MILAN – Roberto Samaden was hosted on news channel SkySport24 on Saturday to discuss the latest developments in youth football in Italy.
The Nerazzurri youth academy director spoke proudly of Inter's tradition in bringing through young talent and revealed why he feels Italy is lagging behind other European nations in this area.
"We've been lucky at Inter in that we've always had extremely motivated owners," Samaden began. "All our presidents have been strong supporters of the club's youth projects and that's created continuity. Erick Thohir is always urging us to focus on youth and we work in close contact with Piero Ausilio.
"Other European countries invest great sums of money in young players and facilities in the medium to long term. Italy is still some way behind. I think what's lacking is a direct link between the first team and their youth sides. There must be a reason why most clubs around Europe have got B teams that bridge the gap between the senior team and the academy.
"You have to give youngsters the chance to play – not just in friendlies but in important matches too. Serie A is a very competitive league and it's difficult for young players to force their way into the reckoning. We tend to make our youngsters go the long way round in Italy before they get given a chance at the top level."
Samaden also commented on the earnings deriving from youth academies around Europe.
"French clubs are the best at this. A lot of planning goes into it and there's boatloads of talent there. Belgium are also improving in that respect.
"Over the last 10 years Inter have earned €150 million from the sale of academy players – that's an average of €15 million per season. Our new owners are keen to prioritise youth. If we had a B team, some of our youngsters might now be regular starters in our first team."
Finally, our academy chief explained why he's optimistic about the future of youth development in Italy.
"People in Italy have woken up to the fact that we need to start backing young players. The FA are investing in regional development centres and now clubs should start investing with the medium-to-long term in mind. With the footballing tradition we have in Italy, we can achieve great results."
