Ex-Italian coach Fabio Capello says Atalanta were ‘fortunate’ to only concede six goals against Bayern Munich: ‘This is a lesson for Italian football.’
Atalanta, the only Serie A side to have qualified for the Champions League Round of 16, suffered a heavy 6-1 home loss against Bayern Munich last night.
Capello: Atalanta’s humiliation ‘a lesson’ for Italian football
“I saw a team that pressed and ran, with everyone showing impressive quality, in vision and possession,” Capello told Sky Sport via TMW.
“Every time Bayern won the ball back, they went straight forward and sprinted into space. With that kind of technique, they clearly put Atalanta in trouble.
“Atalanta were actually fortunate to concede only six goals. It could have been many more, and the goalkeeper made some good saves as well. This is a lesson for Italian football. Atalanta were the only Italian side to qualify for the Round of 16 and had beaten Borussia Dortmund, but they didn’t stand a chance against the top German team.”
Opponents have been teaching Italian football lessons for a while now, but no one is learning.
Palladino was naive to set up the way he did. Playing in an unfamiliar setup against one of the most dangerous attacking teams in world football is a recipe for a result like this. Only two years ago Atalanta was playing this type of pressing, attacking football en route to winning the Europa League. Serie A has had a terrible year in the CL, but I don’t believe this is the result that should necessarily stand out as an indicator of systemic failure.
Atalanta did not lost because “they had a bad day”. They simply were dominated in all phases of the game. Italians are too loyal to their outdated system where individualism is ignored. While other nations continue to produce top players with physical and technical skills, Italy are sticking to their tacticality.