The fitba-calcio complex: how Serie A revived its Scottish connection

There was a time when Scottish players were among a flood of luxury imports into Italian football. When Denis Law moved from Manchester City to Torino in 1961, he became the first player in Britain to be transferred for a £100,000 fee.

The glamour of the signing reflected the growing prestige of Serie A; on returning to Scotland for a friendly against Hibernian at Easter Road, the former home of his Torino teammate Joe Baker, Law was lauded in the match notes as the face of “one of the most attractive clubs in Europe”. Law and Baker had one turbulent season in Italy before departing to write their legends at Manchester United and Arsenal respectively, but left a big impression. When Baker died in 2003, the Turin-based newspaper La Stampa acclaimed the pair for “giving dreams to the Granata fans” and venerated Law as “a crazy, brilliant, inconsistent artist”.

In the 1980s, as Serie A established itself as the go-to destination for the world’s top players, Scots were among those invited to contest for a place in the pantheon. While the league burnished its global appeal with the arrivals of Zico, Sócrates, Diego Maradona, Michel Platini, Michael Laudrup and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, it had a distinct Anglophone streak: Trevor Francis, Ray Wilkins, Mark Hateley and Luther Blissett flew the flag for England, Liam Brady for Ireland, with Joe Jordan and Graeme Souness representing Scotland.

Souness joined Francis at Sampdoria in 1984 – replacing Brady after his switch to Inter – at the apex of his career, having just won the European Cup for the third time with Liverpool. His time in Italy was a success, Souness scoring the first goal – a thrashed half-volley set up by Francis – as Sampdoria overcame Milan in a two-leg Coppa Italia final in 1985, earning a first major trophy for the club. In his debut season, La Stampa called him and Francis “i due gioielli della Samp” (“the two jewels of Samp”) and the Scotland captain’s trademark perm and moustache became regular fixtures in the Italian sports pages. In his 2017 autobiography Souness gave an insight into the financial pull of Serie A in the 80s, claiming: “Before I kicked a ball for Sampdoria, I’d been paid more than I’d netted in seven years at Liverpool.”

Jordan, who swapped Manchester United for Milan in 1981 and had three seasons in Italy, the last with Verona, also made his mark and earned a cult following among supporters. Missing his front teeth owing to a nasty collision during his time at Leeds, he was nicknamed “Lo Squalo” (“The Shark”) by the Italian press and, though relegated in his first season, he was crucial to Milan battling back the following year. Jordan returned to England with Southampton in 1984, while Souness left Sampdoria in 1986 to become player-manager at Rangers. There was little reason to think at the time that there would not be another Scottish player in Italy for 32 years.

That hiatus can, in part, be explained by the shifting economic landscape of European football. With the Premier League breakaway in 1992 and the financial ascent of England’s top clubs, Scottish players had less incentive to move further afield. With a few notable exceptions – Paul Lambert at Borussia Dortmund, John Collins at Monaco and Allan Johnston at Rennes, for instance – the pipeline carrying Scottish talent to Europe began to dry up in the 1990s. It may also have been the case that, with Scotland failing to qualify for a major tournament for 22 years after France 98, and Scottish clubs patchily represented in European competitions, players had fewer chances to draw interest from Italy and beyond.

Whatever obstacles may have stood in the way of Scottish players following in the footsteps of Souness and Jordan, they have been demolished. This season, there are six players who have represented Scotland at youth or senior level competing in Serie A or Serie B. Including those who have played in Italy over the past three years, the number rises to nine. Scottish players are once again the talk of the curva and, for those back home considering a move overseas, Italy is now the obvious choice.

Liam Henderson became an inadvertent trailblazer when, having struggled to establish himself at Celtic, he joined Bari in 2018 – a move he has described as “a gamble” on the part of the club – and became the first Scot since Souness to play in Italy. After impressing in his debut campaign in Serie B, the midfielder has spent the past six years playing in the top two divisions for four clubs and, after a spell on loan with Palermo, has reclaimed his starting spot at Empoli this term.

