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Euro 2020: Beware the march of Mancini’s Italy

In their three Euro games so far, Italy have used 25 of their 26 players in the squad
Euro 2020: Beware the march of Mancini’s Italy
Euro 2020: Beware the march of Mancini’s Italy

ITDC INDIA EPRESS/ITDC NEWS R The numbers around Italian football at the moment are staggering. The national team has now gone 30 games unbeaten after beating Wales in their final group match of Euro 2020. They have gone 1,000-plus minutes without conceding a goal. The team is scoring 2.4 goals per game under head coach Roberto Mancini. (This is in keeping with the Italian league outscoring [1.53] the Premier League [1.35] and La Liga [1.25] on average goals per game in the 2020-21 season.) And, in their three Euro games so far, Italy have used 25 of their 26 players in the squad.

Now, the significance of these numbers.

The side has equalled the national team’s best unbeaten record, set under legendary manager Vittorio Pozzo between 1935-39. The difference between then and now is that Italy won the 1934 and 1938 World Cups with some of the best players in the world, while the current team was the first to not qualify for a World Cup in 60 years and cannot boast of a single player who would make it to a World XI.

Not making it to Russia 2018 was shocking, and the Italians took it personally, as the popular Michael Jordan meme goes. In May 2018, Mancini took charge of the national team, a move that surprised many, given that the manager had not accomplished anything of significance since the famous title victory with Manchester City in 2012. But Mancini was a different man.

For one, he is no longer the hot-headed, headline-grabbing man of his playing days and of his time as coach of Inter Milan and Manchester City, where he had public spats with his own players. He is a calm presence in the team now—he has attributed this change of heart to growing old—and is actively building relationships with his players. His move to give 25 players at least a few minutes in just three games not just reflects the depth of the squad, but also is a move to instil confidence in the collective.

The Italians are a passionate bunch—one only needs to watch them loudly belt out the national anthem ahead of their games. National pride runs deep and Mancini knows this too well. He understands the pain of not getting to play at a major tournament. In 1990, at the World Cup in his own country, Mancini did not get a single minute on the pitch. He would never play at a World Cup. Which is probably why he substituted even goalkeeper Gigi Donnarumma in the last few minutes against Wales to give veteran Salvatore Sirigu a few precious minutes on the pitch.

Besides looking dapper and displaying decent ball control on the touchline, Mancini is no longer the ‘defence-first’ manager. He has ditched Catenaccio, the famous Italian method of putting bodies behind the ball to protect their goal at all costs. The defensive style of play is synonymous with Italy and has for decades run deep in its football leagues. But the fact that Italian clubs are outscoring their English and Spanish counterparts tells us that there seems to be a systemic change to adapt to the demands of modern-day football. (Take note, Jose Mourinho.)

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