'in Our Dna' - How The Scots Took Over Italian Football

Phones buzzed and wry smiles broadened wrong nan Scotland campy arsenic nan Serie A fixtures dropped successful June - Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour of Italian champions Napoli would unfastened nan play astatine Josh Doig's recently promoted Sassuolo.

Doig, who would make his world debut later that week, beamed astatine nan thought of facing Gilmour - personification he grew up playing younker shot against - arsenic good arsenic McTominay, a man who returns not conscionable arsenic nan league's subordinate of nan season, but a Ballon d'Or nominee and Neapolitan hero.

"It's conscionable mad," says 23-year-old near backmost Doig, who helped Sassuolo return to nan apical formation astatine nan first clip of asking nether Italian World Cup victor Fabio Grosso.

"Scott did unbelievable past season, he is for illustration a deity now and he deserves it because he is 1 of nan nicest guys you'll ever meet successful football.

"I watched astir of their games past season. Any Scottish feline successful Italy I will ever return an liking in, because we are each successful it together."

That Scottish contingent is only increasing - six of June's world squad will play successful Serie A this season, pinch Che Adams astatine Torino, Lewis Ferguson astatine Bologna and 18-year-old midfielder Lennon Miller joining Udinese from Motherwell.

Trailblazer Liam Henderson, meanwhile, is astatine second-tier Sampdoria, his sixth Italian club.

The midfielder arrived astatine Bari successful 2018 arsenic nan first Scot to play successful Italy since Graeme Souness near Sampdoria successful 1986. Aaron Hickey, now astatine Brentford, past became nan first to people successful Serie A successful 35 years erstwhile he netted for Bologna successful September 2021.

Doig, meanwhile, is astir to statesman his 4th play successful Italy aft leaving Hibernian for Verona aged 19, earlier joining Sassuolo successful January past year.

"Italy is 1 of nan astir beautiful countries successful nan world," explains Doig. "Food-wise, places to spell connected vacation - it has sewage everything. The measurement of life is unbelievable. I bask each moment.

"But football-wise arsenic well, it is simply a reliable league, it is simply a very difficult league, and you really request to activity difficult - it is expected of you.

"The Italians are known for their protect activity complaint and their beardown backlines, and nan Scottish measurement is we're each workers, that's what we do. It's successful our DNA."

While Doig has enjoyed nan taste hubs of Verona and Modena, and Ferguson and Hickey nan culinary delights of Bologna, fewer cities comparison to nan strength of a frenzied and chaotic Naples.

Gilmour and McTominay quickly recovered that retired erstwhile they joined Antonio Conte's broadside from Brighton and Manchester United, respectively, successful summertime 2024.

"I saw nan passionate fans, I saw nan coach, I saw nan players and I saw an opportunity," McTominay told BBC Scotland successful December. "I emotion this place, I emotion nan fans, I emotion my team-mates."

By nan extremity of nan season, his 12 goals having helped occurrence Napoli to nan Scudetto, McTominay's look was painted connected walls successful nan Quartieri Spagnoli, and his 'McFratm' nickname inked connected fans' skins.

He has entered into a pantheon of Partenopei legends topped by Argentina fable Diego Maradona.

Speaking astatine Wimbledon successful July, nan 28-year-old added: "The group successful Naples are incredible, they're truthful passionate and everyplace you spell location are group who opportunity 'Forza Napoli'.

"They want to speak to you and person a speech and that inspires you each clip you spell connected nan transportation because they care.

"It's different, a wholly different measurement of life complete location - nan measurement you eat, nan measurement you unrecorded and each that. It gives you much intelligence strength."

"Everything was awesome astir Italy, barroom nan football," said nan precocious Denis Law, who made a British-record move to Torino successful 1961 and spent nan play alongside Scotland-raised England world Joe Baker successful an era characterised by Italy's ultra-defensive catenaccio system.

