Calcio Italiano - read the interview with Italian youth coach, Elia Pavesi
Former player and current youth coach, tells us more about football in Italy, his time training with the national team and about what to expect on your football tour to bella Italia!
Today we meet Elia Pavesi, Italian professional football coach and youth football expert. Pavesi has coached the Brescia and Cremonese U20 teams, and in recent years he has led numerous training sessions with foreign teams on tour in Italy.
Mister, tell us about your football history.
Like all Italian children in the 80s I started by playing in my local church team, I then went on trial with my local professional club who selected me to play. Therefore I played from 7 to 19 years old in the different youth teams of the club before playing professionally for a number of teams. After my career as a player I decided to dedicate myself to becoming a youth coach, a role that I still enjoy today as coach of the Cremonese U20s.
Can you explain to us how Italian youth football has developed today?
Football is constantly evolving, not only due to rule changes, but moreover from an organizational and management point of view. In recent years Italy has seen good examples set by other nations, but we’ve learned these lessons and, with substantial changes both on and off the pitch, have begun to see good results at both junior and senior level.
Can you make a comparison between English and Italian football?
From what I have observed, English football is characterized by playing at a very high intensity, therefore it’s less tactical, but this is by choice and not due to any lack of knowledge. In Italy there is a lot of pressure on short-term results, sometimes on a single match. Football is talked about all week by supporters, managers, by the entire population! This greatly affects matches by making them highly strategic. In England I like the constant pursuit of scoring goals and the intensity of each match, something that in Italy is eschewed in favour of a more tactical battle.
This month your U20 team played in a friendly match with Mancini's Italy, can you tell us about this fantastic experience?
Two weeks ago, we were lucky enough to be sparring partners for the Azzurri, having been invited to play a friendly match at the stunning sports centre located in Coverciano near Florence, home of the Italian national team.
The environment they have created there is really impressive, I almost felt like I was playing Euro 2020 myself! The head of the Azzurri delegation is Gianluca Vialli who was extremely kind, he stayed with our team and provided us with constant assistance. The match we played was aimed at practicing certain match scenarios that the coach Mancini had briefed us about so that he could test the organization of his team. I really got the impression of a great team spirit in the national team and a real desire for fun, in spite of all the pressure and responsibility on their shoulders.
Now that Euro 2020 has begun, what have you seen and what have you noticed about the teams?
In my opinion, as in all tournaments at this level, nothing is simple. Sometimes it seems that a country wins with ease, but behind the scenes there is a huge amount of work and organization. There are some national teams that have struggled more in the group stage than would have been expected, such as Germany. Now we’re into the knock-out matches I think that anything can happen and teams that looked like they were in trouble can now surprise us. I believe that in addition to the favourites such as France, England, Spain and Germany, a lesser fancied national team will emerge, gaining confidence and strength from victories in the earlier rounds.
Returning to youth football and with the hope that foreign schools and clubs will come on tour in Italy, how would you organize a training session for them?
It is important to play at a high quality sports centre with pitches in perfect condition, this is a fundamental requirement for good football training. On the pitch my belief is that football is still a game and players must never lose the appetite for fun. I would encourage drills and conditioning games that are increasingly similar to various aspects of a match. This keeps the players engaged and makes them have fun at the same time. Today we work in an increasingly integrated way both on the technical-analytical side of the game and on the global side of the game, recreating game phases that are increasingly similar to match situations, providing competition and making the kids enjoy every part of training.
