Well, you’ve heard it by now: Italy is the Euro 2020 champion! Last Sunday, my country won the soccer European championship for the first time in 53 years, beating England at penalties at Wembley Stadium. It was a huge deal for Italians in Italy and around the world: if you’ve been on social media in the past few days, I’m sure you have encountered at least one video portraying crowds of Italians cheering and celebrating the victory. There are testimonies of Italian piazzas filled to the brim – 50,000 in Piazza Duomo in my hometown of Milan! – and huge gatherings of Italians throughout the world: just look at Boston, Toronto and the Bronx!

Being a big soccer fan and a big supporter of all things Italy, I am no stranger to this kind of madness; however, I realize that from the outside looking in, one might wonder what’s so special about winning a European soccer competition. Therefore, I tried to gather to the best of my abilities the main reasons why this title means so much to my people. I think that by the time you reach the end of this post, you’ll be an Azzurri fan, too!

Back in 2017, Italy failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup for the first time in 60 years. It all got down to one game against Sweden, which we ended up losing. The days following that event were basically days of national mourning. Soccer already means so much to Italians during the year, when we support our favorite clubs, but it becomes even more meaningful when we all cheer together for our national team. Not being able to see the Azzurri play in Russia was excruciating. Then, as we were getting ready for the European Cup, COVID happened. So altogether, we spent five long years without seeing our national team in a major tournament. Therefore, as you can imagine, we were SO ready to support them in Euro 2020. The Euro Cup kicked off in Rome, too, which was just the icing on the cake.

Italians make soccer a priority. I can’t speak for the entire country, of course, but overall, pretty much all of Italy will at least watch the national team play, and most Italians have a club team that they support. When it comes to calcio, few things come before it. Italians arrange their free time around the matches schedule, they take trips to follow their team when they’re playing away games, they tune into the match as they’re traveling or working. My Ogden High School classmates might remember the time I got picked up by my parents because Milan was playing Barcelona in Champions League and I just had to be home and watch. It’s almost like a religion. There are rituals, there is “faith”: when someone asks you what team you support, they’ll ask about your “fede calcistica“, which literally translates into “soccer faith”. Taking all of that into consideration, it’s no wonder that winning a big title such as the Euro Cup meant so much to us.

I’m sure you remember the beginning of COVID, how scary and alienating that felt, how clueless we felt, how that fear of the unknown kept us awake at night as the cases spiked and the death toll kept rising. Italy was the first European country to be hit, and it was hit badly. Our hospital system was overwhelmed, there was still very little information on prevention and transmission of the virus, our lockdown was one of the strictest in the world. Then, as the cases finally went down, all of a sudden came a second wave, and then a third one. It’s been a really hard year and a half for Italy, but we’re finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. The first game of Euro 2020 was at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, and it was the first time since before covid that we had fans in the stadium. That truly meant a lot to the whole country, and it gave us a sense of hope and normalcy.

I felt it since the beginning of the tournament: this team had something special. Something I had only felt in 2006, the year Italy won the World Cup. This team, made up by old veterans as well promising youngsters, shares a bond of friendship that anyone can see when they play. This group plays well, and they have fun while doing it. They laugh, they prank each other, they sing and cheer, and most importantly, they all support one another. Even the idea of a “starting 11” is obsolete with this team: with the exception of Meret, our third goalie, every single Italy player has played in the tournament for at least a few minutes. This kind of team spirit is exactly what we love to see, and what we’re now celebrating.

Who’s to thank for this group and their friendship? But of course, Mister Mancini. The Italy coach has been able to take a broken team, one that failed to even qualify for the World Cup, and take it to the top of Europe again. He has done so with humility, passion, grace, courage, elegance and of course, talent. Mancini changed the approach to the game, bringing in his style, made of taking more risks and “wanting” the ball more. He selected the right people for the job, picking players from bigger teams and smaller ones. He built a team that’s now unbeaten in 34 matches out of thin air. Last but not least, he played the best soccer in the tournament. Mancini believed in his project from the very beginning. He came, he saw, he conquered.

While Italy is familiar with Gianluca Vialli, I realize not everyone will know the story behind that (bald) figure. Gianluca Vialli is the delegation chief of the Italian National team. He is a former soccer player who played along Mancini for many years, and he’s been a commentator on Italian TV for a long time after that. Basically, he’s very well known and loved by Italians. However, in the last couple of years, we had seen less and less of him as he was fighting a battle with pancreatic cancer. He’s since been given the all-clear, and has taken on this opportunity with the national team. After all he’s been through, seeing him celebrate Italy’s victory was something all Italians had hoped for and were ecstatic to see.

