Italian soccer is suffering from bad health and direly needs a cultural revamp, the 1982 World Cup winner Giuseppe Bergomi told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.
"Italy's soccer needs to be reformed, starting from the poor structures and sport stadiums to the need of lauching national projects to boost junior squads and the presence of more Italian, rather than foreign, players," said Bergomi who captained gli Azzurri to win the World Cup in 1982.
After spending his enire career with Inter where he still holds the appearance record, Bergomi is now the trainer of Monza junior team as well as one of Italy's top TV sports commentator.
Nicknamed as "The Uncle" , he has always treasured his love for the sport with a keen eye for what he defines as "risks" to modern-day football.
"Unfortunately here in Italy we lack a proper sport's culture and awareness and we need to recover important sport values for the benefit of all," he said.
"Today it's tiring and dangerous to go to the stadia to watch the matches, safety levels are poor and there is an excessive violence and aggressivity among fan groups which have no equals in the rest of Europe, and this is turning people away from attending games," he observed.
"When I go to the stadia in United Kingdom, Germany or Spain, the atmosphere there is totally different, calm and relaxing. First, you don't need to get there two hours before the match starts because the organization is much more efficient, and second it's crowded with spectators of all ages, especiallly children, because there's no risk and danger to watch the games. Seeing a packed stadium makes a certain effect," added Bergomi.
He went on to lament over the almost empty stadia of Serie A games, even in Turin, Milan or Rome, which have sent out a very negative image of Italian soccer.
"Italy has still a lot to do to enhance safety in the stadia and lure fans back to watch the games. I know, even with the help of internal web camera systems, it's not easy to isolate violent groups. The only solution is to privatize the stadia, so that the owners will be responsible in cracking down on violence," he said.
Bergomi warned that Italian soccer was no longer "an appetible product over abroad as it used to be in the past" because it had lost much of its appeal.
In his view, improper training philosopy and technique have mainly plotted the downfall of Italian soccer over the past years.
"Today everything is exaggerated, brought to its limit, focused on aggressive preparation and rhythms. Players are excessively trained, all muscular and built-up and thus face a higher risk of injury. Coaches invest a lot on single players' ability and performance, as if they were leading a one-man show rather than contributing to a team," he said.
Television surely plays a great role in popularizing sports and soccer, thanks to sophisticated cameras that enter the changing rooms and the field, revealing in slow motion all the secrets of a game, the moves, kicks and penalties of a victory or a defeat, said Bergomi.
"We are living in a world where the show is everything, and if soccer is not showy then there's no game and therefore no audience. Maybe we need to recover some more sobriety and increase sport and soccer quality, both on the field and in TV," he advised.
But it's not just a matter of having more "spectacular" games. According to Bergomi, the bitter chapter of match-fixing scandal and corruption in 2006, known as "Calciopoli" , has inevitably had a perduring negative impact on Italian soccer.
"The chapter will never close because once corruption rocks the soccer world, it's hard to forget it. Italian soccer is still paying a high price for it, trying to recover its image and world reputation and this process will take some time," he said.
The Juventus team, argued the former defender, was the strongest in Italy and was totally wiped out by Calciopoli and now have serious troubles in rising again.
"Fans found out that some referees were taking bribe to favor some squads, and the perception that the soccer world was tainted will never go away even if now it has been cleaned from corruption," he said.
Unfortunately, Bergomi believed that little can be done in the future to prevent similar episodes.
"It's impossible to uproot corruption in soccer. Rules, regulatoins and sanctions introduced by FIFA are not very efficient. It all much depends upon the single referee's conscience, if he will accept bribes or not. After all, a referee is a man and may be vulnerable," he said.