‘We are worse off than Southgate!’: Roberto Mancini bemoans the lack of homegrown talent in Italy

Roberto Mancini has insisted that Italy has a far more limited talent pool than England following Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate’s pessimistic comments about the declining number of English players in the domestic league. 

The Italy boss was even less optimistic about Italy’s future prospects, despite three Serie A teams making the quarter-finals of the Champions League this season. 

Ahead of meeting England in Thursday’s European Championship qualifiers in Naples, Mancini argued his case that Southgate’s problems would pale in comparison to those facing the Italian national team. 

His comments came as Mancini publicly changed his stance over calling up players born in different countries, which the former Manchester City manager had railed against in 2015. 

Mancini said his volte-face came as ‘the world had changed’. 

Roberto Mancini believes he has a talent problem more severe than Gareth Southgate’s

Southgate made the comments after noting that fewer that 28 per cent of players on a recent Premier League weekend were eligible for the Three Lions call-up

Italy will kick off their campaign to retain the European Championship in a re-run of the final

‘Years ago, I said that players born in Italy should play for the national team, but this problem didn’t exist yet and the world has changed,’ the manager started. 

‘All the European national teams have players naturalised from other countries. We have had players who were taken by the national team of other nations. 

‘And we are doing the same thing. It is useless to talk, in Italy there are few [options].

‘We are worse off than [Gareth] Southgate. If there is a possibility of taking new players, we will take them.’ 

He later struck a downcast note, lamenting the lack of ‘street football’ in Italy as a precursor to talented young players joining academies.  

‘In Italy nobody plays on the street anymore. We used to play three-four hours on the street, and then we went to train, today this doesn’t happen anymore. 

‘It’s no coincidence that players are still born in those countries, such as Uruguay, Argentina or Brazil, where they still play a lot on the street.’

The former Sampdoria forward was drawn into the discussion after Argentine striker Mateo Retegui was handed his first Italy call-up during this round of qualifiers. 

Born in Argentina, and currently playing for Argentine side Tigre, where he has score 37 goals in 46 games, the 23-year-old has an Italian passport via his Italian grandmother. 

Retegui has previously represented Argentina in their youth sides, but is yet to represent the Albiceleste at senior level. 

Argentina-born Mateo Retegui could receive his first cap for Italy against England on Thursday

Having struggled to settle at parent club Boca Juniors, Retegui is dazzling on loan at Tigre

The Italy boss hinted that there had been some doubt as to whether Retegui would be interested in joining the national team. 

‘We’ve been following him for some time, he has quality, and he’s a young boy,’ Mancini added. ‘We didn’t think he’s say yes, we hesitated a bit, and instead he immediately said yes.

‘The hope is that it can be important.’ 

Mancini’s side has limited depth in attack, and Retegui’s call-up came following injuries to Ciro Immobile and Giacomo Raspadori. 

The manager shared his concern over Italy’s attacking capabilities long-term, saying: ‘I have no idea why so few forwards come out. We are really limited in the offensive department.’  

Retegui is not the first player with South American heritage to represent the Azzurri under Mancini.

Jorginho was born in Imbituba in Brazil, only moving to Italy at the age of 15. 

The Arsenal midfielder gained citizenship through his great-grandfather, Giacomo Frello, and subsequently joined the Hellas Verona academy. 

Emerson Palmieri (left) and Jorginho were both born in South America but represent Italy 

This international campaign will be a poignant one for Mancini, as the first since the passing of his friend and Italy colleague Gianluca Vialli (pictured following Italy’s Euro 2021 win)

Emerson Palmieri and Rafael Toloi were both born in Brazil and represented the country at youth level, but were part of Mancini’s 26-man squad at the Euros in 2021 after gaining Italian citizenship. 

But Mancini was altogether more positive about Thursday’s tie, saying the fixture had been established as a ‘classic’. 

‘They have been a great national team for some time, full of talented, strong and technical players.

‘They have more options than us for many reason, but in Naples we want to put in a good performance, play well and start these qualifiers well.’ 

A strong qualifying campaign will be vital to the Azzurri after failing to qualify for the Qatar World Cup, as they seek to defend their European title in 2024.