Disaster Italy: Spalletti’s team is rightly eliminated from Euro 2024 in the round of 16, after four performances, one worse than the otherconceding 2 goals from a Switzerland that dominated the field for ninety minutes. An elimination that stings, an epic embarrassment, which will remain in the history of our national team, which in recent years had already given us “magical nights” such as the defeat against North Macedonia that cost the Azzurri qualification for the World Cup. But a collapse like the one seen in these European Championships is really hard to remember.
This is the context in which, Saturday 29th Juneafter the very hot TG1 news, a new episode of European Nightsthe last one dedicated to the commentary of a match of the Azzurri. And the climate in the studio is the same as that which reigns in all the homes, bars, meeting points of the whole country, between anger and disbelief.
To summarize the mood that reigns supreme in the studio after Italy-Switzerland is the first sentence of the evening Paola Ferrari who explains: “I was speechless for many minutes because it seemed to me that I saw a horror film and there wasn’t Dario Argento directing, there was Luciano Spalletti“. The presenter, like the majority of fans, is truly enraged and immediately throws a stone: “Many Italians are protesting on social media and would already like a change on the Italy bench. It’s true, Spalletti has had very little time, but faced with this disaster, perhaps a change of direction is needed soon”.
In short, the question is: faced with this rubble, where do we start again?
The Italian coach certainly didn’t make a good impression as the national team coach, but not even on the sidelines at the end of the match when he said to Rai microphones: “We lacked rhythm and freshness. We are not capable of doing more than this”. The second part is an unconditional surrender, the first is the search for an excuse that doesn’t hold up at all, as Tony Damascelli sarcastically points out: “As for the freshness I don’t know what air conditioning the Swiss had…”. And it must be acknowledged that the only one to use the correct terms to describe the national team’s disastrous three matches at European Nights, while many people sweetened the situation, was the journalist in charge of the report cards who later on is lapidary, arguing that in Italian football: “Everything needs to be changed completely.”
The only human being who shows up with a smile at 36 teeth in this evening which is a long and choral “de profundis” is the Swiss ambassador to Italy, connected from his residence in Rome, who rightly laughs. Marco Mazzocchi welcomes her with all the sincerity that epochal moments deserve: “She smiles and she’s right. I actually invited her thinking I had to say words of comfort to her after the match, but instead the opposite happened.”
On this evening marked by the most bitter disappointment, recriminations and the awareness that wearing the blue jersey is not enough to be a champion, to smile you have to get to the end of the episode, when Marco Mazzocchi announces the usual connection “colored” with a “sad and lonely Umberto Martini in the Berlin subway“. The envoy is on the platform of the station next to the stadium where the carriages that lead to the centre pass, ready, for the last time, to intercept some Italian fans to test the state of mind of those who followed the Italian debacle from the stands. While he is connected to the studio, the subway passes and Martini, approaching the carriage explains: “I saw an Italian fan inside, I’ll get on so in the meantime I’ll also take the subway, because I’ve been here for a long time now and the inspectors are also becoming suspicious” … The premises are excellent. Not even the time to get on the carriage and the correspondent notices that the fan with the Italy shirt was getting off, while he was getting on. Not giving up, he explains, amid laughter from the studio … “The Italian fan who was on got off, so we’re getting off too” Finally he reaches him on the platform and can ask him the question he has prepared: “How did you experience the match?” and here is the hilarious twist, because the man with the Italy shirt replies: “No hablo muy bien italian”. But Martini insists and, in a deserted station, continues the conversation, he in Italian and the interlocutor in South American Spanish: “And why does he have the Italy shirt then?” From the articulated response of the passerby, the only comprehensible words are: “I’m Mexican, I support Italy for Maradona, Roberto Baggio”. But nothing, Martini does not give up and even tries to get technical: “What could be a name for the future of Italy? What could be el hombre del destino?” he asks, in front of the man who is reflecting and clearly has not understood a thing. In the end, even the correspondent of European Nights he has to raise the white flag, interpreting the perplexed look in front of him: “This face says it all”, and passes the line to the studio. Where, sadly, the episode ends.
