Jorginho looks to become double European champion as the brains and beating heart of Mancini’s Italy
He is “the brains of Italy”, says Fabio Capello, the distinguished Italian manager who was once in charge of England.
Not so long ago, he became a source of frustration to fans of Chelsea, his club. Yet, in May, he was key to their success in the Champions League. Another winning final today and Jorginho will make a case for being on the podium for this year’s Ballon D’Or.
The “brains of Italy” was born in Brazil, though that lineage is scarcely remarked on now, so committed are Jorginho’s performances in the blue jersey of the country that became his home at the age of 15. Roberto Mancini, the Italy manager, would scarcely conceive of picking a side without a fit Jorginho, now 29.
Without him, Italy might very well not be preparing to take on England at Wembley for the title of European champions. Besides his winning penalty in the semi-final shootout against Spain, Jorginho kept order for a high-pressured 120 minutes.
He emerged from it to be informed of a startling statistic: No player in any European championships tournament match in this or the previous competition had made as many interceptions as the eight by Jorginho, Italy’s deepest-lying midfielder, against a Spain who dominated the ball.
Only Spain’s Pedri, a tireless teenager, has covered more ground in the course of the tournament than him. But Jorginho the passer is as important as Jorginho the shield. Another stat: of the finalists, only John Stones, the England defender, has more completed passes at Euro 2020.
Jorginho is the heart, soul and the bookend of Italy’s stunning unbeaten run going into today. Rewind back to September 2018, when the Azzurri were still shell-shocked from having missed out on even qualifying for that summer’s World Cup.
Mancini had taken over after that failure, intent on rejuvenating the squad, speeding up Italy’s style of play. Jorginho would have been entitled to feel vulnerable.
Mancini trusted him, calling him “one of the best midfielders in Europe.” He was certainly grateful to Jorginho’s reliable technique from the penalty spot for saving Italy from a defeat in their first competitive game under the new manager.
They were at home to Poland in the Uefa Nations League and 1-0 down with 11 minutes to go. Federico Chiesa, 20 years old, had just come on as a substitute.
Chiesa was fouled in the Poland penalty area. Jorginho converted the spot-kick.
Although Italy would lose narrowly in Lisbon to Portugal a few days later, a plan was coming together. Mancini’s Italy would not finish on the losing side for the next 33 matches.
The closest that record came to ending was during the draining contest with Spain.
Jorginho secured the Azzurri’s right to play in today’s final with a cool, rolled finish past a barely moving Unai Simon.
It has sometimes been Jorginho’s burden that he is deemed to be the footballing heir to a single manager in Maurizio Sarri, who developed his game at Napoli and signed him for Chelsea.
Sarri’s replacement, Frank Lampard, seemed to go to cool on Jorginho but under Thomas Tuchel, next into the Chelsea hot seat, Jorginho has thrived.
He is 90 minutes from being a double European champion this season – for his club and for the country that made him one of their own.