When the final whistle blew in the Estádio das Dunas in Natal on the 24th of June, the Italian national team had achieved something that every Italian fan hoped to never have to witness in their lifetime by failing to pass the group stage for the second consecutive World Cup. The 2010 World Cup was an absolute nightmare for Italy, but many fans, perhaps foolishly, believed that the worst was behind them. It was generally accepted that the Italian squad that went to South Africa was particularly poor by Italian standards, having an unhealthy mix of older players who were far past their prime and youngsters who had nowhere near enough competitive experience to shine on such a big stage.

It is a very common issue for countries who won the previous World Cup to disappoint expectations, because it is extremely hard for a manager to let go of players who were so brilliant four years earlier. The reigning world champions have been knocked out in the group stages in 3 of the past 4 editions of the World Cup (including the ongoing one). That is not a statistic to be taken lightly, and it is perhaps the best indication of how difficult it is for a country to defend their title (as Italy did in 1938 and Brazil did in 1962).

Many Italian fans believed that this year’s World Cup would be nothing like 2010. Italy now had an innovative coach who was willing to push the boundaries of Italian tradition in order to achieve results. Gone were the days of Catenaccio; with Cesare Prandelli Italy were playing an attractive football that was primarily based on possession. Reaching the final of Euro 2012 and performing admirably in the Confederations Cup in 2013 did nothing but increase excitement and expectations towards the World Cup in Brazil for Italian fans. However, several poor performances and defeats in matches leading up to the World Cup were something of a reality check for Italy. Sure, the squad might be slightly superior to the one in 2010, but it came nowhere near to the quality of some of the other squads going to Brazil. With the exception of a decent match against England played very much on the defensive (a result that was later put into perspective given the way England crashed out of the tournament), Italy were eliminated from the World Cup after games against Costa Rica and Uruguay.

It was a disastrous outcome for Italy, and although some might criticize the ref, it was an inevitable result that was fruit of a lack of production of quality players in the peninsula. Perhaps the only two positives that can be taken from Italy’s 10 days in the tournament are the performances of Torino’s Matteo Darmian and PSG’s Marco Verratti; two youngsters that undoubtedly have a future with the Italian national team. However, unfortunately that is nothing compared to the number of Italian players who are close to the end of their careers, or simply no longer have a future with the national team. Italian football is being forced into revolutionizing the squad when there simply aren’t enough quality players available around Italy who are ready to make the jump to the national team. How can it be that a country of such tradition is incapable of producing talent? What can Italian football do to return to the levels of the past, both on club level and in the national team?

The only thing we have to do to answer those questions is look back at the last time Italian football reached a level of apparent inescapable doom. For that we have to go back 48 years, to the 1966 World Cup. It was a sad night in Middlesbrough on the 19th of July when Italy suffered its most shocking loss in history, against North Korea, causing their elimination in the group stages of the English World Cup. Although that match is remembered with sorrow, it was the moment that forced the Italian federation to realize that a change was needed. That change eventually led to Italian football living its most successful period; perhaps only ending with Calciopoli in 2006.

The most significant change that led to this success was the complete ban of all foreigners from the Italian league from 1966 until 1980 (at which point each Serie A team was only allowed 1 foreigner). The large number of foreigners in the Italian league was generally blamed for the poor performance of the national team in ‘66. Naturally, with the exclusion of foreigners, Italian players were forced to step into the spotlight, therefore allowing a great number of brilliant players to grow in the Bel Paese.

Now, while I am not about to suggest that the Italian Federation should set such a drastic revolution in motion in order to improve the Serie A and the national team, there are however, several important steps that should be taken. Although not quite as radical as the law in 1966, they could be equally (if not more) effective.

Guidelines to Success. Italian football desperately needs a revolution. Whether for an unwillingness to change or a lack of clear ideas, not much has been done since the tragedy of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Because of this, here we are, 4 years later, still in the same mess. What can be done to save football in Italy? A land where the “beautiful game” is a synonym of tradition and success, now appears to have fallen lower than ever. But is it beyond repair? I have composed a list of 8 changes to fix the chaos that is Italian football. Something truly has to be done, and perhaps these are the answers we were looking for. So, with no further ado, here are the “8 Commandments” for Italian football:

1) The Serie A must decrease to become a 16-team league, rather than a 20-team league. If there were only 16 teams in the Serie A then competition would increase dramatically. There would be a smaller selection of teams for all of the top players in the league to play in, therefore increasing the quality of each team. A gradual move from 20 to 18, then from 18 to 16 within 5 years could be realistic. Fewer teams would also mean a shorter league. The players would be far better rested for any international competitions. This would also factor in to the “8th Commandment”.

