"We started copying Guardiola." Capello criticizes football in Serie A

In football, as in everything, there are role models to emulate. However, legendary coach Fabio Capello believes that Italian football has been excessively copying the ideas of Spain's Pep Guardiola, leading Serie A to fall behind on the international stage.

Details: Capello stated that Italian clubs used to dominate with pressing and direct play, but by imitating Guardiola’s tactics, local football is now lagging by a decade. Teams have slowed down on the field, and ball possession is often ineffective.

Quote: “Italian clubs once dominated European football by employing pressing and vertical play. Then we started copying Guardiola, but we’re 10 years behind, and here are the results. We’re slower, and our ball possession is often fruitless. The ball moves slowly, and we lack decisiveness.

This approach got us nowhere in the Euros and could hurt us in European competitions. Spain prioritizes possession but plays more vertically. Guardiola’s City keeps the ball but does so in the opponent’s half, not in front of its own penalty area like we see in Serie A,” Capello said in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport.

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