the winning goal on the final day of Sampdoria, he was also involved in two of three gates of Palermo cause. Albertazzi was sitting on the bench. Why on earth does a coach such a thing?

The British journalist Oliver Kay described the Serie A two years ago as a "retirement home for Europe's aging footballers" and referring to the observation that - unlike in the past - appeal and financial opportunities of the highest Italian league only more dignified aging and draw on their previous clubs forgettable Stars. The metaphor of the nursing home has its legitimate charm, even if it attracts now not even the van Nistelrooys this world on the boots. However, the remark correctly in a meaning which its author has not even meant. For, quite apart from the superstars in the business, which cyclically moves always more times in one or the other league, the Italian National Shrine football is become really old. At least in terms of the three large striped teams from the North. Only in Italy that journalists get the idea, the lively left-back Luca Antonini game for game as a "young talent" prices, which, however, once "a few seasons," should prove at this level to see if it possibly for the National team enough. The man is 28 years old!

Long gone are the days where players like Paolo Maldini changed directly from the youth team at the top. And the team that wants to defend under Lippi in the summer of the world championship title, will be largely the same as in 2006. But just four years older. And players like Cannavaro and Fabio Grosso have now returned to their homeland. Into a nursing home. Italy has a few exceptions from the middle and lower third of the table now replaces the meritocracy by the gerontocracy. It is a typical Italian idea that a 20-year-old is an absolute genius in order to get a seat on the bench for the first team. Otherwise, a player is at this age as "talent", who must prove themselves in order to earn playing time in one of the serious teams. And so the journey from the youth team almost always "the Villages", which means he will be loaned to friendly provincial teams, where he may then collect the required number of years' experience. " Sometime in the second half of his Twen-years will be decided whether he might be good enough to take on the bench for one of the big clubs place. Meanwhile, Italy's soccer loses further success and reputation - not least because it basks in the past, instead of giving young talent a real chance.

Here, the Italian soccer in the children's and youth leagues is certainly blessed with a plethora of talent. Football is still a religion, and virtually every small Italian has, at least for a few years the lawn plowed up one of the tens of thousands of football schools, or at least spent his afternoons bolzend on the square behind the parish church. ALL children and young people play at least 1-2 times per week indoor football. ALL bolts on any available grass. And everywhere you see these little players who still have somewhere a gear longer, where the ball somehow seems friendlier and it will eventually create never fall into the real soccer. There are in Italy, an excellent network of soccer schools in which the short ones are in good conditions made particularly good tactically. Alone in my home town of 30,000 inhabitants, there are five serious training clubs. Therefore, any accumulation of 3 houses somewhere half-way ordinary hard-square behind the church, where children in the afternoon and evening youth in Del Piero, Zanetti or Kaka-shirts chasing after the ball. So there are hundreds of thousands of street soccer and football, there are plenty of schools, so that no player ever hopeful can slip through the net of the observers and scouts. Meanwhile, Italian Champion is probably the fifth time in succession with Inter Milan the Italians Toldo (goalkeeper), Materazzi (emergency reserve close to retirement) and the young Davide Santon (too young for the first team).

The gerontocracy now pervades all areas of Italian life, politics and business, universities such as journalism, sports and work life. The Company is organized in a strictly hierarchical, and this little hierarchy grows out of the merit principle. When playing a 18-year-old in professional football wants, he must be Totti or Del Piero or Maldini. Otherwise, he bravely takes on the bank of a provincial club space. It is a phenomenal football player in each generation only a few. Thousands did give contrast with the facilities to be a very good footballer. Lampard was certainly not born with, for example, Ronaldinho's magical feet. He was strong and had someone who has given him confidence and has grown to the absolute leadership players. In Italy there are thousands of potential Lampard, most of whom spend their weekends in empty stadiums of the fourth division, creating a lot of it to Serie B, a few first in the league and virtually no one in the top of Serie A. At least not before achievement of the 30th Year of life. Italy has a great footballing past. The problem is that this is still playing. All this with the express cooperation of the Italian sports press, for example, one Andrea Pirlo basically good grades attest, even if the former free-kick specialist this season has scored 0 goals yet, no one has beaten dangerous corner, but 5-6 times per game before The defensive line lets the ball abluchsen.

For in Italy has one of the "growing" even, the other still needs to "mature." And as a player of AC Milan undertook Adiyiah, who is certainly no Messi, but then after all but put the top scorer in the U21 World Championship is simply not ready, the hallowed turf at the San Siro and could only be entered. Not even for a few minutes. Not even in absolute emergencies. At the moment, he whiles away his time in the youth team. On the bench. At the same AC Milan plays its position on a certain Mancini, built in 1980 for two years with virtually no use. With disastrous results, but the man is 30 and in the distant past when he was hit AS Roma. Now he is not, but he has already "ripe" proven. Mancini moves with the speed of a sedated sloth with gout and against Sampdoria last week he fired the ball to 2-1 when he was really the first time in the game at least, from 6 meters to the floodlights.