Joe Jordan, dubbed nan Shark by Italian media, followed successful 1981, joining AC Milan and past Verona, earlier Souness won nan Coppa Italia successful 1985 during his first of 2 seasons astatine a Sampdoria broadside emerging arsenic 1 of Italy's finest.

But it would beryllium 32 years earlier different Scotsman made nan switch. Henderson, joining Serie B broadside Bari from Celtic, was besides nan first to move straight from a Scottish club.

Henderson whitethorn person been an anomaly erstwhile he signed, but he did springiness Italian fans a sensation of nan Scottish game.

"Their mentality, they are quiet players, ​​committed, some wrong nan transportation and extracurricular nan pitch. They are truthful professional," explains Francesco Strozzi, who was a scout astatine Bologna erstwhile nan nine signed Ferguson and Hickey and now useful for Torino.

"Of course, connected nan transportation location is simply a inclination astir expanding beingness football. So we're talking astir making runs for nan team, having 2 phases, attacking, defending - particularly erstwhile it comes to midfielders.

"It's thing being recognised besides by nan fans. The intensity, nan physicality, nan hunger for results - they're loved for that."

Strozzi says nan existent alteration came erstwhile Covid hit. Bologna were already exploring nan Scottish market, but lockdown restrictions meant clubs were forced to trust much connected video and information analysis, which inevitably broadened their excavation of imaginable recruits.

They recovered worth successful Scotland, wherever young players were gaining first-team acquisition and, successful immoderate cases, registering minutes successful European competitions.

"Scottish shot is not conscionable astir Celtic and Rangers," adds Strozzi.

Aged 18 and connected nan radar of immoderate of Europe's apical clubs, Hickey joined Bologna from Hearts for £1.5m successful 2020, making 48 appearances complete 2 seasons earlier being sold to Brentford for £17m.

Ferguson, 22 astatine nan time, followed from Aberdeen successful 2022 for £3m and has since captained nan Rossoblu to a first Coppa Italia triumph successful much than 50 years, led them into nan Champions League for nan first clip and been named nan champion midfielder successful Italy.

"Ferguson is an unthinkable player, captain," says Strozzi. "He was capable to springiness Bologna what was missing backmost past successful their midfield - a subordinate giving 100% for nan team, making important runs, scoring important goals but besides being capable to tally back, take sides and beryllium a beingness connected nan pitch.

"Of course, that was amplified pinch McTominay going to Napoli. What Ferguson did successful nan background, being almost chartless to nan mainstream fans present successful Italy, McTominay did successful nan highlights coming from Manchester United."

Doig believes nan inclination tin beryllium bully for nan nationalist team, pinch Scottish players not conscionable uncovering a pathway to Italy but each complete Europe. At nan past world camp, he says location were chats astir "completely different experiences each complete nan world".

"It is truthful absorbing for Scottish football," adds Doig. "There are boys everyplace now, it is bully for nan culture.

"When you are a young boy, nan point is to spell down to England, effort and get a move down south, but erstwhile I heard Verona were willing I thought 'this is unbelievable'.

"I was terrified, evidently I was truthful young, but it was nan champion point that could hap to me. Now successful Sassuolo, I americium perfectly loving it.

"It is nan aforesaid for each nan boys I person spoken to - I was pinch Billy successful nan summertime and he was conscionable saying he can't get capable of it."

When Steve Clarke named his past squad, arsenic good arsenic nan Italian boys, location was Jack Hendry astatine Al-Etiffaq successful Saudi Arabia, Max Johnston pinch Sturm Graz successful Austria and Scott McKenna astatine Las Palmas successful Spain.

Doig says younger players person besides asked him astir moving abroad.

"I conscionable said to them: 'Look, if you get nan chance, it doesn't person to beryllium Italy, it tin beryllium anywhere, conscionable get retired of nan UK - shot is simply a level wherever you tin enactment successful different countries, travelling but for work. It's unbelievable. It's conscionable getting retired of that comfortableness zone. It will thief you and it is life acquisition forever.'"