Former Juventus and Barcelona player Gianluca Zambrotta said in an interview with AS that he was very optimistic about England and that Kane's performance far exceeded public opinion of him.
Let's start by talking about the impression Como have made. Did you expect them to be where they are today?
This is a truly representative success story in Italian football. The club has created real value for Italian football, especially through its clear team-building philosophy, implementation methods, and consistent footballing identity. In 2019, Como was still in the Italian fourth-tier league, and in just six years, they have soared into the Champions League. Fàbregas's coaching work has been remarkable, but we cannot overlook the club's strong financial backing: continuous investment, the building of a professional sports city, and Fàbregas himself taking charge of the transfer market, continuously bringing in young, high-potential new stars. All in all, the team has created a strong sense of belonging in the country, and it is a development model worth learning from across the entire industry. Of course, the coach's own mentality and ideas played a decisive role. He played for Barcelona for a long time in his early years, and I am very familiar with that tiki-taka training system, which focuses on ball control, active attacking football, creating fluid combinations, and interpreting beauty through football. This is undoubtedly of great positive significance.
But I always feel that many Serie A teams regard Como as an intruder and a major threat.
I don't think so. Perhaps outsiders sometimes criticize Fàbregas himself or the team's conduct on the field, but in the end, this is all part of the league, and there is no point dwelling on it. In my opinion, his achievements are unparalleled, and the data proves everything: in the first season after promotion, the team finished tenth in the league, and this season they qualified directly for the Champions League, with the best defense in the league and the second-best attack.
This is actually very contradictory.
Como don't always attack fiercely; sometimes they opt for a five-man defense, the 541 system commonly used by many Serie A giants.
For example, Inter under Inzaghi and Chivu, as well as your Juventus back then, had a solid defense. Camoranesi and Emerson would also drop back to help defensively. Conte also often used this formation, relying heavily on wing-backs who could run up and down the flank.
Fàbregas will sign players according to his tactical philosophy, only bringing in those who fit his footballing ideas. For example: goalkeeper Jean-Butez; midfielders like Perrone and Dacunha, who are good at short passes; Valle, who was brought in from Barcelona and can repeatedly push forward and drop back; and, up front, he does not favor traditional, heavy center forwards, preferring agile strikers with delicate footwork who are good at linking up play.
Nico Paz is undoubtedly a typical example. Incidentally, one of the external criticisms of Como is that the team has too many foreign players, with almost no local Italian players in the starting lineup. Fàbregas once said: "I really appreciate Locatelli and Palestra (the latter transferred to Chelsea), but whenever I contact local young stars, they ask for 40 million euros, or even more."
Italy has never lacked high-level local talent, and many young players would certainly improve significantly under him.
Unfortunately, player agents now have too much power. Ibrahimovic was a typical example back then, and Nico Paz is the same now. Even when you transferred to Barcelona, you were already a world-class winger. Before that transfer, the Italian national team had just won their most recent World Cup, but the domestic football scene at the time was bleak. The cohesion of that national team was moving, with everyone working together to overcome many difficulties: the Calciopoli scandal, Totti's serious injury, Pessotto's depression and suicide attempt... Lippi built an incredibly solid team core, one that cannot be compared with the present. What exactly is the problem with Italian football now?
We have missed the World Cup finals three consecutive times, but we must not forget that Mancini led the team to win the European Championship. The core issue is the significant decline in the number of Italian local players at the top Serie A teams, which is a world of difference from when I played. In the 2006 championship team, all the central-axis players came from the four giants: Juventus, Milan, Inter, and Roma. A group of local core players supported the national team, and a stable club base provided great convenience for the national team coach. Many national team players had played in the Champions League for many years, cooperated seamlessly, and made training and adaptation more effective, with a high degree of integration in the team atmosphere. Now, achieving this is as difficult as climbing to the sky.
Currently, only Inter still retains a local core in their squad: Barella, Bastoni, Dimarco, Pio Esposito, and very few others. Interestingly, many coaches who complain about the scarcity of local players, such as Gattuso, Spalletti, and Mancini, used a large number of foreign players when they coached Serie A clubs. I say this because many people always like to find excuses to cover up their poor performances.