2) At all times during a Serie A match there must be at least 5 Italians on the pitch for each team. In today’s world, with European legislation and free markets, you couldn’t ban all foreigners from Serie A. However, by stating that every team must have at least 5 Italian players on the pitch at all times gives clubs an incentive to go out and find the best Italian players. Serie A is currently too dependent on foreign players (the last Italian team to win the Champions League, Inter in 2010, did so with only foreigners in the starting XI). With this new rule, the Serie A would become Italian player dependent. Not much would change for most of the lower-table sides, as they already use a lot of Italians in their XI’s, but the national team coach would have a lot more to choose from if there were several Italians playing regularly even in the top teams in the league.

3) All clubs in Serie A must own the stadium they play in by the year 2025. Italian clubs are generally far behind most of Europe with regard to the “stadiums issue”. The vast majority of clubs in the Premier League own the stadium they play in, while in Serie A only a couple of clubs have ownership of their grounds. In fact, the few teams that have secured the rights to their stadium (such as Juventus) have already reaped the economical benefits. A few other teams (such as Roma and Inter) have been planning to construct a new stadium, but it should be compulsory for all the teams in Serie A in order for the whole league to truly blossom economically once more. Another positive that would emerge from this is that the enthusiasm generated from unveiling a new stadium would surely bring more people to watch the games, therefore creating a better atmosphere. If the atmosphere at each game were more electric then more players would be looking to move to the Serie A. Any team that fails to obtain property rights to their own stadium should be fined initially, and then automatically relegated. Teams in Serie B would then be forced to get ownership rights in order to be promoted into the top division.

4) All pitches must be inspected and approved by an official 1 hour before each match to ensure maintenance. There should also be no track surrounding the pitch in the stadium. It is fundamental for the pitch to be perfectly maintained in order to ensure quality football matches. Often clubs in Italy purposefully damage the pitch to make sure that their opponent can’t play free flowing football. Simply by inspecting the pitch prior to the match the Italian Federation could make sure that this wouldn’t happen. The stadiums should naturally be constructed under specific parameters, one of which should be that no athletic running track should surround the pitch. The running track distances the crowd and is a major cause for the lack of atmosphere during Serie A matches; while the lack of one is also why the crowd at matches in the Premier League is always so buzzing.

5) Players from a club’s Primavera, or youth team (academy), must appear the following year in a specified number of official matches on the first team. Far too often, clubs in Italy use their youth team as players to exchange for a small sum of money without truly giving them an opportunity on the first team. A lot of talent is wasted and it makes you truly wonder what could have happened to some of those players had they been given a chance to show what they’re worth on the big stage. For example, Juventus have one of the best youth programs in Italy, but when was the last time one of the youth team players came up and became a crucial player for the Turin giants? The answers are Claudio Marchisio, Sebastian Giovinco, and Paolo De Ceglie. These 3 were given a real opportunity for Juventus in the 2006/07 season: the year Juve was in Serie B. Had it not been for that year in the second division it is very hard to imagine any of those players getting a chance. Had Juve been battling it out for the Scudetto in Serie A all 3 of those players would have been sent out on loan somewhere, and potentially would never have been heard of again. Had that happened, Italian football would have been denied the likes of Claudio Marchisio, one of the greatest talents of recent years. It makes you wonder how many others would have come through had they just been given the chance? This rule would ensure that at least the very best of the youth team from the previous year would be given an opportunity in Serie A, to make an impression, to get on the pitch enough times, and get their name out in the league.

