Daniele De Rossi recently reaffirmed his commitment to home-town club AS
Roma, citing the affection shown to him the previous weekend when the
Giallorossi
played their first friendly of the new season at their Stadio Olimpico
home. The 29-year-old midfielder spoke in reverential tones of his love
for everything Roman and the deep-seated loyalty he feels for the club
and its famous colours.
In rejecting the sustained approaches from Manchester City, De Rossi
proved once again that, for footballers, the old 'there's no place like
home' adage can resonate as loudly as it does in any other walk of life.
Even without home-field advantage, the comfort of familiar surroundings
or the adoration of local fans afforded to De Rossi, most players
quickly become accustomed to what they forever refer to as 'their' club.
Perhaps
the most encompassing example of this in today's game is to be found at
Barcelona, where more than half of the current first-team squad are
products of the club's famed academy at La Masia. Players may leave for
other clubs but, as Gerard Pique, Cesc Fàbregas and Jordi Alba proved
over the last few years, the lure of the
Blaugrana never really leaves.
This
shows a sense of belonging that seems to hold true throughout Spain, a
country where it is difficult to imagine home-grown players crossing the
Clásico divide. Neither Barcelona nor Real Madrid currently have
any player on their books who has represented the other, and it is hard
to envision anyone on either side changing allegiance in the current
climate, just as it seems impossible we could see Atleti icon Fernando
Torres join Real Madrid later in his career.
Even in England,
Torres' move from Liverpool to Chelsea is a rarity, with moves between
the so-called 'Big Four' - the two Manchester clubs, Arsenal and Chelsea
- seldom happening.
In Italy, however, the story is quite
different, with no fewer than 24 players among the squads of Milan,
Roma, Inter and Juventus who have, at some point in their careers, made
an appearance at one or more of the other top four clubs. There are many
reasons for this, not least of which is the aftermath of the 2006
Calciopoli trials, which saw Inter take full advantage of the situation.
Not only did the
Nerazzurri
bring in two players from the then relegated Juventus - Patrick Vieira
and Zlatan Ibrahimovic - as well as former Roma players Walter Samuel
and Cristian Chivu, but their signings displaced several talented
players to other clubs. The presence of Nicolas Burdisso in today's Roma
squad can be directly attributed to the fallout of those match-fixing
punishments, and the same can be said for Gianluca Zambrotta's arrival
at Milan via Barcelona.
Luciano Moggi's transfer policy while in
charge of current champions Juventus also played a key role as his
desire to build a team to win instantly was at the expense of the
future. It may have worked brilliantly at the time but, by using
products of Juve's hugely successful Primavera and Youth Sector as
leverage to sign other players, there are now many ex-
Juventini at other clubs, including both Simone Perrotta and Federico Balzaretti at Roma.
The
mismanagement and a lack of a coherent transfer policy at Inter prior
to 2006 is another reason for the shuffling of players at the top. Is
there any other top club across Europe who has released players as
talented as Adriano, Fabio Grosso, Leonardo Bonucci, Mattia Destro,
Clarence Seedorf and Andrea Pirlo over the last ten years only to see
them enjoy the best years of their careers elsewhere? Unlikely.
Prior
to the takeover led by Thomas DiBenedetto, the financial difficulties
of AS Roma were also a major factor and the sale of Alberto Aquilani to
Liverpool - as well as the expiration of Philippe Mexès' contract - were
almost exclusively allowed in order to permit the
Giallorossi to survive and compete in an ever decreasing
calcio elite.
Above
all, however, it has been Italian football's lack of faith in young
players that sees so many talented players switch clubs with increasing
regularity. Of those 24 players to have lined up for more than one of
Serie A's big four, 14 grew up in the youth ranks of another top club.
This is a percentage unparalleled almost anywhere in world football.
While
some have taken a longer route back to the top after being discarded,
others - like former Milan striker Marco Borriello, now at Roma - were
sent directly from one to the other. Milan's signing of Zlatan
Ibrahimovic undoubtedly played its part but Borriello could have given
some much needed depth to an attack that at times last season looked
bereft of ideas and short on goals.
Before the crazy swap deal
that saw Antonio Cassano and Giampaolo Pazzini change sides and Andrea
Pirlo join Juventus on a free transfer following his release by Milan,
Alessandro Matri was the latest player to cross the boundaries of Serie
A's top clubs. Despite spending ten years on the books of the
Rossoneri, he made just two appearances for the club.
Yet
again Juve used the rights to one of their own youth products, Lorenzo
Ariaudo, to secure the player while fielding ex-Inter defender Leo
Bonucci in Ariaudo's position. It would be no surprise to see the
latter, now owned wholly by Cagliari, spend three or four years in the
provinces only to surface at another big club later in his career.
This is no new trend in Italy, where Giuseppe Meazza played for Inter
during the 1930s and then Milan, Juventus and - eventually - Inter
again in the 1940s. Roberto Baggio repeated this Triple Crown in the
1990s, as did Edgar Davids and Christian Vieri. Gunnar Nordahl moved
directly from Milan to Roma, Jose Altafini and Kurt Hamrin played for
both Juventus and Milan while John Charles may have made his name at
Juve but also played ten matches during a brief stint at Roma.
Perhaps
the strangest aspect of this phenomenon, however, is that Italy also
boasts the greatest number of one club icons, both now and in the past.
De Rossi's decision places him alongside team-mate Francesco Totti, the
evergreen Inter captain Javier Zanetti and Udinese forward Antonio Di
Natale as the latest high-profile examples of a pattern that flows from
Gianpiero Combi, Valentino Mazzola and Giampiero Boniperti through Gigi
Riva, Giancarlo Antognoni and Gianni Rivera to Beppe Bergomi, Franco
Baresi and the recently departed Alessandro Del Piero.
Like many
aspects of Italian life, there is a stark juxtaposition between this
intense loyalty and its total absence. From prodigies to failed youth,
mercenaries and bandiera, Italian football truly has it all.