Really phenomenal players, each generation brings forth very few. Grow at the same time, however, hundreds strong players approach, which at some point - can be major players - with experience and confidence. Great players in a big team. In Italy, traditionally lacks precisely in this. A young player with talent is first sent a couple of years on the road in the lower leagues, and then - at best - to take on the bank of one of the big clubs space and wait for the regular player known with 38 of his resignation there. The former hopefuls will then have half the career already behind him and the train to the "big players" has long since departed. Perhaps it is enough for a regular in a good but not outstanding team from Florence, Udine and Palermo, but then somebody will not be able to enchant the Champions League. For this you would need the courage to risk with such a talent in top 20 to ever play. To him then admit error, to give him confidence to grow and to see a player who has mid-20s with a different motivation and a different will to win. Courage, a young player to send to the square. Retain confidence, even with errors in it. Expertise, not the best draw and the better-known players.

But not so in Italy. In Italy, the 20-year-old is sent to Cagliari and Parma, in order to toughen the tough relegation battle the bone. The striker will have to compete with experienced defenders, whose first responsibility is to stand by him on the feet or edit the knee. Perhaps it helps to learn a certain type of football, maybe he gets playful fighting spirit and toughness. What he does not quite determined to learn is to sniff at the side of Champions, the special air of the top European games, to learn what it is, a great player to be in a big game, deal with the pressures and responsibilities of a top team to and learn to feel the confidence of a brave coach. He learns to fight, he gets back up, he learns to scratch and bite, he learns - not why - to influence the referee. And he learns to be content with little.

A phenomenal player needs all not such a man will prevail everywhere. All other hopefuls need very precise stages to their potential during their career retrieve. And not every young player is the same needle. But only the top teams in Italy, there is a fixation, that a young player just to be a leading player in Catania, in order then to Juventus for a "ready". A Federico Macheda in Manchester United's services, however, is not sent to Sunderland to work himself up. No, it is used, tried out, he will trust in us, it is protected and guided. And if he will be only 20, you decide whether you should build on it or not. And then he will be rented or sold. Because players will be given elsewhere, where it is believed that they do not have the makings of a regular player.

In Italy, the system works the other way around. The young talent is playing here in Bologna and Siena, and grows up with the assurance that no one really trusts him a great career. Even in the case of an outstanding season, the best way is to be ordered back to the home club, there to sit on the bench until the regular players injured. And its reserve. And he almost never plays along with the champions who could provide him with a winning mentality to support him in his first Chamions League quarter-finals, from which he could learn everything about football - and how to defend against Wayne Rooney. The talented young Italian footballers finds his role models in mediocre swordsman, whose ultimate goal is to not get off that report in the locker room of the glory days of the second division and how the football was still an honest job for logging time. In teams that reach to the 40 point mark string together only defeats.

And then those players are the mentors, father figures, idols and models. And eventually convinced them our Italian talent that this was his level. And so one of Daniele Bonera, 8 years ago, still hoping the Italian defensive, a decent substitute players at AC Milan has become. And so excited you are currently on the 28-year-old Matteo Brighi, who has apparently completed its maturation process and perhaps mature enough for a "top team". Italy is full of players from the series "What has been the matter?", Which are then detected in 29, after 8 years of Lecce, and again as is good enough for the national team. And what if someone like that, but talent is just placed in the cradle, instead of 8 years to learn in this country Regginas Lecce and the solid craftsmanship, Champion's League had gained experience? Italy would then not take a very good one great player? A name? A new Maldini? A new Totti? A new Del Piero?

Not at all. When AC Milan plays even after failure of 5 central defenders still has the self as an outside defender Oddo poor in a role he held before. Inter's Santon is after a few games in the first team, where he drove others to despair a certain Cristiano Ronaldo, completely disappeared from the radar and Youngster Balotelli is being dismantled. Juventus has the "Project Youth" (born after relegation to Serie B and subsequent financial worries, otherwise it would never have been born) ended after a half season and sold the biggest talents to this year with the various Del Piero, Camoranesis and Trezeguet may qualify for the Europa League. Dribbler Sebastian Giovinco (born in January 1987, so quite outgrown puberty), meanwhile, does not take place. Although the staffing situation at the "old lady" is even more dramatic than in Milan. He lacks maturity and assertiveness. It says. And the average fan rubs meanwhile their eyes in disbelief when discarded players like Matri, Marchisio, Maccarone or Astori series an outstanding performance to the other, while "senators" like Seedorf, Camoranesi and Cannavaro delighting their fans with performances at the limit of absurdity .

And so the country has also maneuvered his football in recent years more and more into the dead end. On the one hand, high-paid former football greats who can compete on an international level does not yet prove anything or to have to fight. On the other hand, de-motivated young talents without self-confidence. For how should this confidence come from, if nobody trusts them otherwise? In Italy, you are either a phenomenon or garbage - fenomeno o bidone. And all the thousands of boys arrange themselves somewhere in between in the throes of mediocrity that pervades this country is now in so many areas. I care, the Italian football at the moment no Rooney, but Carragher, Micah Richards and Lennon can not play. And someone like Fabrizio Miccoli the entire Premier League does not offer. He plays for U.S. Palermo and AC Milan has glorious with its 10,000 man years of experience in the Champions League single-handedly shot down. Amazed, accompanied by Massimo Oddo.