The seconds are out, 28 are enough to make Albania dream and its fifty thousand fans arrived in Dortmund. Enthusiasm is skyrocketing, even though in the heart of Germany there is still light in the sky at 21:28 seconds: this is the exact time of the goal scored by Nedim Bajrami, 25 years old, Swiss from Albania, Sassuolo midfielder.
His is the fastest Euro goal in history. Twenty-eight seconds, in the 64 years of the European Championship, from the victory of the USSR to that of Italy, no goal has been a flash like this.
Enthusiasm skyrocketing, red flags with black eagles fluttering, twenty thousand Italians speechless, the blue technical commissioner stunned. Luciano Spalletti, hands in his pockets, jacket with the inexplicable writing ITALIA on the shoulders, looks like a boxer wrapped in his bathrobe, already beaten before even entering the ring.
And on the other corner, standing in front of the Albanian bench is Sylvinho, the Eagles’ Brazilian coach who at the end of the nineties left Belo Horizonte to fly to London and become one of the best attacking defenders in the Premier League with Arsenal.
Sylvinho doesn’t trust him, he’s right. The unfortunate Dimarco and his throw which becomes an assist for the lightning goal are not enough. Albania’s enthusiasm, organisation, heart and courage are not enough. 11 minutes were enough and Italy equalized with a stone coming from Bastoni’s head, another 5 and in the 16th minute a shot from outside the area by Barella and it was 2-1.
It will be said, Italy deserves it, they play well, very well indeed, even if it would not be good to forget that the ranking reveals how great football Europe is: they are in forty-seventh place, stuck between Georgia and Estonia, behind only stories like Macedonia, Andora, Wales, Montenegro, Gilbiterra, San Marino.
To clarify: Italy is seeded number 2 in Europe, nine in Europe. And then it will also be a good Italy, it will be even better in the second half, Calafiori, Scamacca and Chiesa will also move well, but other opponents will probably be needed to understand if Spalletti’s Italy will be able to defend the European Championship won three years ago by surprising Italy of coach Mancini.
Luciano da Certaldo’s Italy will be solid, but in the 90th minute only Donnarumma saves the victory and denies an equalizer which for Albania would not have been a burglary.
It ends with a solitary Albanian invasion in full injury time, ending 2-1. Edi Rama, socialist prime minister of Albania, good friend of Giorgia Meloni, who was not seen in Dortmund, applauds.
The twenty thousand Italians applaud and also those fifty thousand who arrived from Albania, in a Germany where in another century we were the immigrants.
Next Spain-Italy match, 20 June at 9pm. Spain who beat a disappointing Croatia 3-0 in the afternoon.
The first two pass, this time not even the seconds will be out.
