If 2016 has been a frustrating year for Marco Verratti’s club career, the Italian midfielder has cut a figure of frustration for four years when it comes to his time in the international setup.
Former Juventus manager Antonio Conte took over as Italy boss from Cesare Prandelli after the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, and in the 17 games the 46-year-old has been in charge for—including Friday’s 1-1 draw with Spain in Udine—Verratti has only played seven times for 488 minutes. That’s just under 70 minutes per game.
In the same time in Ligue 1, the 23-year-old has played 49 games, becoming not only an integral part of the Paris Saint-Germain squad, but one of the best passing midfielders in the world. It seems criminal that he has played such a small role in Conte’s Italy side.
Verratti is the type of player you can build a team around, so you would have thought when Andrea Pirlo retired from international football that would have been his chance, but Conte managed to convince the former Juventus player back into action.
After the disappointing performances at the World Cup in Brazil, there was an opportunity to build a new era in Italian football, but Conte has kept with the old guard for his UEFA Euro 2016 campaign.
“Marco is a player with important potential, he must continue with the same desire and passion,” Conte told Canal Plus back in February, via Football Italia. "You can see that he lives for football with passion. He has already excelled technically, he’s also developed physically and has great personality."
But Italy can’t wait, they need Marco to be a leader right away.
They are surprising comments about a player who is already a leader for one of the biggest sides in Europe at the moment. Injuries have hampered some of his chances at making an impact, but there have been games when the little Italian has had to sit on the bench.
It’s all well and good Conte demanding leadership from the PSGmidfielder, but he needs to put him in a situation to excel, and that includes having the right players around him. He’s not Pirlo, he’s not got that same attacking instinct, but if they put their trust in him like Laurent Blanc has, it’s unlikely the former Pescara player will let them down.
“Verratti developed greatly at PSG,” Conte commented after the 1-0 win over Bulgaria in September, via Football Italia. “He became a player with a European dimension, but he must learn to play vertically and speed up the game.”
In Conte’s 3-5-2, Verratti would be perfect at the base of a midfield three. You could play Claudio Marchisio beside him to be the ball winner and then play someone with more of an attacking instinct to bring balance to the centre of the pitch.
Verratti missed March's international friendlies due to injury, with PSGhoping he will be back and fit for the UEFA Champions League quarter-final clash with Manchester City in April. That means his first game back for the Azzurri could be the friendly against Scotland—as part of their Euro 2016 buildup.
Playing against Belgium, Sweden and Ireland, Italy should have enough to qualify for the quarter-finals, but with Verratti at the helm, they could become a European great once again.
Conte announced in March he will leave the job after the European Championships, per Football Italia. It may be that Verratti has to wait until his departure before finally getting his chance to become as vital to his country as he is for his club—but with the quality he has, it’s unthinkable that he won’t blossom into a top international midfielder.
