FABIO CAPELLO: “Impressive and incredible, Italy is the league of the goal!”

Fabio Capello (Gorizia, Italy, 74 years old) continues to be active. The benches are already part of his excellent resume, but as a commentator on Sky Italia closely review the Champions League and Serie A. He is one of the first to be surprised by the new filmmaker facet that invades Italian football. The current season is resulting in the pure continuity of the last one in which it was the second Championship with the best scoring average, 3.04 per game, after the Bundesliga. In this course, he currently leads the five major leagues.

Fabio, who was going to tell you that a Spanish journalist was going to call you to explain why the Italian League is changing its mask …

Ha ha ha… Awesome and incredible. Both. The championship of the defense is now the championship of the scorers.

Explain it to us …

Let's go by parts. First, playing without fans, all teams play calmer and take risks that they did not take before out of fear and in some cases due to lack of personality. Second; the defenses are not the same as before. We don't have a Baresi, a Costacurta, a Cannavaro … Or a Collovati, a Scirea … if we go further back in time. We lack defenses, but I think it is not exclusive to Italian football, but world football. That's why defenders are now paid as if they were forwards.

More reasons …

Italian teams are playing with a more offensive spirit. They have lost their fear, as I said before. They risk more with the ball. They want to play more from behind and with that lack of real defenses, of which we speak, the goals arrive. And another very important reason. The level is not very high. The quality of the players is not very high. We get players who were not starters in the Premier or in the Bundesliga … This is the case of Ibrahimovic, Lukaku, Alexis, Ribéry … The first two have an impressive physique for our Serie A, but for example Lukaku recently against the Germans from Borussia Mönchengladbach had problems because they were as big and as strong as him. As they say in Spanish? They have their size. But in Italy, it's true, they don't stop him.

And the Italian coaches have nothing to do with it?

Yes of course. They are the ones who propose to their players to be more offensive, more attacking. We have, for example, Gasperini, the Atalanta coach, who is looking for one-on-one football in defense but always tries to attack the more players the better. I have said in Sky that it is the Italian Liverpool. It is a team with very interesting details. It has quality players. He always goes up, up … Sometimes nobody is left to defend.

The three teams that have come up, Benevento, Crotone and Spezia have also revolutionized the championship.

Yes. They are brave, they play as if they were in Serie B and they don't look at who is in front. They don't think they are in First. They have speed. They play from back to front.

The greats, Juventus, Inter, Milan… are looking for their best moment.

The problem with these teams is that they play many games in a short time. And that's why they make more mistakes and mistakes that if they weren't tired they wouldn't. Juve de Pirlo, without Cristiano Ronaldo, is having trouble scoring goals. He plays with a different system, he is adapting to what the new coach wants. Milan are doing well, they are playing good football with very young players. Maldini has done a good job of recruiting. And Pioli also on the bench. And among the favorites for the title I also see Naples. Watch out for Gattuso's team. I like.

And we have Inter, which is Real Madrid's rival.

It is my favorite for the title. He's on the hunt to find the game that Conte wants. Is not easy. Their advantage is that they already worked together last year. A whole year is a lot. In addition, he has two teams. Conte wanted to sell to a number of players and he couldn't and now he has them with him. And with the five changes he takes them out at any time and it shows, they make a difference. Be careful, with the five changes, big squads like Inter have a lot of advantage! If the coach knows how to read the games and when to make the changes… it is important.

And how do you see Real Madrid-Inter next Wednesday?

Interesting for both of us. Real Madrid after the classic must have regained confidence. If I had lost in Barcelona I would have had problems. Insurance. The lack of fans will mark this game like everyone else. Inter has also found victory again after a few games without winning …

So, do you see the two of them regular… to say the least?

Exact, regular. We always say that Madrid is Madrid, but I don't know if it is at the moment. He has problems on defense. And Inter too. Watch out for Lautaro and Lukaku! Especially Lukaku. He has a lot of strength, a lot of speed. He protects the ball very well from his back and turns quickly. It has a lot of body.

A good 'bull' for Sergio Ramos.

Insurance. It also moves through that area of ​​Sergio. It will be a good train crash as they say in Spain.

Fabio Capello in its purest form. He always says what he thinks. Or almost.

With the six goals scored by Milan-Roma on Monday (3-3), Serie A confirms its leading position among the five major European leagues: 180 goals in 48 games, 3.75 goals per game. An exaggeration that confirms that something is cooking in Italy. The three previous seasons the average had not reached three goals, a situation that had not occurred since 50-51. Between 86-87 and 19-20 it was always between two and three.

Last season, Calcio was already the second top scorer with an average of 3.03, (1,154 goals in 380 games), only surpassed by the Bundesliga with an average of 3.21 (982 goals in 306 games). Then, LaLiga was fifth with 2.48 (942 goals in 380) behind the Premier, third with 2.74 (1,034 goals in 380) and Ligue 1, suspended by COVID (704/209 / 2.52) , fourth. The conquest of the Golden Boot by Immobile, 36 goals in 37 games and the Bronze Boot of Cristiano Ronaldo 31 in 33, only confirmed that awakening director. Since the 2006-07 season, when Totti had won it (26 goals), no Serie A player had registered his name on the record. In 2005-06 so had Toni (31).

This season just started, the averages are similar although in some championships, such as Spanish, there are clubs that have not played all the games. The Premier is second with an average of 3.29 and historic wins such as Aston Villa's 7-2 against Liverpool or Leicester's 2-5 against City in Manchester. It is followed by the Bundesliga, 3.11; the French, 2.79 and, finally, LaLiga, 2.14.

This furor in the rival area in a football always characterized by its defensive nature and that has not won a European title since Inter de Mourinho conquered the Champions League ten years ago, draws attention even to the interested parties, who have been wondering for a few weeks the reasons for the event. Three Italian journalists consulted by AS, brandish their theses.

Alberto Cerruti (La Gazzeta dello Sport). “The main cause of this scoring invasion is that there are no defenders like before. Not even remotely. The lack of fans also influences. All teams play as if they were among friends at school. They have no pressure. They play without calculation. There are also many VAR penalties that help to score goals. Immobile was the Golden Boot with 36 goals but 13 were penalties, when Higuaín reached that figure he only scored three in that way. “

Tony Damascelli (Il Giornale). “The great goals are mainly in second-line games, not among the usual greats. The animators, in addition to Atalanta, are Sassuolo, Benevento and Crotone. In defense the teams have lost rigor. The defenders technically they have many shortcomings. With COVID, teams do not train as before. There are more injuries, more footballers come into play. Juve has two defenders who are almost 70 years between Chiellini and Bonucci. Inter's defenders are not Italian except for the young man Bastoni. In set-piece actions, they are already marked in the zone, there are no markings for the man and there are more facilities to score. “

Alain Valnegri (Commentator Serie A Movistar). “It would start because the coaches have changed. Most want their teams to lower the ball to the ground, press high. They stretch more, before they waited for you further back. The three clubs that have raised Benevento, Spezia and Crotone play the same against all the They are uninhibited. They have changed their mentality. Atalanta has been the driving force behind this change. National de Mancini has sent a message to clubs that you can win playing football. His commitment to young talents has seen its continuity in many clubs. Gasperini (Atalanta), De Zerbi (Sassuolo), Pioli (Milan), Filippo Inzaghi (Benevento)… They have it very clear. And the greats also play attack because they are the ones with the best players.“.