Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri says football has become more about money than tactics and that individual quality counts more now than it ever did before.
In an interview with Italy's La Repubblica newspaper, Allegri suggested that if you do not have the best players in the world, even the best coach will have his hands tied. He said his role in the modern game has transformed, which is one of the reasons Italian football has been left behind.
Allegri argued that Serie A football still bases itself on tactical astuteness and organisation, a dogma introduced by legendary AC Milan boss Arrigo Sacchi "in a time when it was much easier to be innovative," and that that approach is not suited to the modern game.
"You can't surprise anybody nowadays," he said. "For that reason, you need to have faith in quality."
Allegri said Italian clubs are slowly catching on but it will be difficult without the funds to invest in the pick of the talent.
"People want to make out that football is a science, but it's got nothing in the slightest to do with science," the former Cagliari and Milan coach said. "It's a spectacle, and for a spectacle you need artists. The biggest error that we are making is to try to suffocate creativity.
"If you take away the poetry then you would be better off just playing it on the computer. We could talk for hours on end about tactics and organisation, but you win games with the players. If you've got [Lionel] Messi, you're almost already 2-0 up. The same goes for Cristiano Ronaldo.
"If tactics were necessary to be successful then why did Real Madrid splash out 100 million euros on Gareth Bale if all he does is dribble, shoot and burst the back of the net?
"Football has changed, like basketball. Even that, one of the most tactical games around, has transformed into one where it's all about the best players."
The evolution has left Italy behind somewhat, with Serie A clubs struggling to compete on the continent since Inter Milan's 2010 Champions League triumph.
The financial crisis that has hit Italy hard has spilled over into the sport but, even so, Allegri can see a brighter future.
"In Italy, people tend to say that we're in a total mess, but the results this year are showing the opposite," he said. "We still focus too much on our opponents, though, and our games are monothematic, but I think we're getting back, and that means moving forwards, re-evaluating creativity and the role of the playmaker.
"With Sacchi, our game changed its methods, but now we need to find a compromise. Not too much anarchy, but not too much tactics either.
"[Abroad] they have more room and you only get that here when you have two teams on the same level facing each other, like Juve-Roma. Aside from the incidents, it was a great game, full of technical brilliance. In the other games, there's always one team who attacks and the other defends, and we're masters of defending."
Allegri's Juve are the only Italian side to make it through to the Champions League knockout phase this season but have hope of progress after being drawn against a Borussia Dortmund team currently struggling badly in the Bundesliga.
"It could have been worse, and that comes from somebody who has faced Barcelona a number of times," Allegri said. "Borussia are a side we can beat, even if it's difficult to decipher their true value and in particular what shape they will be in come February, but we can do great things in the Champions League."