COOL DONNARUMMA SYMBOLIC OF ITALY’S REBIRTH AS INTERNATIONAL SUPERPOWER
▶ Young goalkeeper named Euro 2020 Player of the Tournament after his heroics in successive penalty shootouts
It is in keeping with an event where est ablished attacking superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo a nd Kylian Mbappe went home quite early that Euro 2020 named a very young goalkeeper as its Player of the Tournament.
Gianluigi Donnarumma is on his way to stardom, or at least to a very high profile in his sport, but he plays in a position that usually fails to attract the top individual awards.
Donnarumma deserves the prize. He had the decisive say in taking Italy into the final and then to the gold medal because he stood tall, imposing and calm, in successive penalty shootouts.
Spain, beaten in the first of them, and England, defeated 3-2 in th e spot-kick roulette on Sunday night at Wembley, are still in the process of re-analysing h ow they might have designed their shootout strategy differently. Donnarumma, meanwhile, can start counting up all the garlands.
After the final whistle, he was told he h ad achieved something unp recedented: no team had won more than one shootout at the Euros. The save to deny Bukayo Saka was his second in sequence, having kept out Jadon Sancho’s spotkick, England’s fourth.
There is criticism of England manager Gareth Southgate for having placed the responsibility of those kicks on young players – Sancho, 21 and Saka, 19. But Donnarumma, it might be noted, is only 22.
Pressure? Few signs of it. He is 1.98 metres tall and serene in his goalkeeping. It was hard to doubt Italy manager Roberto Mancini’s claim that, ahead of the shootout in the final, he “felt sure he would save a couple of penalties.”
Donnarumm a’s tender age makes him a fine symbol for Italy’s rebirth as an international superpower. He represents the new page that was turned after the Azzurri’s failure to reach the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Gianluigi Buffon retired from national service to close a goalkeeping odyssey that had lasted 20 years. Buffon made his Italy debut in 1997, and his last, 175th, ap pearance for them aged 40.
Donnarumma has big gloves to fill. He will have high expectations to meet after he completes the formalities this month of his signing for Paris Saint-Germain from AC Milan, too. But nobody thinks him too wet behind the ears for that.
He was the youngest Italian on the pitch at the end of a taut, enthralling final. Although there were vital contributions from veteran defenders in the team, captain Giorgio Chiellini and Leo Bonucci – who scored the equaliser in the 1-1 draw that led to penalties – the new champions of Europe have an unmistakably youthful zest about them.
“Mancini has made it enjoyable to play in this team,” said Marco Verratti, the midfielder, emphasising that this Italy, while preserving the traditions of organisation and resilience, are a proactive, flair team.
Younger players such as Nicolo Barella, 24, and Federico
Chiesa, 23, made decisive contributions through the knockout phase.
It was proof of the strength in depth Mancini has cultivated that when the two were substituted, Italy maintained the superiority in the contest they had wrestled back from England in the last hour of the 120 minutes of open play.
Chiesa was a menace until he withdrew with a knock. “This is something beautiful, and important,” said Mancini, of Italy’s first major title after the 2006 World Cup and first Euros trophy since 1968.
Mancini was in command of the best team in the competition and the better side in the final. Italy reached the final having beaten Belgium and Spain and weathered the imbalance of support at a Wembley
Stadium that only Italian residents in Britain had been allowed to apply for tickets for due to Covid-19 restrictions.
“It’s a joy, and we are so happy for the Italian people, the Italian public because this has been a trying period for them,” said Mancini of a country that suffered badly during the early months of the pandemic. Celebrations in various Italian cities lasted long into the night after Chiellini lifted the trophy.
Their next target is the Uefa Nations League in early October as hosts in Turin and Milan, with Spain, Belgium and France the opposition.
And 13 months later is the 2022 World Cup where Italy, from the towering Donnarumma to the livewire Chiesa to the shrewd Mancini, are now installed among the favourites.