2020 EURO CHAMPIONS
SERIE A TRIUMPH AFTER UPSETTING THE ODDS TO WIN EURO 2020, CIRO DI BRITA TAKES A LOOK AT HOW ITALY’S TRIUMPH WAS MADE IN THE PROVINCES AND ALL POINTS AROUND THE PENINSULA
R
oberto Mancini has broken the long-running trend of Italian national team coaches predominately choosing players from the three northern super clubs Milan, Inter and Juventus. When it came to selecting his Euro 2020 squad, Mancini cast his net wide and brought in players from 10 Serie A teams, as well as Champions League winners Chelsea and French giants Paris Saint-Germain. So, just how was the European Championship-winning side formed by the clubs outside the big three and the strength of Italian players plying their trade around Serie A? In 2012, Pescara were crowned Serie B champions. Coached by the legendary chain-smoking Czech Zdenek Zeman, they featured a trio of players instrumental in Italy’s Euro win - Lorenzo Insigne, Ciro Immobile and Marco Verratti - while playing an attacking 4-3-3 formation. Despite Verratti joining PSG before ever playing a single game in Serie A, and the other two returning to their parent clubs the following summer, the chemistry built up on and off the field during those days in Abruzzo has stood the test of time, and this friendship was clear to see during Euro 2020. Mancini’s Italy benefited from this camaraderie. The rapport built up in the weeks prior to the opening game was infectious, spreading even to the usually serious Juventus duo of Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci. The pair became jovial in their old age, even joining the rest of the squad in singing the comedic Neapolitan song ‘Ma Quale Dieta’, which suddenly became the team’s unofficial anthem. The idea of Il Gruppo that Mancini formed was key to Italy winning the Euros. Without a standout player like a Roberto Baggio, Francesco Totti or Andrea Pirlo, it was vital that they focused on unity, confidence, tactics and determination, rather than individual quality. Before the tournament, the ability of some players might have been ignored, seeing as there weren’t many household names among the squad. However, nobody could now say that Italy lack talent or quality.
44 2020 EURO CHAMPIONS ITALY
Italy are crowned champions of Europe after beating England on penalties in the final at Wembley
Maurizio Sarri’s philosophy has had an effect on the style of football now being played by Italy’s national team
‘THE RICHES ARE SPREAD OUT ACROSS SERIE A’