6) Every Primavera must have only Italian nationals. This rule is perhaps the most revolutionary. Obviously the clubs couldn’t kick out any foreigners they currently have in their Primavera teams, but as long as they don’t bring any more in then there would eventually only be Italians in the squads. That doesn’t mean that Italian clubs couldn’t buy young foreign players. If they truly wanted a young foreign player then they could buy him and send him out on loan to a lower division team. A major complaint in Italy is that there are too many foreigners on the youth teams and the top divisions that really aren’t anything special. Nobody would have too much of a problem with them if they were noticeably better than young Italians, but it is commonly assumed that clubs would rather go with an “exotic” name than a “simple” Italian player who could do the job just as well. This rule would change that, and the number of Italian players in circulation would increase exponentially, thus giving Italian football more players to choose from.

7) The ticket prices should go down if match attendance averages less than 75% the capacity of the stadium. A club must guarantee that its stadium is mostly full throughout the season. Seeing empty stadiums in Serie A is an awful sight. The only thing that can be done to ensure packed stadiums (other then renovate them) is by lowering the price of the tickets. Clubs will only be forced to lower the prices if the average attendance is below 75%. Last season, only 8 teams in Serie A had an average attendance of more than 75% of the capacity of the stadium (all stats regarding attendance are according to www.soccerstats.com). If you don’t think that’s bad, then maybe put it into perspective by comparing it to the Bundesliga where 13 teams filled their stadiums by more than 90% of its capacity on average last season. Only 1 team doesn’t fill its stadium more than 80% on average: Hertha Berlin. They play in the Olympiastadion, that seats almost 80,000. Compare that to Serie A where there are teams like Cagliari that have a stadium that can only seat 6,500 yet they can’t even fill it up more than 75%. If the ticket prices went down then gradually more people would go to the stadium. The lowering of ticket prices might not even be necessary if enough enthusiasm is generated by the construction of new stadiums. Making the ticket prices more affordable could potentially change the entire culture inside an Italian stadium. At the moment the majority of the “stadium-goers” are men between the ages of 18 and 40. If the prices changed then perhaps going to the stadium could become a family thing, a place more appropriate for everyone to enjoy a nice afternoon. In Germany going to the stadium is seen as an afternoon out, rather than 90 minutes watching a football match. There should be other activities outside to keep everyone entertained (such as shops and restaurants). The stadium culture has to change in Italy, and it could all start by the building of new stadiums. Smaller and more affordable stadiums would make the atmosphere something that everyone would want to experience.

8) All national team matches should be played after the season has ended. The final commandment is definitely the hardest to execute because it could only be done with the whole of European football on board. Italy should lead the discussion, however, as it is impossible to implement unilaterally. Essentially, all national team matches would be played after the club season has ended. Two months should be left at the end of every season for national teams to group together and play all of their friendlies and qualifiers. This would definitely be great news for both clubs and national teams. Club coaches often complain about their players coming back tired or injured from national team matches when they need them fully fit for their matches. National team coaches often talk about how the players aren’t fully focused on their performances with the national team and would rather avoid injury then truly play their best with the national colours. Giving national team coaches a full 2 months at the end of each season with the players would certainly help them create a better group mentality, and give the coaches a better feel for which players are more suited for the national team. If the Serie A became a 16-team league as suggested above, it would be perfectly simple to finish the league matches before April and May (which would be dedicated to the national team matches). The players would be much fresher without all the midweek matches and wouldn’t be so exhausted come the end of the season in the international competitions. The national team matches wouldn’t be seen as a burden anymore. Instead of slotting them in throughout the season here and there, they should be given a specific time to truly nurture the players and work on tactics rather than putting 23 players together who don’t really know each other when the World Cup arrives and simply hoping that it works.

If all of these changes were truly to take place then a domino effect would enable Italian football to inevitably become a force once more. It’s a disheartening time for Italian football at the moment, but with the right decisions made by the people in charge, then something positive could happen. What is needed is a very strong desire for change, where those in command are willing to follow through with some very bold or unconventional decisions in order to succeed. However, it is pointless to even talk about all of these potential changes if kids aren’t being taught the true values of the sport from a young age. There are too many players that have no idea what it means to “win at all costs”. There are too many Mario Balotelli’s and not enough Gennaro Gattuso’s. That is the first thing that has to change, and no laws implemented by the FIGC or the Lega Calcio can make that happen, it has to come from the base of the system.