The penultimate battle of the ‘legionnaire’ Chiellini

Pampered by Roberto Mancini and his group of doctors, physios and recuperators,
Giorgio Chiellini, the Italian ‘captain’ en ausencia de Gianluigi Buffon, will be the protagonist in the quarterfinal clash that the ‘azzurri’ dispute this Friday against Belgium in Munich with the challenge of overcoming the quarterfinal barrier, impenetrable since 2012, when they lost the final in Kiev against the best Spain in history. From the duel between Belgians and Italians, the most uncertain and outstanding of this surprising tournament, Las Roja’s rival will come out in the penultimate round, already at Wembley, if Luis Enrique’s team gobbles up the Swiss in Saint Petersburg.

With its stars Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard off, surely absent from this great event due to injury, the most fearsome ‘red devil’ is Romelu Lukaku, author of three goals in the tournament. To stop him, Italy needs the best version of the defensive wall
Chiellini-Bonucci. Between them, 70 years old, 215 games with the ‘Azurra’ and endless battles. This Friday’s will be a small ‘Italian derby’, a Juventus-Inter, this time with a ticket to the semi-finals of the Euro at stake.

This season, Chiellini and Lukaku met twice, with one win each. Inter won 2-0 in the first round of Serie A and Juve won 3-2 in the second. Lukaku scored a target and provided an own goal for Chiellini. Juve and Inter also met twice in the Italian Cup. The Piedmontese team advanced, but Chiellini did not play either of the two games.

«Lukaku is very strong, we are lucky to know him well. It will be a good battle with our defenses, “forward Ciro Immobile anticipated this week., Golden Boot two years ago. Slower, the transalpine centrals will have to pull veteran so that Lukaku does not turn and face them in the race, already unstoppable.

“We know how Lukaku has grown and his ability to win matches, but it would be a mistake to focus only on him and not on all of Belgium, a great team”, The Juventine defense expert, who started in the first two against Turkey and Switzerland, underlined in the previous one, but against the ‘Nati’ he retired with annoying muscles.
He agreed with Mancini to rest against the Welsh and Austrians and re-enlist at the key moment.

Having the leader is a plus of confidence for your colleagues. «Having him close helps you a lot and makes you feel calmer because he has charisma and reads games well. I played for a year with Chiellini at Juventus and I know how he works, how concentrated he is, ”highlights Leonardo Spinazzola, the great revelation of this ‘azzurra’.

In front,
the ‘Big Rom’ Lukaku enjoys at the zenith of his career. He has three goals in the tournament and is the benchmark of a Belgium with its figures entering and leaving the infirmary.
Nothing and no one intimidates a man of faith, of Congolese origin, who grew up in a house with a shortage of food. That is pressure, not the one that surrounds football.

The march is going

Lukaku is going the march.
Last week she posed for the cover of the Italian edition of Vogue in a white bathrobe, boxer shorts and socks, holding a cup of espresso. “Pursue excellence, Romelu Lukaku,” read in gold letters under his body. More sporty, the Belgian striker has left other images in the tournament. The hug with Cristiano after beating Portugal, or those ritual greetings with De Bruyne that have been repeated since the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

In the field, a typical photo of Lukaku is in the race, with an opponent pulling him by the shirt to stop him. “They hold Lukaku down, he refuses to fall and then they don’t call him a foul. It is exactly the reason why footballers throw themselves. Referees must reward honesty, “the former English striker Gary Lineker, a BBC commentator, complains about this on social media.

Lukaku will always be accompanied by a “love-hate” relationship with his country. They do not forgive him for certain indolent attitudes but he is their greatest scorer in history with 63 goals. This season he has been proclaimed champion with Inter and has been voted best player of the season. “He is the nine strongest in the world,” warns the ‘azzurro’ midfielder Matteo Pessina.

But
the center-back who looked like an old legionnaire was already defending Juventus when Lukaku was not even a teenager and was looking at Nicolas Anelka, Didier Drogba and Ronaldo Nazario, his idols. Gorgio, who will always have a battle to settle, is the head of this record-breaking Italy.
31 games without losing and 1,168 with the armored goal until the Austrian Kalajdzic unlocked them at Wembley.