Chiellini is gunning for ‘revenge’
ITALY defender Giorgio Chiellini is looking for ‘revenge’ against Spain following their thrashing in the Euro 2012 Final.
The two teams meet in the last 16 tomorrow with that painful memory still strong in the mind. And Chiellini does not mince his words when talking about their fierce rivals.
‘Spain have been our nemesis since 2008, which is when their golden era started,’ said Chiellini, who was also on the team that lost to Spain in a penalty shootout in the quarter-finals of Euro 2008. ‘I like the word “revenge” but more than the word, we need to put it into practice.
‘We didn’t expect to meet Spain but we knew we would have a very difficult last-16 tie whatever happened. We know what to expect and we’ve got to be prepared.’
While Italy remain the same hard-working team with solid defence — despite their defeat by the Republic of Ireland in their final group game — Spain are no longer the force they once were, having gone out in the group stage of the 2014 World Cup.
The last two times Spain defeated the Italians in European competition, they had a squad that included the likes of Xavi Hernandez, Xabi Alonso and an in-form Fernando Torres. Now their team relies mostly on Andres Iniesta, who is one of five players from this year’s squad who played in both matches, along with Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, David Silva and Cesc Fabregas.
Italy have four players left from that quarter-final in 2008 — Chiellini, Gianluigi Buffon, Andrea Barzagli and Daniele de Rossi. They also were in the team that played in the final four years ago, along with Leonardo Bonucci, Thiago Motta, Antonio di Natale and Federico Balzaretti.
The Italians arrived in France written off by critics but got off to a good start by beating Belgium 2-0 and Sweden 1-0, quickly establishing themselves as one of the title favourites.
But Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said: ‘Italy are very good in defence but it doesn’t mean that it plays defensively. They had changes in midfield and they seem a more objective team than they were in 2012. I don’t see them as a defensive team.’