Not the best, yet better on field
An Italian team widely regarded as one of the weakest beat a star-studded Belgium on the back of a strong team ethic
Short on pure talent, Italy have made sacrifice, suffering and unity their watchwords at Euro 2016 although it remains to be seen whether they can keep up such extraordinary intensity throughout the tournament.
Initially discredited but inspired by the passion of coach Antonio Conte, Italy gave the best performance of the finals so far on Monday as they overran a more technically gifted Belgium side to win 2-0 in their Group E opener.
Conte himself celebrated the first goal with such enthusiasm that he banged his head against substitute Simone Zaza and suffered a nosebleed. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon narrowly escaped injury with his celebration at the end of the game.
The 38-year-old ran towards the goal, leapt up and tried to swing from the crossbar with his hands, but fell and landed awkwardly on his back.
In terms of pure footballing ability, Italy’s team is regarded as one of the weakest in years yet they were still too streetwise for a Belgium team that once again failed to live up to their own high expectations.
The Azzurri’s shortage of talent is such that Daniele De Rossi, once a purely destructive presence, has been recalled to dictate the passing in midfield.
Riccardo Montolivo, Marco Verratti and Claudio Marchisio, who might have added some class, are injured while maverick forward Mario Balotelli’s career has gone so far off the rails that his exclusion from the squad went almost unnoticed.
Monday’s performance was typical of Conte who won three successive Serie A titles in as many years at Juventus.
In the last few months he has talked about understanding the importance of “wearing the shirt”, to the exclusion of almost anything else, and the players seem to have got the message.
Italy appeared to line up with a 3-5-2 formation but this quickly reverted to a back line of five when the opposition had the ball and changed to an attacking four when they went forward.
The defence, featuring Juventus trio Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci and Andrea Barzagli, was outstanding.
LYON: