AGI – The Azzurri are only left with the match against Austria on Saturday to break down the historic record of clean sheet set 47 years ago. There are exactly 90 minutes left for Mancini’s team to break the current record, 1.143 minutes without conceding goals, dug into the rock by Dino Zoff between 1972 and 1974 and interrupted by the goal of Emmanuel Sanon of Haiti at the World Cup in Germany.
The national team has not conceded a goal for eleven games in a row to date a total of 1,055 minutes of inviolability: the last goal conceded, by Van De Beek, dates back to last October 14 during the clash with the Netherlands in the Nations League.
In general, the Azzurri defense during Mancini’s management proved to be absolutely waterproof, conceding just 14 goals in 35 games, with an average of 0.40 goals conceded. If the Italian unbeaten record is one step, the discourse on the personal best set by a goalkeeper is different.
Unlike the 70s, in fact, when Zoff was immovable and the turnover limited, the current inviolability is the result of a team game and must be distributed over 3 other goalkeepers who sometimes replaced the owner Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Along this cycle, the future PSG goalkeeper remained in goal for the majority of the time, 874 minutes, while the others only had scraps: Sirigu accumulated 91, the equivalent of a game, Cragno 63 and Meret just 27. L he last obstacle to update Zoff’s primacy, interrupted by the unlikely goal of Haiti striker Emanuel Sanon during the 1974 World Cup in Germany, is Austria in the round of 16.
An objective within reach if the Azzurri keep faith with the performances they have fielded so far at Euro2020: the National team has not yet suffered any goals in the three games of the group and Donnarumma has had to get his gloves dirty just a couple of times. The best demonstration that Mancini’s proactive football, made up of ball possession and lightning-fast verticalizations, is able to limit the opponent’s danger.
In line with the famous quote from Swedish coach Nils Liedholm, “If we have the ball, the others can’t score“. With a historical fact confirming Italy’s historic defensive strength: in the history of the European Championship, no one has conceded as few goals as us: in 41 games in the final stages of the continental competition we have conceded only 27 goals, with an average of 0.6. Only Spain and Wales (0.9) and Portugal (0.95) are the national teams capable of falling below the average of one goal per game.
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