ZACCAGNI AND DONNARUMMA: THE SAVIORS OF ITALY
“LA ZACCAGNATA”. It will go down in history as “the Zaccagni miracle.” That is, the miracle goal by Lazio’s Mattia Zaccagni, assisted by Calafiori, practically beyond the brink of elimination. It was the 98th minute of Croatia-Italy, in the last action of the match, when we were essentially already knocked out because of Modric. Extraordinary, devilish old man. First, he had a penalty saved by Donnarumma – our savior in this European Championship – and then immediately scored what seemed like our death knell.
If it were a film, it would be Ghost – a classic, you know the scene where she molds the vase and he, a ghost, holds her hands? – or one of those near-death experiences where the protagonist heads toward his fate and then someone calls him back. Something like Ghost or Heaven Can Wait. But rather than heaven, it was more like hell… We could have only progressed through the ranking of the best third-placed teams.
Luciano Spalletti, coach of Italy: “Our qualification to the round of 16 against Switzerland is deserved. You were the ones who said this was the group of death.”
ZACCAGNI? FROM “THE ASS OF SACCHI” TO “THE ASS OF SPALLETTI” (ITALIAN SLANG…)
Much like what happened after the first round of the 1994 World Cup in the USA. That’s when the legendary “Sacchi’s luck” (in italian, il Culo di Sacchi, The Ass of Sacchi) was born (see Gene Gnocchi), a biblical quotation from the sports press that perhaps now we should update to “Spalletti’s luck.” (in italian, il Culo di Spalletti, The Ass of Spalletti). But imagine trying to tell that to the touchy Spalletti now. Quite a problem…
A match like this doesn’t make you dwell too much on the how and why, out of national pride and a bit of sentimentality allowed only in such cases. So you don’t put it on trial. In certain situations, you take the result as it comes, with its miraculous and lucky components. Then, of course, if you want, you can wrap it up however you like, such as the story of playing until the end (naturally…). But when you participate in such international parades, from It’s a Knockout to the World Cup, which test our national identity, you realize that you’re in a blender where you take things as they come and control very little rationally. Especially if you don’t have any Messis in the team.
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THE ITALIAN VERSION
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ZACCAGNI SAVES A TEAM THAT CAN’T GET ANYTHING RIGHT
We can quickly say that we continue to play terribly, to fail in finding a single good lineup, to rely on players like Jorginho or Di Lorenzo, who are conspicuously out of form but heavily protected by the coach, to change tactics or not change them when needed, to shoot too little and poorly, and to let matches slip through our fingers.
I see an Italy that can barely stand. However, we also have a patron saint like Donnarumma and a direct line to the paranormal world, so in the end, we get lucky after playing well for 20 minutes against Albania, and practically nothing else. I mean, if we had done everything perfectly, we might be out now. And we would be here wondering whether to choose between technical perfection and having luck.
ZACCAGNI, HOT-HEADED SPALLETTI, AND THE DICE GAME WITH SWITZERLAND
Certainly, seen from the perspective of those who lead this team and are responsible for it, the story is very different. I would say almost the opposite. “The qualification is deserved based on what was seen on the field. You told me this was the group of death!” said the coach very angrily.
On the positive side, I see that Spalletti is back to his usual insufferable, irritable, hot-headed self that we all know, and you certainly can’t tell him that Italy progresses by miracle or divine illumination. This is his normal state and usually, this is when he performs best (hopefully).
Now let’s go face Switzerland in Berlin; it seems more like a roll of the dice than a football match to me. But it works this way too, so we have to accept it. Oh, maybe we’ll get lucky…
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LEGGI ANCHE
TUTTO IL CALCIO DI GERMANIA 2024
CARO DIARIO AZZURRO, L’ITALIA GIORNO PER GIORNO
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