BERLIN — In the gallery of the defeats of the National, now as numerous as the successes, this Berlin defeat is perhaps the most frustrating, because the horizon seems gray. Humiliated by Swiss, the outgoing European champions apologize to the Italians before going on holiday, just as the real tournament begins. But the mea culpa does not close the issue: it comes at the end of two missed World Cups, it destroys the rhetoric ofEuropean saving and complete, the defeat having taken place at theOlympic Stadium theater of the 2006 final, the combustion of its myths, inaugurated in 2017 against Spain at the Bernabeu, the stadium of the triumph of ’82.
«the match report»
Spalletti’s men
Switzerland, which can now take advantage of an affordable draw, had not beaten Italy in the final phase of a major tournament for seventy years, since June 1954. Shoulder pads took responsibility for the event, which however must be placed in its historical and technical dimension: the coach attempted in vain to revive, with tactical measures and formation revolutions, a team defined as “normal” by the FIGC president himself Gravina. Compared to the qualification achieved with Croatia thanks to the stroke of genius of Zaccagni kept here on the bench, he changed six players and the system, arriving at 4-3-3 and inserting Mancini for the suspended Calafiori, Cristante, El Shaarawy and the rehabilitated Scamacca and Church. Above all, he launched Fagioli as director in place of Jorginho: a watershed choice, that of focusing on the boy who atoned for the guilt of the betting case.
Switzerland-Italy report cards: Vargas drives Di Lorenzo crazy, Scamacca lazy. Spalletti in confusion
by our correspondents Matteo Pinci and Franco Vanni
June 29, 2024
Italy, what went wrong
Swiss coach Yakin has placed Rieder as bodyguard for the new director. He grabbed the stick with an elegant veronica on Rieder and with a pocket for Cristante. However, no one dictated the launch and Scamacca, the hypothetical person in charge of the stings, remained half hidden, dominated by the clever Akanji. The other laborious trigger maneuvers included digressions from the right by Chiesa and from the left by El Shaarawy, who was immediately hit hard and called to further work as a full-back, in support of a Darmian in difficulty. It fell to Barella, who was also crippled in midfield, to take charge. At half-time, Chiesa’s slalom to the left gave the illusion of the successful application of Spalletti’s theory: fluid football without fixed roles. But the low shot went off on Akanji’s sole. Italy’s attack ended there.
Spalletti: “The responsibility is mine, I will speak with Gravina, but the result is not scandalous. We don’t have many strong players.”
by our correspondent Franco Vanni
June 29, 2024
Switzerland superior to Italy
Switzerland easily put the many recovered balls back into circulation through simple advances on static opponents: Xhaka and Freuler managed them due to Vargas’ zig-zags and Embolo’s stabs. The news is clear: the hypnosis practiced by Donnarumma on Embolo, unmarked by Aebischer with a right-footed shot defused by the captain, was not repeated at the end of the half. Given the summary escalation of the scoring, with Bastoni out of the zone, Freuler slipped into the area supported by Vargas, raised the ball on the run and threw it into the goal on the fly: Cristante missed, Fagioli late. The Italian defense showed an ahistorical fragility: Mancini attempted a pro forma closure. It was the result of pure technical logic, as Rieder’s lifted free kick, which only yet another prodigy from Donnarumma corrected to the post, and above all Vargas’ 2-0 made it clear before and after the break. The artistic right-footed turn, following the cue of the inevitable Aebischer, made the rest pleonastic: the Zaccagni-El Shaarawy relay, launched at the break, the subsequent insertions of Retegui next to Scamacca for an old-fashioned 4-4-2, then those of Cambiaso, Pellegrini and finally Frattesi for Fagioli.
Italy, you haven’t even given us the illusion of existing. And the ghost of Ventura laughs
by Maurizio Crosetti
June 29, 2024
Italy, two poles hit
Schär’s header hit the post and Scamacca’s header hit the post, on a pass from Zaccagni, could have reopened the game in theory. But it wasn’t the day for theories. The Swiss crowd, in large part – another defeat – celebrated with chants and jeers: Bologna’s idols Freuler, Aebischer and Ndoye wiped out the Italians, with the usual exception of Donnarumma. Ruben Vargas, a playmaker in Germany with Augusta but who blossomed in Ticino, deserved the trophy for the best. If there is a way to lose, this was the worst.
Politano takes revenge for his exclusion from the European Championship and opens his arms on social media
June 29, 2024
The scoreboard of Switzerland-Italy
Switzerland 2 (37′ pt Freuler, 1′ st Vargas)
Italia 0
Switzerland (3-4-2-1): Sommer — Schar, Akanji, Rodriguez — Aebischer, Freuler, Xhaka, Ndoye (32′ st Sierro) — Rieder (27′ st Stergiou), Vargas (27′ st Zuber) — Embolo (32′ st Duah). Ct. Sure.
Italia (4-3-3): Donnarumma — Di Lorenzo, Mancini, Bastoni, Darmian — Cristante (30′ st Cambiaso), Fagioli (41′ st Frattesi), Barella (19′ st Retegui) — Chiesa, Scamacca, El Shaarawy (1′ st Zaccagni). Coach Spalletti.
Referee: Marciniak (Pol).
Note: Barella, El Shaarawy and Mancini booked.
