The first phase of the European qualifiers brought an unprecedented feat to the history of the Italian youth national teams: for the first time, both the Under 17s and the Under 19s won their group with maximum points, without conceding a single goal. It is not only the result itself that is striking, but above all the way in which it was obtained.
Massimiliano Favo, the man who led the Under 17 national team at the European triumph last June in Cyprus (Italy-Portugal 3-0), he wrote another memorable page. In Group 9, his boys scored 17 goals without conceding, beating San Marino (5-0), Wales (4-0) and Norway (7-0). Every story has its protagonists, and here Thomas Campaniello, a striker born in 2008 for Empoli, stands out. The only player called up to have experienced the magic of the won European Championship which, this season, he decided to raise the level: 6 goals in 3 games, best scorer ever in the first round, ahead of Lennart Karl, Bayern Munich’s German midfielder, and Dávid Polt’ák, Czech forward from Spartak Trnava, both with five goals. The Azzurrini are now expected by Lega A, where the next chapter of their adventure will be written between 18 and 26 March.
Then there is the Under 19 national team led by Alberto Bollinia coach who knows something about European feats: two seasons ago, he was the one celebrating the continental category title in Malta (Italy-Portugal 1-0). In Group 8, his boys demonstrated concreteness and solidity against Bosnia and Herzegovina (3-0), Montenegro (3-0) and Greece (1-0), hosts. Among them, there is a silent leader: captain Mattia Mannini, Roma’s midfielder born in 2006, who has signed up three times in as many matches, becoming the best scorer for the Azzurri. The elite phase awaits them, always in spring.
At the basis of these victories there is a project that took shape and substance under the direction of Club Italia. Maurizio Viscidi, coordinator of the Italian men’s national youth teams, is the architect of this process. In September, in Nyon, as a speaker at the UEFA technical directors’ workshop, he revealed the secret behind the Azzurrini’s successes: a mix of planning, talent and vision that has made the Italian national youth teams a model to follow.
Every success, however, is only one stage of the journey. On 5 December, again in Nyon, the draw for the second qualifying phase will outline the next horizons. Under 17 and Under 19, two different teams, two parallel stories, one mission: continue to make us dream.