Aaron Hickey, who swapped Hearts for Bologna in 2020 before leaving for Brentford two years later, has also been highly influential. Not only did he successfully take the leap from the Scottish Premiership to Serie A as a teenager, making 48 appearances over two seasons and breaking into the national team, he showed other Scottish youngsters there was an alternative route to the Premier League, the allure of first-team football in Italy prevailing over the pitfalls of a stint in an English academy or the Football League. Hickey’s time at Bologna sent a message to other Italian clubs. The move made sense for all involved: having arrived for a £1.5m fee, he departed for £15m plus add-ons.

In the search for similar deals, Serie A clubs began scouting the Scottish Premiership more extensively. Bologna repeated the trick by signing Lewis Ferguson from Aberdeen in 2022, a few days after Hickey’s departure, and he went on to win the Premio Bulgarelli No 8 award last season – given to the best midfielder in Serie A for the calendar year – despite having his campaign cut short by injury. Around the same time that Bologna brought in Ferguson, Verona signed the Scottish youth international Josh Doig from Hibernian for £3m. He was moved on to Sassuolo last January for about £5m and, though the Neroverdi were relegated to Serie B, he has won praise for his hard-running performances at left-back.

The trend of Serie A clubs scouring Scotland for smart buys again reflects changed economic realities. While, historically, Italian sides may have flexed their financial muscles to sign Scottish greats from clubs in England, the Premier League boom – fuelled by broadcasting revenue which far exceeds that of Serie A – has pushed would-be competitors to seek the best value by recruiting players from less affluent leagues. A source with experience of working on transfers in Scotland and Italy says the Scottish Premiership “is a good market. People criticise the standard, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t good players. The Italians have realised that.”

Giovanni Carnevali, Sassuolo’s chief executive, backs up that assessment. “We got Josh [Doig] from Hellas Verona but I think there are potential important players in the Scottish league,” he says. “[It] is a league that is sometimes underestimated … we are talking about a fascinating league even if it is not followed beyond the national borders.”

It helps that, perhaps shaped by memories of Jordan and Souness as well as more recent success stories, Scottish players have gained a reputation for physical and mental toughness in Italy. “They are very professional players, a top mentality, hard workers and good guys also in the locker room,” says Marco Di Vaio, Bologna’s sporting director, who was responsible for bringing Hickey and Ferguson to the club.

“We found two players, two men, [who are] very nice and good in the locker room, good in training and also they have a top mentality to improve every day, and move to the top clubs as their ambition. This is what we have found when we have worked together with Scottish players … if there is a new chance to bring another Scottish player, of course we will try to bring him to our club.”

The arrival of Ché Adams, Billy Gilmour and Scott McTominay last summer – the first moving to Torino on a free transfer, the other two joining Napoli for a combined £38m – may have been linked to positive perceptions of their compatriots, though Antonio Conte, the Napoli manager, knew Gilmour and McTominay well from his time in the Premier League. McTominay, in particular, has become an instant hit in Italy, providing three goals and as many assists to help keep Napoli in the hunt for another Scudetto. In a sign of nascent cult hero status, fans have been spotted waving Scotland flags and wearing tartan caps in the stands. The more acclaim Scottish players receive in Italy, the easier it becomes for clubs to convince others to join them.

With the influx of established internationals, Serie A’s Scottish connection has, in a sense, come full circle. Unlike the luxury imports of the past, however, Adams, Gilmour and McTominay – who, aged 28, 23 and 28 respectively, have the potential to increase in value – fit the wider strategy of seeking out cost-effective signings. As the nexus of connections between Scottish players, their agents and Serie A clubs continues to grow, the likelihood is that more will follow the path to Italy over the next few seasons. On the evidence of those who have gone before, it’s a journey worth making.