Juventus have only one or two players with national team potential, Inter have a few more, but Acerbi has also left the team; Milan do not have any decent local stars, and Roma and Napoli are in similar situations. The crux of the problem is this: top Serie A teams lack local superstars, and that stable local core no longer exists.
In the 2006 World Cup final against France, every player in the central spine of Italy's starting lineup came from Juventus, Roma, and Milan. Such a scenario no longer exists today. Even more challenging is the fact that the national team coaching position remains vacant. A few months ago, we asked Rivera whether he would consider Guardiola as his successor, and he insisted that the coach must be Italian. The current leading candidate is Conte, with Mancini as an alternative.
Italian football is constantly changing. Half a century ago, few Spanish or Italian players played abroad; fortunately, many excellent talents have now emerged in overseas football, especially among coaches. The national team coach does not necessarily have to be Italian, and there is no need to cling to this prejudice.
Let's make an assumption: if Guardiola takes over the Italian national team in five years, do you think it would take him twice as long as Conte, Allegri, or Mancini to adapt to this system? What I mean is that he would need to completely overturn the existing football logic and establish a brand-new system. It is no exaggeration to say that Italian football has long developed its own unique tactical identity, which is by no means easy to change. This is the foundation of our football—not just a tactical choice, but an inherent stylistic trait.
I don't agree with that view. Guardiola is brilliant and fully understands how to make flexible adjustments based on the team's personnel and the league environment. Coaching a club and coaching a national team are two different things. A national team coach only meets with the players once every two or three months and does indeed need greater adaptability, but he is a legendary coach of historic stature and exceptionally talented. If he receives this offer, he is absolutely capable of doing the job. I personally support foreign coaches leading the national team.
Let’s talk about coaches. You also trained under Lippi at Juventus. Italian coaches are now all over the world: Ancelotti coaches a Brazilian team, the pragmatic Allegri has taken over Napoli, and Maresca and De Rossi are coaching Genoa. People always say the coaching industry is in crisis, and everyone starts to miss Sacchi and legendary coaches like Capello, who coached Milan and Roma. Is the Italian coaching scene no longer as glorious as it once was?
I don't see it that way. Ancelotti; Mancini, who led the team to win the Man City championship; Maresca, who has just arrived in the Premier League and previously won many honors at Chelsea; and Grosso, who delivered an impressive performance at Sassuolo last season and is now coaching Fiorentina. This new generation of coaches has innovative ideas and great potential. Montella is also doing well coaching in Turkey. Undoubtedly, the Italian coaching community is still full of talent and developing well.
De Rossi is also part of the Genoa squad. His career, influence on the field, unique imprint, and personal character are equally evident on the international football stage.
You are talking about globally renowned legends. I have always felt that Italian coaches have something different and unique about them, and history has proven this—and it will always be so in the future.
Let’s talk about Barcelona. When did you finalize your transfer? Before or after the World Cup?
After the "Calciopoli" scandal broke out, none of us could see what the future held. Juventus, Milan... everything was uncertain. During the World Cup in Germany that year, transfer rumors were already circulating. I received an offer from Barcelona at that time. Albertini had played for the club before, and he spoke highly of Barcelona. My transfer opportunity was entirely facilitated by him. To this day, he and Laporta still have a close personal relationship. At that time, Thuram also received an offer from Barcelona; the opportunity came at the same time.
Albertini acted as an intermediary, but Real Madrid also wanted to sign me that year.
That's right. Capello not only wanted to sign Cannavaro at that time, but also wanted me to join Real Madrid with them. However, I ultimately chose Barcelona. What was the reason? Aside from it being a world-renowned top club that had just won the Champions League, it is hard to say. Barcelona allowed me to compete in many competitions I had never experienced before, such as the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup. I was 29 years old that year; it was my last chance to fulfill my dream in my professional career.
You never won the Champions League as a player. While at Juventus, you reached the 2003 Champions League final, where you faced Ancelotti’s Milan. You were capable of playing in all four wide positions: left-back, right-back, left midfielder, and right midfielder. The outside world always felt that we did not see Zambrotta at his expected peak at Barcelona. I wonder if that was related to Rijkaard’s fixed four-man defensive system: Thuram, Puyol, you, and Sylvinho. Cannavaro also encountered similar difficulties adapting after moving to Real Madrid, while Thuram, who had been a rock in defense in Italy, also performed below expectations at Barcelona.
