Italy, let’s keep the result (with a warning: vertical action is not a crime)

The newly created European Championship is already averaging 4 goals per game: Luciano Spalletti’s Italy contributed to it with the 2-1 win over Albania in Dortmund «Tyrant». From the omelette to the digestive, immediately, without intermediate courses. Twenty-three seconds and Nedim Bajrami’s goal blossomed from a shock throw-in by Federico Dimarco (great shot, though). The sleeping beauties in the woods. The coach, petrified by the «always on point», gives the alarm. The reaction is group, technical and character: not nervous, not anarchic. In the 11th minute, from a corner, Lorenzo Pellegrini passes the ball to Alessandro Bastoni, heads and connects. At 16′, volley by Nicolò Barella and overtaking.

Here: the ordeal becomes ours also because we occupy 9th place in the FIFA rankings, they are 66th. Total dominance: wide wingers (e.g Federico Chiesa passionate in dribbling), high and quick ball recovery, changes in front of the kiss and fluid roles; Giovanni Di Lorenzo now here now there, Pilgrims a little forward and a little backward. Davide Frattesi stamps a pole, Thomas Strakosha save on Gianluca Scamacca. Albania is very Italian and Italianist, in the sense that it has often defended defeat in a Brerian way at the limits of its own fort. Zero pressing, zero transitions.

The Azzurri’s possession would have justified more itch in front of goal on the part of Scamacca And Frattesi, the center forward and the raider, a flaw that, beyond the performers, has been with us for decades. Armando Broja, he, feeds on leftovers, Kristjan Asllani and co. they wander like tourists in the Louvre: too much to see, and too little time to do it well. In the second half, Chiesa’s limp and Barella’s decline, the liveliest up to that point, gradually extinguished our bonfires. The Abbot’s changes are conservative; Sylvinho’s, on the other hand, know a lot about make or break. And almost, at the end, Rey Manaj, having escaped Riccardo Calafiori’s melee, does not force us to pay the bill. Gigio Donnarumma makes up for it at the last minute, with his shoulder. One save, just one: but a crucial one.

Moral. It was the first, and firsts are historically treacherous. Memory runs back to the lightning goal that Bernard Lacombe, following a cross from Didier Six, inflicted on us after just a minute in the opening match of the 1978 World Cup, in Mar del Plata. It was Michel Platini’s France. Paolo Rossi and Renato Zaccarelli overturned it. It took a little more patience, true, but the comeback opened the way that, through fourth place in the Argentine edition, would lead us to the world title at the Bernabeu in 1982.

From Stretcher – fresh from recovery, by the way – and of Churchawarded as «MVP» from UEFA, I wrote. On Marco’s, nothing new: ball and chain, generally from eight; in coverage, sometimes by four. Well Calafiori except for one episode; at times incisive and at times indecisive, Sticks; ordered the direction of Jorginhofacilitated by neighbors who respected the restrictions with an exaggerated zeal to say the least.

Thursday 20 June, in Gelsenkirchen, down with Spain. Which is strong, for goodness sake, but not as described in Leipzig’s 3-0 defeat to Croatia. In the 2021 edition, still coached by Luis Enrique, it was still the team that made us suffer the most. More, even, than England in the final.

Returning to the baptism of the Westfalenstadion, let’s hold on to the result, as long as we don’t make a fetish of it. With a warning: certain practices must be closed, otherwise there is a risk that the lottery of episodes may rebel against the plot, the notebook, destiny. And another: if flat and horizontal tiki-taka is not a crime, even more so will long throw and vertical action never be.