Christian Damiano: Top coach on what English football can learn from Europe

Sky Sports is your new home for both domestic and European football – but what are the major differences between the two?

For a unique take on how the football landscape differs in England and on the continent, we spoke to a man who has enjoyed several decades of top-level experience both here and in mainland Europe.

Christian Damiano has been assistant manager to Jean Tigana at Fulham, Gerard Houllier at Liverpool and Steve Wigley at Southampton – and more recently has worked alongside Claudio Ranieri at top Italian clubs Juventus, Roma and Inter Milan.

The Frenchman was also involved in the successful youth set-up of his home country in the 1990s, nurturing some of the biggest talents in France, including Thierry Henry and William Gallas, as well as working with former France managers, Aime Jacquet and Roger Lemerre.

Sky Sports caught up with Damiano to get his opinions on how England differs from our European neighbours on and off the pitch – and how we can look to improve the national game over here.

Atmosphere

CHRISTIAN DAMIANO: In England I think it is the best for everything around it and for the organisation. It is very safe inside the stadium and it is a great atmosphere, a family atmosphere. That is a fantastic success and a great example in the world. In Italy the atmosphere around is very dangerous because you have so many ultras and hooligans and they create big difficulties for the crowd. This is why sometimes the stadiums are not full and passions are more inside the house because people are afraid to go the stadium. That is a big nightmare for the organisation in Italy.

Passion

CHRISTIAN DAMIANO: On the pitch, I discovered great qualities in England. When I was in France, we don’t have the same passion. In England you have immediately great passion, great discipline, great fighters and respect. For a manager, 70% or 85% of the job is done. That is why you can consider it paradise for the managers to work in England. In Italy you have great passion like in England and you have great quality and expertise in the people that are working inside. They are at a high level in tactical situations and in the physical situation and the players have the same spirit as in England. They are great professionals with a great attitude and dedication.

Culture

CHRISTIAN DAMIANO: You have a culture about effort. In England, the player will give 100% - or 120% - and the respect is fantastic about this. At the end the result is important, but not VERY important like it is in Italy. In Italy the victory is fundamental, the victory is the culture. In England it is a culture of effort, in Italy it is only about the victory. When you are young or when you are professional they put a lot of pressure on you to win.

Technique

CHRISTIAN DAMIANO: In French football the culture is not about the victory or about the effort, it’s different. It’s about the capacity to have expression. French players can play more easily in England than in Italy because they have more space. In England the football is less tactical and there is more space to pass or perhaps to dribble. Thierry Henry worked for hours and hours and increased his technique, Nicolas Anelka was the same, William Gallas and Louis Saha and all the other players that I had did the