What makes Yildiz so intriguing is the mix.
That profile is increasingly valuable. Modern football is built on pressing, spacing and control, but the biggest games are still often decided by players who can break a pattern with one touch, one turn or one unexpected pass. Reports suggest Del Piero also mentioned young talents such as Arda Guler, Nico Paz and Cherki, which underlines the same theme: elite football still has room for risk-takers.
The easy argument is that Italy has become too tactical, too cautious, too system-driven to produce genuine improvisers. That reading feels lazy. The issue is not the absence of talent; it is the pathway.
Italian football still develops technically sound players. The harder question is whether those players are given freedom early enough, and trusted long enough, to turn technique into invention. Too often, young attackers are asked to minimise mistakes before they are encouraged to decide games.
That is where Del Piero’s wider point lands.
If academies prize obedience over expression, the sport gets tidier but less dangerous. The best creative players usually grow through trial, error and responsibility.
As the road to the next World Cup takes shape, Yildiz will remain a fascinating test case. The next storyline is simple: whether clubs and national teams keep making room for footballers who can improvise, and whether Italy can turn that belief in creativity into a genuine production line again.