Benatia: France can form at least four national teams stronger than Italy. Where is the new Totti?

In an interview with Sporting Rome on Friday, Marseille sports director Benatia praised the talent reserves of the Ligue 1 and criticized Italy's youth training system.

As a player who has played for nearly half of his career in Serie A, he has left his footprints in Udinese, Roma and Juventus, but this interview may displeased his supporters on the other side of the Alps. When asked to compare Ligue 1 and Serie A levels, the Moroccan expressed concerns about Italian youth training.

"In Italy, what worries me is the lack of talent. I think about the national team, as a Moroccan captain, I always think Italy is unattainable. Totti, Pirlo, del Piero, Nesta and Martini, and players like Vieri, Casano and Montera, where are they now?"

He criticized the Italian national team, while praising France's talent pool: "France can form at least four national teams stronger than Italy."

Regarding the process of hiring Roberto Dezelby as head coach, Bennatia confirmed that Marseille had reached an agreement with Paul Fonseca: "Everything is ready, we have reached an agreement, but in May 2024 we lost to Atlanta in Bergamo (European). After the second leg of the United Cup semifinals, he called and told us that nothing would happen. On June 13, he became Milan's coach. So we turned to Concesan, but when we learned that we had a chance to sign Dezelby, I said 'Okay, let's try it.' With the push of our boss McCourt, we started the action. '

Benatia also confirmed that in the same summer, Marseille had been interested in Manu Conne of Borussia Mönchengladbach's Manu Conne: "The economic conditions are too high for us, and Roma is very strong. Manu is really a very good player." The French international (10 appearances) joined Roma before the 2024 summer transfer window closed and quickly became a key player for the team, while also cementing his position in the national team.