Is Italy facing a coaching brain drain?

What do Fabio Capello, Gianfranco Zola, Carlo Ancelotti, Edy Reja, Luciano Spalletti and Roberto Mancini have in common?

These six coaches are currently working outside Italy after being enticed by the prospect of pursuing their careers in other countries.

And more Italian coaches are likely to follow in their footsteps in the near future. Only last week, Walter Zenga, who recently lost his job at Palermo, publicly declared his interest in succeeding George Burley as coach of Scotland.

With the exception of Zola, who is only in his second season as manager of English Premier League club West Ham, the other coaches have a good track record in the Serie A.

Capello won five Scudettos (four with Milan and one with Roma), Mancini led Inter to three successive titles and Ancelotti experienced one championship success with Milan.

Mancini last weekend became the latest Italian coach to take charge of an English Premier League side after being unveiled as Mark Hughes's successor at big-spenders Manchester City.

Mancio, as he is popularly known in Italy, had been out of a job since being sacked by Inter president Massimo Moratti in June last year.

Manchester City are widely regarded as the world's richest football club at present. Mancini has a mammoth task ahead of him as he is expected to steer City, who are owned by the Abu Dhabi Group, to a top-four finish and a place in next season's Champions League.

Ancelotti, who won two Champions League titles during his tenure as Milan coach, is doing a fantastic job at Chelsea, the current Premier League leaders, whereas Zola is having a difficult time as West Ham are fighting against relegation.

England's bold displays in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers vindicate Capello's reputation as one of the best coaches in the world. Coaching the Three Lions is considered to be one of the toughest jobs in football.

Earlier this month, Luciano Spalletti was appointed coach of Russian club Zenit St Petersburg on a lucrative three-year deal. Spalletti quit Roma after only two Serie A matches this season.

What are the main reasons behind the rise in the number of foreign-based Italian coaches?

Has the Serie A lost its glamour as a consequence of this mini-exodus? Do the up-and-coming coaches have the tactical nous to replace their more illustrious predecessors?

Highest-paid coach

Although the highest-paid coach in Europe is Inter's Josè Mourinho, it is no secret that Italian coaches get better financial packages when signing with overseas clubs.

Ancelotti also remarked recently that the pressure on coaches working in the Premier League is different to that faced by those in the Serie A, although he later admitted that he would not be surprised if Chelsea sack him at the end of the season if they fail to win either the league title or the Champions League. The ambition to prove oneself in another country is also a motivation for Italian coaches.

Take Capello as an example. He proved himself not only in Italy but also in Spain where he led Real Madrid to two Primera Liga triumphs in two separate spells, in 1996/97 and 2006/07.

By his own admission, the 63-year-old Capello had been eyeing the England job since 2001. Having won virtually every major honour at club level, Capello wanted to test himself in international football before retiring. Transforming the underachieving English national team into World Cup contenders is Capello's current mission. Capello has taken England to the World Cup finals but he will only be considered a success if England go all the way in South Africa.

According to Italy coach

Marcello Lippi, who recently revealed his reluctance to coach a foreign team once he steps down from his current job, it is very healthy for Italian football that more local coaches are in demand overseas.

The benefits are two-fold; the next generation of coaches have more opportunities to coach good clubs in Italy and when Mancini and company eventually return to coach a Serie A outfit, they will bring with them the wealth of experience gained overseas.

Serie A statistics

2 penalties were awarded last weekend. Jorge Martinez made no mistake from the penalty spot to give Catania the lead against Juventus. Elsewhere, Marek Hamsik also scored from the spot to put Napoli ahead in their 2-0 win over Chievo. Meanwhile, two players were sent off - Marius Stankevicius (Sampdoria) and Massimo Paci (Parma).

3 rd straight win (vs Cagliari 2-1, Milan 2-0 and Siena 1-0) for Delio Rossi's Palermo as the Sicilians edged Siena thanks to Edinson Cavani's first-half strike to go sixth in the table. Palermo, together with Inter, Napoli and Sampdoria, are still undefeated at home.

5 wins and four defeats for Livorno since coach Serse Cosmi took over. On Sunday, Livorno came from behind to outclass struggling Sampdoria 3-1. Samp have lost their last five away matches. Inter increased their lead at the top after beating Lazio 1-0. Samuel Eto'o scored the winning goal in the first half. Until now, only two teams, Bari and Roma, have avoided defeat to Inter at the San Siro. Lazio have only won once in their last 15 games.

7 positive results in a row (five wins and two draws) have propelled Europa League hopefuls Roma to joint-fourth with Parma. On Sunday, the Giallorossi scored twice after the break to record their fourth straight home win and interrupt Parma's five-match undefeated streak.

9 points currently separate runaway leaders Inter from third-placed Juventus. The Bianconeri suffered their second home defeat after going down 2-1 to relegation strugglers Catania. The result was a shock as Catania, now under the charge of Sinisa Mihajlovic, were coming from a barren run of eight games without a win.

13 goals were scored on the 17th day (four matches were postponed due to bad weather). There were six first-half strikes and foreign players contributed with 10. Total number of goals scored so far amount to 421. Livorno's Tomas Danilevicius grabbed the only brace of the day. Hasan Salihamidzic (Juventus) and Mariano Izco (Catania) scored after coming on as substitutes. Antonio Di Natale (Udinese) leads the scorers' list with 11 goals.