Analysis Of Italy's Euro 2020 Campaign

 Before Euro 2020 started, I left it to the players to prove themselves on the pitch. The reasons of it you can read it here, https://rasfootballworld.blogspot.com/2021/06/time-for-italy-to-prove-themselves.html. The team has proven themselves and how.

The Complete Team

Italy showed itself to be a complete team. They dominated and swept aside Turkey and Switzerland in the first two games. They managed the game well in the third game against Wales with qualification secured, against Austria in the 2^nd Round, they faced a stern and awkward test by a team that played direct and physically pressed hard. We found an answer to that through the quality we had on the bench. In the quarter-final, we played against the best-ranked team in the world, Belgium and we dominated them for most parts of it. To close out the game, we relied on our traditional defensive organisation, solidity and resilience. We were closed out and unable to play our usual game by the Spanish in the semi-final and found an answer to that with a Plan B, going back to the basics of being hard to break down and hitting on the counter. We rode our luck to win it in a penalty shootout. In the final, we faced the hosts, England roared on by a partisan crowd, we were down by a goal in the opening two minutes but we held our nerves and composed ourselves to play our way back into the game. We dominated our opponents but once again needed to win it in a penalty shootout. The team showed good quality, character, resilience, stamina and mental strength throughout the tournament. We found ourselves in a tough bracket too in the knockout stage, having to beat Belgium, Spain and England on the way to winning the European Championships, our first since 1968.

Importance Of The Group Unit

Since Italy has lost individual star players, the importance of a united group has grown. Italy needed to rely on the sum of parts rather than the quality of individuals that can win games on their own. That tight unit was best exemplified during the singing of the national anthem, an act almost as iconic, famous and popular as New Zealand’s rugby players performing the Haka pre-kickoff. This trend can be traced back to as early as 2016 in Antonio Conte’s reign at Euro 2016. I don’t remember Italy teams before that signing the national anthem let alone singing it passionately. Italy’s achievements at Euro 2016 were seen as punching above the weight as they beat Belgium in the group stage, qualified top of the group and beat Spain in the 2^nd Round before being knocked out by then World Champions, Germany in the quarter-final. The players that were survivors of that squad were current captain Giorgio Chiellini, Alessandro Florenzi, Ciro Immobile, Salvatore Sirigu, Leonardo Bonucci, Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernadeschi. This Italian team had a natural quality that the team in 2016 lacked. In the backroom staff, Mancini had gathered trusted accomplices from his playing days at Sampdoria and Italy, Gianluca Vialli, Alberico Evani and Attilio Lombardo and added to that group was former World Cup winner, the experienced, Gabriele Oriali. That meant a tight-knit group coaching, mentoring, managing and guiding the squad.

Standout Individual Players

While we talked about the importance of the group and unit previously, there were standout individuals too. Gianluigi Donnarumma was hardly tested in the group stage but cometh the hour, cometh the man. He was colossal in the knockout stages especially in the two penalty shootout wins and won the Player of the Tournament. In front of him, he had the experience of Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini and the pair displayed the passion towards defending that belonged to a different era. Their experience and maturity gave Italy a solid foundation to build from. Chiellini was clearly enjoying himself as seen from his interactions with his opponents and the smile he had on his face which didn’t hold him back from hauling someone back if he needed to. Leonardo Spinazzola at left-back was one of the best players in the tournament with his swashbuckling forays forward and adept defending until injury, unfortunately, curtailed his involvement. The Italian midfield was as predicted the unit with the greatest quality. Jorginho at the centre of it was the team’s heartbeat as he kept possession ticking. Around him, he had players that were equally comfortable with the ball at their feet as they are chasing, harassing and tackling their opponents, Nicolo Barella, Marco Verratti, Manuel Locatelli, Matteo Pessina and Bryan Cristante. On the flanks, Domenico Berardi started the tournament well but was soon replaced by Federico Chiesa who offered a different threat with his direct running, speed and shots. On the opposite flank, Lorenzo Insigne was an ever-present and he could either stick to the left-wing or drift inwards. His combination with Spinazzola was potent and he suffered when the latter got injured.

I felt Giovanni Di Lorenzo did a good job replacing Alessandro Florenzi from the second half of the first match, maybe he could have done more going forward as he does for his club side, Napoli. Ciro Immobile and Andrea Belotti were pointed out as weak links in the team. One cannot doubt the work they have put in for the cause as they ran the channels and chased down their opponents. However, there is an obvious lack of quality. In the case of Immobile, he is still unable to replicate his club form at Lazio for the national team.

Team Still Has Room For Improvement

The positive for this team is that it can still improve and get better. Unlike the team that won the World Cup in 2006 where it felt the end of the line for many of the players, this team has age on its side with 18 players in their 20s and 4 in their early 30s. There are several others that missed out on selection in that same category. These players need to continue their development and grasp opportunities to play for teams that are accustomed to playing in European football and challenging for titles as a first-team regular.  We will also be hoping for the emergence of more players during the upcoming seasons. With the World Cup 18 months away, if Italy can secure qualification, there is a bright future ahead of Italy. The centre-back pairing is the oldest in the team and I feel Roberto Mancini should be looking to blood players like Alessandro Bastoni, Gianluca Mancini and Alessio Romagnoli or someone else to ensure a smooth transition from the veterans. There is also an obvious availability at centre forward so someone like Moise Kean, Giacomo Raspadori or someone else could capitalise if they do well enough at club level.

Flaws

There are a couple of areas where I feel this team can improve further. One is the intensity in their play and the other is the creativity and flair to unlock tight defences as we experienced in the final. The third area would be the lack of a world-class centre forward. If Italy had Harry Kane in their team, they would have won the match in regulation time without the need for a penalty shootout.

Sweet for Mancini, Collaborators and Me

Roberto Mancini deserved praise for having the belief that this team could go all the way and win the tournament. For Mancini, Vialli and Lombardo it was sweet to win the Cup at Wembley after losing the European Cup there to Barcelona 29 years ago in 1992. After watching Italy coming so close to beating France at Euro 2000 and then getting humiliated by Spain at Euro 2012, it was sweet to finally experience the euphoria of seeing Italy as European Champions. I hope we can build on this for more success in the near future.