I'll tell you the truth: I just needed a few months to adapt to the environment. Objectively speaking, Barcelona's training methods were vastly different from Juventus'. I was a player who relied on physical fitness, strength, and explosiveness, and at Juventus, I spent a lot of time in the gym working on my physique; at Barcelona, however, all strength training was integrated into on-ball field training. The training methods changed completely in just a few months, and I needed time to absorb the new style of play. Barcelona's football is inherently attack-minded, always focused on moving forward, with the defense pushing high into the opponent's half to press immediately and launch counter-attacks after winning the ball. However, the football logic I had been accustomed to before was completely different.
Without disparaging Juventus, Capello's side focused on having five or six players retreat to defend, while still leaving three fixed center-backs at the back when attacking. Their man-marking and pressing were extremely strict, the complete opposite of Barcelona's football philosophy.
Rijkaard's assistant coach often asked me: "Zambrotta, why don't you push forward and provide assists? Why don't you press higher up the pitch?" In Italy, I was used to consolidating the defense first, then seizing opportunities to push forward and attack; at Barcelona, however, it was the complete opposite. We controlled the ball firmly throughout, continuously creating threats through passing, possession, high pressing, and quick short passes to penetrate the defense... I gradually overcame the discomfort and completed the adaptation.
Perhaps the timing of your arrival was simply wrong. That Barcelona team had just reached the pinnacle of glory, and their mentality was inevitably more relaxed. Deco's form declined significantly, as did Giuly's; Ronaldinho's competitive level also began to drop... Ronaldinho's peak period at Barcelona was too short.
Our squad back then was a dream team. In the second year, Henry joined, and up front we had stars like Henry, Eto'o, Ronaldinho, and Messi; in midfield, we had Xavi, Marquez, Iniesta, Toure, and Deco, all top players in football. Undeniably, after winning the Champions League, the whole team more or less developed a sense of complacency. I did not experience the season when the team reached the summit of the Champions League, but I played alongside this team for the next two years. The team's performance was not good, and I am willing to accept my share of the responsibility.
Moreover, the situation worsened the following year, and Laporta eventually fired Rijkaard.
We finished only third in the league; in the Champions League semi-finals, we lost 0-1 to Man United at Old Trafford and drew 0-0 at home at Camp Nou, being eliminated on aggregate. Then Guardiola took over, completely reshaping the team system and implementing radical reforms. Ronaldinho and I both transferred to Milan.
You still had four years left on your contract with Barcelona at the time. Did Guardiola want to keep you?
Yes, Pep originally wanted me to stay at Barcelona, but I was dealing with personal and family problems at the time, so I was determined to return to Italy to be closer to home and handle family matters. Milan was a great honor for me, a legendary giant, but I want to reiterate that Guardiola did indeed want to keep me, and I did not actively seek a transfer. I asked to leave the club because I had to go home to deal with family affairs and needed to be with my family. You can put yourself in my shoes: my first year at Barcelona was acceptable, but my form plummeted in the second year, and the root cause was family problems. Living alone in Barcelona during that period was particularly difficult; you can understand that, right? I returned to Italy only to resolve family matters, and fortunately, we won the Serie A title after I joined Milan. Returning to my homeland made me extremely proud, and I am also very grateful to Milan. If it had not been for those family circumstances, I would have stayed at Barcelona and continued under Guardiola.
Finally, I have a question for you about the national team at this World Cup: what do you think of Yamal? Does he remind you of Messi when he was first starting out?
I saw Messi when he was twenty years old. By then, he had already established himself in the first team; his talent far surpassed that of his peers, and he was a genuine top talent. Yamal is very similar to him, skipping multiple stages of development at a young age and already emerging as a world-class star with unlimited potential. Spain and Barcelona are incredibly lucky to have him and must protect him well. Players like him, who achieve fame and exceptional ability at such a young age, are rare.
So, are France and Spain the biggest favorites to win this tournament?
France is definitely the clear favorite, and Spain also has the strength to win the championship. Argentina also has a chance. I am very optimistic about England. Kane's ability is impeccable, and public opinion does not do justice to his performances. He is the perfect all-around center forward.
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