Why Alberto Aquilani Should Be Axed for Italy Following Albania Win

And so it has often been with him. While he has played a handful of fine games in national team colours, those standout matches have been few and far between. As he has often shown at club level, Aquilani should be considered a “luxury” player who might shine when surrounded by a brilliant team but rarely takes charge of a match of his own accord.

As a youngster at Roma, high hopes were held for Aquilani. Perhaps if he had stayed in the Italian capital for another few years he would have developed into a fantastic footballer, but an ill-fated move to Liverpool and frequent injury troubles altered his trajectory. There have been some periods of good form since, but he has never really fulfilled his potential.

The Albania match was a perfect opportunity for many fringe Azzurri players, like Aquilani, to put their hands up for regular starting berths.  Some, such as Sebastian Giovinco, Alessio Cerci and goalscorer Stefano Okaka, took their opportunity well by putting in impressive performances.

Others, like goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu, striker Mattia Destro and Aquilani himself, will feel they bombed their chance. The Rome-born midfielder displayed the occasional nice touch or incisive pass, but overall he failed to dominate the centre of the pitch against a fairly weak opposition midfield.

Defensively he was a liability, as has regularly been the case throughout his career. If you are Andrea Pirlo, creating numerous chances for team-mates and spraying passes around the field with deadly accuracy, some slackness in defence can be forgiven.  But Aquilani is no Pirlo. He does not offer enough creativity to make up for his defensive shortcomings. Azzurri midfield stalwarts such as Daniele De Rossi and Claudio Marchisio have shown time and time again they have the drive, determination and talent to energise the side, and relative newcomers like Antonio Candreva and Cerci look like they will carry the team forward in the years to come.

As Antonio Conte attempts to forge Italy into an international force once again, there is no room for lightweights in the squad. After 38 games for Italy, it might be time to give up on Aquilani.