Maurizio Viscidi dropping by at the Centro Bortolotti

A welcome visitor dropped by at the Centro Bortolotti in Zingonia today: FIGC Junior National teams' Coordinator Maurizio Viscidi attended a meeting, held in the briefing room of the Favini-Vedrai Lab Academy, with executives and coaches from the Atalanta Youth Sector.

Throughout the course of the get-together, which lasted one hour and a half, the federal official covered a broad range of topics on training methodology and the development of young footballers while also stressing the key role of Atalanta's Academy in providing players for Italy's Junior National teams: as for the 23/24 season thus far, 21 Nerazzurri youngsters have been called up by the Junior National teams ranging from the U15s to the U21s. In the words of Roberto Viscidi: “Being here makes me twice as glad: first, being Atalanta the team with the highest contribution to the Junior National sides, as a way to value and appreciate the Club's efforts and then, on a more personal manner, due to the relationship of esteem and collaboration that bound me to Roberto Samaden for the past 20 years”. Going on in his speech, the FIGC Coordinator also wished to elaborate on the operative framework he is currently implementing: “Our new policy is aimed at fostering the nurturing and upbringing of attacking players that are capable of leaving their mark in the offensive third -be it with dribbles, key passes, or technical means-. These are the most sought-after kind of players in the short-to-medium term. To do that, a key step lies in subverting the cornerstone of our methodology, switching from a team-biased mentality to a focus on individual performance. Although the goal of any Academy is the grounding of each and every single player, we've been registering a tendency of coaching for the sake of winning rather than training concerning the team's needs: the single player is at the heart of our project and we must never forget that ”.