The Euro2020 Italy National Football Team Brings All the Joy When We Need It

I needed something to believe in, to give me a little hope in dark times. The underdog had to rise to inspire my faith. After a year of pandemic and hardship, I needed a little joy, too. And Italy’s Euro 2020 soccer team has delivered in ways big and small.

After a nail biter semi-final match against Spain on July 6, Italy won 4 to 2 in a penalty kick shootout. They proved everyone wrong about them, even if the last win was not a pretty one. This feat sent Italy to the Euro 2020 final, a tournament Italy had only won once in 1968. That is, until now.

The team was crowned champions of Europe at Wembley Stadium on July 11, 2021. They beat the home team in front of mostly English fans. They were the best team of the tournament and deserved the win. They brought happiness and celebration to fans the world over. And it has been this way for a year now but especially in the Euro2020 tournament.

The Italian side seems to have been put together with the intention of showing the world that it should reserve judgment. No one thought Gli Azzurri, as the Italian team is called, could win this tournament.

Yes, they are on an unbelievable 34-game winning streak. But they came to the tournament after the Italian national team failed to advance to the 2018 World Cup finals for the first time since 1958. The people had lost faith.

This story of comeuppance begins with Coach Roberto Mancini. As a player, Mancini was successful with Sampdoria but was never really given a chance on the national team, nor did he win an international trophy with his club. This time around, he brought along his “goal twin” and former Sampdoria teammate Gianluca Vialli to serve as delegation chief. Mancini says Vialli is more than a teammate and friend. He says he’s a brother.

The two are the faces of my early years of Italian soccer fandom. I still recall getting buttons with their faces…

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