EC footballItaly has issued its business card in the opening match of the European Championship. The Squadra easily settled with Turkey in the Stadio Olimpico: 3-0. A perfect start for Mancini’s troops.
Nice to meet you, Italia.
A torn piece of paper lay on a restaurant table in Milan.
These were the last days of the winter transfer window, in January 2019.
Fabio Paratici, Juventus talent scout and soon to be sporting boss at Tottenham Hotspur, negligently left his hasty notes after a lunch. She picked up a newspaper. Il Tempo published the list with well-known young talents such as Federico Chiesa, Sandro Tonali, but also the Hungarian hope Dominik Szoboszlai and one Merih Demiral, a rock near Alanyaspor, a middle class in the SüperLig.
Italy, mad about mercato, is introduced to an acquisition that lands not much later in northern Italy. Demiral, with the cooperation of Juve, ends up at Sassuolo on a rental basis. Less than six months later belongs to the core of Juventus. He is the aggressive defender Paratici expects a lot from.
Demiral has had a difficult childhood – his mother passed away when he was fourteen. He used those setbacks as an engine. At Juventus he became a stand-in for the central defenders. Competitor and colleague of De Ligt and Chiellini and Bonucci – the pair in the back of the Italians. The man who clenches fists at a perfectly timed tackle. A leader who leads the way in battle, but not a world beater. His highlight for Turkey was in the qualifying matches against the French – the Turks took four points off the world champion.
On Friday 11 June, the same Merih Demiral went down in history as the first player to score an opening goal at a European Championship. Never happened. After 53 minutes of leaning back, Demiral let the Turkish wall fall apart. Berardi mounted a rush on the right. Demiral deviated the hard cross into his own goal via the navel.
A Juventus player offered a hand to Italy in the Stadio Olimpico. Not the one in white, but one in blue.
The Squadra rolled over Turkey after the opening goal. Everything to your liking. The counter now stands at 28 games without defeat, won 9 in a row, 9 in a row without a goal against. Italy survived the first test. Turkey is, based on Friday’s showing, a potential surprise. Even on the counterattack, they barely got anything done. Donnarumma, the goalkeeper of the Italians, barely had to go down.
His shooter Ciro Immobile scored. Lorenzo Insigne made the third after fumbling with the Turks. His keeper is not the surest, with his feet.
Italy took advantage, coach Roberto Mancini enjoyed. Only good news. His football team – with Barellà as the showpiece – continued to give everything. Full of energy. The Italians no longer take peace with a narrow victory. The stamp of his coach, as a player also a goal machine. Italy continues its candidacy as shadow favourite. smoothly.
Demiral didn’t pump with his fists this time. That honor was reserved for Chiellini, after he conceded a goal in the final.
Nice to meet you, Italia.
Mancini knew where Turkey was at: “Fast ball circulation was crucial”
Roberto Mancini was unsurprisingly a satisfied national coach afterwards. “We played good football”, said Mancini. “It was the first game, and we were struggling against a good opponent. The public helped us. Crucial in this win was our fast ball circulation.”
“Will this give a signal to the favorites of the tournament? It was already a beautiful evening, hopefully there will be more”, said the Italian T1. “We played a good game here in Rome. We can be satisfied.”
Striker Ciro Immobile, who scored the second Italian goal, assisted his coach. “We have done our duty. Winning 3-0 with supporters in the stadium makes it even more beautiful. I think we had the patience it took against Turkey, a good team. We were very active in the first half without scoring, in the second half they were a bit more tired.”
Turkish national coach Günes after loss: “Italy played very dominantly”
“We hoped for a different result, but Italy played very dominantly,” national coach Senol Günes said. “The first goal changed the situation in the second half and we lost control of the game,” Günes analyzed. “Tactically, Italy was superior. The Italians were in control. I was hoping for a better performance from my team.”
“But the tournament continues, we lost to a home team. We must react against Wales and Switzerland. Looking at tonight’s game, we gave the maximum. We needed more speed in the passes. But my players had a hard time and they showed character.”
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