They took their revenge on Wembley and extra time, 29 years later. It was May 20, 1992, there were just a few minutes to penalties, Koeman punished their Sampdoria and Barcelona took away the Champions Cup. He thought about that sad night Gianluca Vialli when, when the Church entered Austria, he abandoned the bench and threw himself into the arms of Roberto Mancini: come here my friend, this time it’s up to us (But still long, there are 3 missing, said the coach).
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And Mancini pampered this Italy, even if it was the ugliest in the European Championship. We took home the game because we deserved it – he says -, in the first half we could have scored a couple of goals, in the second we were also tired. The changes? Federico (Chiesa) and Pes (Pessina) were extraordinary. A match like this can only do us good, it was difficult, perhaps more difficult than the quarterfinals will be.
Trust has always been there, since the start of the Wembley match. After all, Italy’s path left no room for uncertainty: because we should get stuck right in front of an opponent worthy of respect but not irresistible, after we have gone through 30 games without defeat, a journey that the Azzurri had only completed over the years Thirty, when the coach was the myth Pozzo? And Mancini supported this optimism, cheered by the victories, by the unbeaten goal of the Azzurri goal, by the friendly atmosphere that has always animated the group. He also took the record, even if he didn’t enjoy it: at 90 ‘, when he reached 31 races as an unbeaten player, he had to think about something else. To extra time. And a little to Koeman, perhaps.
The difficulties encountered throughout the meeting intimidated Italy. Austria created problems for us, in the first half we struggled to find passages, we only hit with a Barella shot in the 17 ‘(countered by the Austrian goalkeeper Bachmann with his foot) and with a splendid conclusion of Immobile a quarter of an hour later (ended up against the pole, near the intersection). Chills for Mancini, who soon threw away his jacket, remaining in his shirt sleeves. Heat and tension – more tension than hot – skyrocket. And in the second half the emotions became of another kind: suffering, not hope.
Mancini was able to give life to an Italy that often builds a lot and almost never risks anything. A more or less perfect configuration, which however faltered in this complicated match with Austria. Fear, almost terror, was drawn on the head of the coach at 20 ‘of the second half, when Arnautovic put her behind Donnarumma: ten centimeters offside, via Var, saved us. So much so that in the end the unbeaten record that Zoff had built in another era, in another life, was broken: between 1972 and 1974, a path without goals conceded for 1143 minutes. The blue door this time remained untouched for a longer period of time, the record was beaten at 89 ‘; the series ended after 1168 minutes, with Kalajdzic’s header. Although the primacy does not belong only to Gigio because he has to share it with Sirigu, Cragno and Meret. But it counts for nothing, compared to the result. Compared to the rematch. Dear Wembley, this time we win in extra time. Signed: Roby and Luca.
June 27, 2021 (change June 27, 2021 | 00:51)
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