In the round of 16 of Euro 2024, Spalletti’s national team reunites with the Swiss, responsible for Italy’s latest collapse
It is far 31 years old that goal by Hottiger to Bern who seriously questioned participation in Usa ’94 of theItaly Of Roberto Baggio, Arrigo Sacks And Beppe Gentlemen. That’s the last time Swissat the time a modest team with some good players and led by Roy Hodgson, defeated Italy. Not the last joke, however, from the Swiss country.
Euro 2024, the draw of the round of 16: calendar and where to see them on TV and streaming
The first scare: the ’94 World Cup qualifiers
In the qualifiers at World Cup ’94 in fact the blues already had paid duty in the first leg against Switzerland, when a Cagliari in October 1992 they had gone 2-0 behind after twenty minutes, thanks to two sensational ducks from the goalkeeper, Luca Marche peoplewho gave two goals to Ohrel And Chapuisat. They were able to straighten it out in the last 10 minutes Baggio And Stephen Eranius. And even after the defeat in Bern, in a match with Italy with ten men due to the expulsion of Dino BaggioItaly managed to return to the top of the group thanks to three victories out of three, against Estonia, Scotland and Portugal, while the national team led by Hodgson stumbled Aberdeen in a draw against the Scotland now out and losing in Porto. It was the national team where the star of Alain Sutterwho managed to earn a place in the Swiss team with his performances Bundesligafirst to Nuremberg and then to Bayern Monk. But also of an Italian-Swiss like Ciriaco Sforzawho has now entered Italian iconography not so much for his past at Inter, but for his own T-shirt worn in the film Three men and one leg Of Aldo, Giovanni and Giacomo and related jokes about it. A national team led by Roy Hodgson, called in shortly afterwards to resolve the problems ofInterousted from Cup UEFA right from a modest Swiss club, the Lugano of Carrasco, in the autumn of 1995.
The Sommer nightmare: farewell to the 2022 World Cup
A more modest national team than those that would arrive later, with important players, from Dzemaili to Inler until Bherami, who made the fortunes of Napoli and beyond. Today they are there Summer and the Bologna block, with Freuler, Aebischer And Ndoyefundamental pieces to allow the team led by Thiago Motta to achieve a historic qualification in Champions League. The Inter goalkeeper is the trait d’union of the talents of then and today. But Sommer is also the protagonist of that joke which, if it didn’t succeed 1993he then succeeded twenty-eight years After, albeit with the Azzurri undefeated. In Basel, during the first leg of the A.I. qualifiers World Cup 2022Sommer saves everything, or maybe the Azzurri throw everything at him, in particular Jorginho, a penalty. Penalty that could change the fate of the qualifiers on the return to Rome, when at ninetieth on one-to-one Jorginho has the one on his feet to send the Azzurri directly in Qatarbut shoots high, earning only a ticket for the play-offs against the North Macedonia. Everyone knows the rest of the story.
The precedent of the 2021 European Championships
In official competitions however it goes better than in the qualifiersat least recently: the Swiss the Azzurri met her in 2021, in the groups, beating her for 3 to 0. Same result as world of the 1962 in Chile when blue raspberry And Bulgarelliwho scored a brace, guaranteed the victory for the Azzurri in the third match of the group: a useless victory, given that Italy had previously drawn against Germany and lost 2 to 0 against the home team in the “Battle of Santiago”. In the 1954 instead it was Switzerland that ousted us from the group stage after one playoff won for 4 to 1.
In short, neighbours, with many stories in common and even a bit of affection, from Sommer to Sforza, from Inler to Dzemail, up to the friendly Ndoye. But also with some joke too much, recently too Enough cruel. Now there are the eighths of Europeans: shall we do what we have already given?
