Last week, Italy finished runners-up in the UEFA U-21 Championship finals which were successfully staged in Israel. Devis Mangia’s Azzurrini went all the way to the June 18 showdown before bowing out to Spain 4-2.

This was Italy U-21s best placing in the tournament since beating Serbia 3-0 to claim the 2004 title.

Italy ousted Holland in the semi-finals after having finished top of Group A which also comprised England, Israel and Norway.

This time last year, Spain outclassed Italy 4-0 in the Euro 2012 final in Kiev. Fast forward 12 months and, once again, Spain were Italy’s executioners, this time in the U-21 category.

In the final, Italy were the clear underdogs against the defending U-21 champs who topped Group B with full points after beating Russia (1-0), Germany (1-0) and Holland (3-0) before easing past Norway (3-0) in a last-four match.

Although Italy were off to a false start as they conceded an early Thiago goal, they hit back and Ciro Immobile made it 1-1.

This, however, proved to be an isolated moment of hurray for Mangia’s boys as from then on it was one-way traffic, bar for some isolated moments.

Spain dictated matters and scored two quick goals before half-time – both from Barca’s star Thiago.

After the break, Spain added a fourth before substitute Fabio Borini made the score look more respectable for Italy.

This was the second time Italy had finished runners-up.

Incidentally, the Azzurrini were also beaten by Spain after penalties in 1986.

Ten years later, Italy got their revenge as they beat the Spaniards in Barcelona, also after a shoot-out.

True, Italy Under-21 played second fiddle to Spain in the title match on June 18 in Jerusalem.

However, the side’s overall performance in this year’s tournament confirmed that there is a crop of promising talent coming through the ranks.

Now, the power is in the hands of Italian clubs to fully exploit this new generation by allowing them more space and time to prove themselves at the top level.

Clubs in Serie A do not possess the financial clout they used to boast in the not too distant past. Whereas in the 1990s, the best players used to ply their trade in the Italian league, the same cannot be said today.

The trend has changed dramatically and now the top footballers are prised away by clubs from the more affluent English Premier League, the Spanish Liga and the Ligue 1 in France.

Nowadays, it is only when some of these top-rated players reach a ‘veteran’ age that they start to consider a move back to the Serie A.

In Mangia’s U-21 squad in Israel there were three players – Giulio Donati (Bayer Leverkusen), Marco Verratti (Paris SG) and Fabio Borini (Liverpool) – who had parted with the Italian league last season.

The rest are all engaged at home clubs so now it is a matter of whether coaches start to believe more positively in young talent and give them a chance to succeed.

Showing faith in these youngsters alone will not necessarily translate into instant success but, if successful, the ones coming up can also be of great benefit for clubs to ensure a sound future and for the senior national team to, perhaps, figure more pro-minently on the international scene.