The relationship between Vialli and Mancini deserved its own paragraph. These two have been friends for decades. They are former teammates as they played together for both Sampdoria and the Italian national team. After all these years, it was so great seeing them working together again. But most importantly, Vialli and Mancini had some unfinished business at Wembley: that is the stadium where they lost the Champions League final with Sampdoria in 1992. Therefore, finally seeing them win at Wembley, shed some tears of joy and melt into a long hug was incredibly special for Italians.

Leonardo Spinazzola made us rejoice and cry in this tournament. He played an outstanding Euro Cup, called out by many as one of the best players in the whole tournament. However, he unfortunately got injured during the game against Belgium. All fans and teammates were hoping his injury wouldn’t be too serious, but he sadly tore his Achille’s tendon, which will result in him being out for at least six months (meaning he won’t be starting in Serie A next month, and won’t be playing until at least the second half of the season). These circumstances would have brought anybody down, but not Spina. Instead, he continued to cheer on his teammates, visiting them during lunch at the training center, supporting them from afar, and finally showing up to the final at Wembley, on his crutches, just in time to pick up his gold medal and lift the cup! Spinazzola’s resilience has been a symbol of this team and of this victory, and he’s one of the reasons why this title is so special.

Let’s be real: Italy was not among the favorites to win this tournament. At least, not before we started playing. It’s true, we won all ten qualifying games, which put us on the map. However, no one in their right mind would have expected Italy to reign over France, Germany, Spain, England, Portugal, the Netherlands or Belgium. Italy had not performed well in any international tournament since the World Cup in 2006, with the exception of reaching the Euro final in 2012 – only to be defeated 4-0 by Spain. We were not among the favorites, and several “soccer experts” spoke out against us, saying we wouldn’t go far, or that we were only winning games because we had an easy group stage. Just look where we are now!

Pretty long title for this paragraph, but I hope you’ll forgive me. England has not been very kind to us (or anyone) recently. Before the game, our national anthem was booed and our flag was stepped and spat on. During the game at Wembley, there were 60,000 England fans and only about 6,000 Italy supporters, something that could’ve intimidated our players, but ended up motivating them instead. After the game, the English players took off their silver medals immediately, showing absolutely no class. On top of that, almost all England supporters left the stadium before the award ceremony, forgetting the meaning of sportsmanship and fair play. England’s arrogance was also very prominent in the days before the final, as fans let out never-ending “It’s Coming Home” chants. There was a “Coming Home” countdown on TV, and one supporter went as far as getting a tattoo depicting a victorious England in Euro 2020. Now, as Italians, we can’t quite understand that mentality. We are incredibly superstitious. Therefore, as a country, we don’t jump the gun – or “we don’t say cat until we’ve put it in the sack” as our former national team coach Trapattoni used to say. Winning against cocky England, in their home stadium, after being underestimated all this time was definitely special. It’s Coming To Rome!

Italy is the first country to have won the Eurovision and the European Cup in the same year! It’s been a wonderful year for Italy so far. Like a dream you don’t want to wake up from. Måneskin brought home a title that we had been trying to win for several years, and they’re now off to a successful international career. Now, the national team has done the same and put Italy on the map yet again! We are breaking records and we couldn’t be more excited!

There’s a really sad note in this list, and it’s for Davide Astori. Astori was the captain of Fiorentina and a player of the Italian national team. He was a friend of several of our current Italy players. Astori unfortunately passed away in his sleep in 2018, at the age of 31, following a cardiac arrest. His death caused shock across the entire Italian soccer world. As an ultimate tribute, our captain Giorgio Chiellini dedicated this Euro 2020 victory to him, reminding everyone that he is always present in the thoughts and hearts of those who had met him and seen him play.

To end on a happier note, this day, July 11 will always be a special date not only because of the Euro title, but also because of another historic event. Italian tennis player Matteo Berrettini was able to reach the Men’s Final at Wimbledon: no Italian had ever done that in the history of Italian tennis! Sadly, Berrettini did not win against the best in the world, Novak Djokovic, but he truly showed the world how talented he is. A star is born, and we’ll all be following his career with great interest! After playing in the final, Berrettini attended the “other” final at Wembley, and was able to see our national team win. The following day, he met with the Azzurri and Italian President Sergio Mattarella for a presidential ceremony, then hopped on the Azzurri bus and proceeded to tour Rome with them, greeting the crowds of people in the streets. It’s so great to see the beautiful relationship between our national team and Berrettini! Seeing our athletes succeed together is the best we could ever ask for.

Overall, there are so many other reasons why this title is special. So many memes, so many moments that united us like never before. These are the ones I was able to put into words, feel free to share your reasons or favorite moments in the comments. Thank you for following with me, now bring on the Olympics!