ITALY’S ENCHANTED SUMMER OF 2021

After the agonizing time from a rampaging pandemic in 2020, Italy could not have looked forward more to a pleasant, if not a fabulous, summer this year. Yet, it is a safe bet to assert that, except for a few soothsayers perhaps, no one in Italy thought they would live through a heady, fairytale summer of sports this year! Of course, Italy did not escape the highly capricious weather again this year: it had to suffer the horrors of wildfires as well as floods, the everrepeating consequences of climate change affecting all continents across the globe. In the midst of it all, however, Italy managed to enjoy the heroic feats of its superb athletes and footballers during what turned out to be a summer of pure sporting magic. The pandemic had torn apart the sporting calendar of 2020, with various parts of the world in lockdown and the economies barely ticking over. It should have been a busy year of sports with the UEFA Euro 2020 Football tournament (and its equivalents in Africa and the Americas) and the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 scheduled to take place. It was undoubtedly an untold disappointment for all those sportspeople and athletes when the famous tournaments and sporting events were called off or postponed, one after another, as the pandemic started and spread. The three big football tournaments and the Olympics were only the top casualties. 2020 was a year that taxed everybody, above all, the medical personnel and workers in the essential services. They had to brave the threat of the virus to ensure our safety and the smooth functioning of the respective economies. But it was a year of fear, frustration and disruption for almost everyone on earth, with travel and activities curtailed to the bare minimum. Indeed, professional and top-level sportspeople everywhere had to undergo severe deprivations due to the lockdown. Inevitably they had to face a veritable battle to keep physically fit and find ways to practice and perform the necessary skills and drills. At the beginning of this year, it was a nervous wait for sportspeople and fans everywhere as a new wave of the virus ravaged across Europe and, indeed, elsewhere. In hindsight, some of us are grateful and others at least ready to acknowledge that the UEFA, IOC and the organizers of the EURO 2020 and the Tokyo Olympics 2020 were right when they persisted in staging the two events, regardless of the many detractors and the pervasive threat of the pandemic. Somehow, their tenacity and stubbornness paid dividends, and television audiences all over the world were also the recipients of those dividends! The UEFA had decided on a unique format to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the European football championships. Instead of

one country hosting the tournament, it was spread across eleven stadiums in eleven countries. Italy was given the honour of opening the tournament on 11th June in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Some people see the tournament as a festival of football. The organizers in Rome did justice to the concept with an eye-catching opening ceremony that also had to consider the grave situation facing the world at large. The Italian team, the Azzurri, followed the organizers’ lead to provide a festive display in the opening game of the championships with a spectacular 3:0 victory against a somewhat stunned Turkey. The troubles surrounding the Italian football team in the recent past was a constant theme in the international media. Consequently, Italy was not considered a favourite to win the tournament. However, the slick performances in the early matches of the Italian team, skillfully managed by a creative Manager, unleashed a growing belief in the Italian public that the Azzurri were out there to win and not just play! The convincing displays in overpowering better-fancied opponents in the tournament’s knockout stages brought the Azzurri to the attention of the international media. However, it was not just the team that caught the eye and the fancy of football fans, experts and media people. The elegantly dressed and urbane Manager, Roberto Mancini, had rapidly become the man to follow and observe. The skills and tactical play of the Italian team astounded the opponents; their attacking tendencies took most of them by surprise. In the end, their mode of attack and defensive capabilities, coupled with self-belief and tremendous resilience, made them the allconquering team in the tournament. In the most total sense, it was a complete team: it had no prima donnas or stars from the big-name clubs to monopolize the play and curtail the team efforts. Everything considered the character and conduct of the team were down to no other than the charismatic Roberto Mancini! The European Cup was the one trophy that had eluded Italy for 43 years. The chance to win it at a time of great uncertainty and even danger was a challenge that the Azzurri was more than ready to take. And how they did it! The world was stunned; Italy went into delirium. The Azzurri went on to beat the England team at the legendary Wembley Stadium on 11th July 2021. Indeed, the Italian fans chanted quite rightly, in a parody of the original chant of the England fans: “Football has come to Rome!” From 23rd July 2021 – 8th August 2021, Japan treated the world to a meticulously organized “Olympic Games Tokyo 2020” amidst a further ravaging wave of the pandemic. With the explicit persuasion or even goading of the International Olympic Committee, the Japanese government decided to go ahead with the staging of the already delayed “Games of the XXXII Olympiad”. It was despite the opposition of a large segment of the population and the scepticism of a section of the scientific community, From the magnificent opening ceremony to the wonderfully crafted closing event, the Japanese organizers delivered a fabulous festival of sports, with the help, of course, of amazing athletes from all over the world. It was the first time that an Olympiad was held without the general public in attendance. The severe Covid-restrictions meant that no spectators were allowed into the venues, save for the officials and participating athletes and teams. Against this sombre backdrop, the Games took on a life of its own as the athletes put on the show of their lives. The world followed the events in vast numbers, on televisions or the internet, with ever-increasing interest. As always, the years of hard work paid off for some of the athletes, but for others, dreams turned into simply nightmares! The Tokyo Games 2020 will remain a talking point for Italians, young and old, for years and decades to come. Among the many heroes for Italy, one man stood out not only to surprise his folk but literally to shock the world. With a brazen dash ahead of a crop of highly ranked sprinters, Lamont Marcell Jacobs won the men’s 100m Final on 1st August 2021! It was the first time in 40 years that a sprinter from Europe became the men’s 100m Olympic champion. Italy could not have wished for more. Indeed it could: with the help of Jacobs again, the Azzurri team stole a stunning victory in the men’s 4x100m relay, beating the UK team literally at the tape. The two stunning track victories set a mark of inspiration for all the other Italian athletes competing in the games. Indeed, in a summer filled with magic, the Italian Olympic heroes went on to send a whole nation into rapture with their exploits in Tokyo. They won 40 medals, including 10 Gold – the highest medals tally for Italy in any Olympiad to date! “Our greatest Olympics ever,” said Giovanni Malago, head of Italy’s National Olympic Committee (CONI), to Reuters. “Italy keeps on dreaming ... we’re the fastest in the world,” read the headline of “Corriere della Sera”. The fairy tale started on 22nd May, when the Italian group Måneskin won the 65th Eurovision Song Contest. A magnificent performance, singing “Zitti E Buoni” before a live audience in the arena in Rotterdam, made them the public’s favourite. It is the third time Italy has won the singing contest. However, in the precarious situation the whole world is in, winning the competition meant a great deal more. Even to a nation like Italy with such a unique and historical tradition in music. So then, after such a wonderful summer, Italy should undoubtedly keep on dreaming for better times and even greater exploits from her heroes. The FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar is not really that far off, after all!