Sterling effort will be key to England's hopes in final
Mancity winger overcomes personal issues to take major leadership role in tournament
LONDON England defender John Stones said he would love to see Raheem Sterling named player of the tournament at Euro 2020, and believes his Manchester City teammate can make the difference in Sunday's final against Italy.
Sterling has been one of England's standout performers at the Euros despite having struggled to keep his place in City's team this season, scoring three goals to help Gareth Southgate's side progress to their first-ever European Championship final.
He has been praised for his work off the pitch, too, especially in speaking out against racism in the game, and Stones feels Sterling deserves all that has come his way this summer as a result.
“I have said it all along that I am a big fan of Raheem's,” centre back Stones told a news conference on Friday. “I would love to see him get player of the tournament. The unselfish work he does goes unspoken, but as players we see it.
“He has been a great threat going forward with how direct he has been. It has been great playing with him, and I am sure he will be giving everything on Sunday and hopefully get another goal and see where it takes us.
“I could not be happier for him. He has gone through some difficult times personally and you can see it has motivated him. He has come out of it a better player. The top players find a way when things aren't going well, and Raheem has done that on and off the pitch.”
England is unbeaten in its last 12 matches in all competitions, keeping 10 clean sheets and conceding just two goals in the process, and go into Sunday's clash up against a similarly resolute Italian side.
“We have the best defensive record in the competition and that is a major factor in why we have got to the final,” Stones added. “I have said all along that keeping clean sheets works as a platform for us to go and win games.
“It is not just us as a back four, but it starts from the top. How we have pressed further up the pitch is a major part of our game. It is a major part of tournament football to defend this way, we learned that in Russia at the last World Cup.”
Roberto Mancini has made history as Italy manager before a ball is kicked in Sunday's Euro 2020 final.
Over the last three years, the 56-year-old has overseen a national record 33-game unbeaten run, surpassing Vittorio Pozzo's double World Cup-winning side of the 1930s and Marcello Lippi's 2006 world champions along the way.
But Mancini has so far refused to take credit for the achievement. “Pozzo won trophies, which is more important,” he said.
He is not wrong, but Mancini is now one step away from joining Pozzo and Lippi in the illustrious pantheon of Italian coaching greats by leading Italy to their first European Championship since 1968.
It would be a remarkable achievement, considering the state the national team was in when Mancini found them.
He took the job in May 2018 after lifting trophies across the continent at club level with league titles at Inter Milan and Manchester City and domestic cups at City, Lazio, Fiorentina and Galatasaray.
But the national team job posed a daunting task after their humiliating failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
That national disgrace resulted in the departures of coach Gian Piero Ventura and federation head Carlo Tavecchio.
Slowly but surely, Mancini put the shattered pieces back together and built a vibrant new Italian side.
“Ideas like his have never been seen before with the national team,” former Napoli coach Gennaro Gattuso said recently.
Those ideas were to implement a positive, proactive identity that leaned on the technical proficiency of Italy's players, and to bring through the younger generation.
Results were not immediate; in their first six games, Mancini's Italy won once — a friendly against Saudi Arabia.
But the concepts he put in place were almost immediately apparent, and the 1-0 UEFA Nations League loss his side suffered in September 2018 proved to be their last.
There were still some doubts about how well Mancini's side might fare at a major tournament with a relatively inexperienced squad and only seven survivors from Euro 2016.
But throughout the tournament, Italy has demonstrated an ability to continue playing their own way regardless of injuries or personnel changes.along the way, Mancini has sought to take the pressure off his players to get the best out of them.
“After everything we have gone through, now is the time to try and put a smile back on faces,” Mancini said before the opening game against Turkey.
“That will be our aim over the next month, we want people to enjoy themselves and have fun.”
Mission complete. No matter what happens in Wembley on Sunday, Italy has fallen in love with Mancini's team, which has shown an ability to dazzle and entertain one moment, but grit their teeth and battle the next. In a team with no established star, Mancini has taken on that role. Corriere della Sera called him “Captain Mancini,” while Corriere dello Sport went for “Mister Italia.”
“Mancini is doing extraordinary work, without him this team would not play this way,” said legendary former Italy manager Arrigo Sacchi.
“In a short time he has managed to introduce a modern style of football, I hope that it sets all the Italian coaches down the same path.”
Mancini's side has won over neutral admirers on their road to the final, smashing tired and dated stereotypes about dull, defensive Italian football along the way.
With nine players aged 24 or under in the squad and several of them starting regularly, there is also a belief that this is the start of something special and not a flash in the pan success.
Mancini has revived the national team, put smiles back on faces, and changed perceptions of Italian football.
His work is already remarkable, but a trophy would ensure that his legacy lasts forever.