The sun had just set and the Torre della Maratona, the tower above the opposite stand built during Fascism, was shrouded in a dim light on this hot, hazy early summer evening.
The Stadio Renato Dall’Ara in Bologna, with its large distances between the stands and the field, the high floodlight masts and the largely missing roof, looks a bit out of date – and thus fits in quite well with the current state of Italian football. With the right lighting and perfect timing, it exudes charm, just like it did at the European Championships a year ago, but structurally it has been better.
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This ambivalence was also evident on Saturday in the first group game of the Nations League in Bologna. The young Italian team showed a decent performance in the 1:1 (0:0) against the German national soccer team. With his equalizer in the 73rd minute, Joshua Kimmich prevented the false start in the Nations League, in which the DFB team and Italy are now one point behind Hungary, who surprisingly won 1-0 against European Championship finalists England in the afternoon .
The fact that the Nations League, despite all the praise from Uefa, does not have the highest priority in its third edition was not only evident from the clear gaps in the stands, but also from the line-up of the hosts. While Hansi Flick showed the best that German football currently has in view of the approaching Winter World Cup in Qatar, the Italian team will probably never play in this formation again.
Most of the European champions were missing from Italy
With the Azzurri missing a goal for the near future due to the missed qualification, the current international window for national coach Roberto Mancini is all about upheaval. With the exception of goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and the experienced defenders Alessandro Florenzi and Francesco Acerbi, the starting line-up consisted primarily of promising players, of whom only Sandro Tonali from AC Milan was one of the greatest international talents of his year. Mancini had not even nominated numerous European champions or said goodbye to their summer vacation after the 0: 3 against Argentina last Wednesday.
Even though the Italian fans chanted “I campioni dell’Europa siamo noi” shortly after kick-off to remind them of their team’s official status as the best team on the continent, the role of favorites was clearly divided. The German team then dominated the initial phase. She was much more secure on the ball, pressed Italy deep on the defensive and tried to use her speed advantages on the flanks. However, since the necessary precision was lacking in the attack third, this optical superiority did not result in any clear chances. Donnarumma only had to intervene once when Serge Gnabry shot.
The Germans seemed oddly passive
The Italians initially focused exclusively on counterattacks, which, according to Mancini’s gestures on the touchline, was probably not the match plan. However, his team showed quite remarkable approaches. Sassuolo’s Gianluca Scamacca, in particular, held the ball well up front a few times and also had the most dangerous finish of the first half, but only hit the outside of the post from distance.
Italy slowly gained more courage and now pressed higher. “The Italians did well,” said national coach Flick. The more offensive gait of the hosts also opened up space for the German team. The Germans didn’t use a promising number ideally, but after a clever pass from Thomas Müller, Leon Goretzka was surprisingly free in the penalty area. His shot was blocked and Gnabry’s shot from ten meters flew over the goal.
The 0-0 at the break was okay and shortly after the restart the guests were lucky that Scamacca, free-standing in the six-yard box, missed the timing of the header. The fans in the blue shirts were visibly and audibly satisfied with the performance of their experimental team. The wave went through the stadium several times.
With the substitutions came more momentum
“The claim was to play more dominantly, more purposefully, more clearly up front, with a lower error rate,” said Thomas Müller. But the German team looked strangely passive and Matteo Politano went just wide of the far post with a nice flick from the right. Shortly thereafter, Flick had seen enough and first brought Jamal Musiala and Jonas Hofmann, then Kai Havertz and Ilkay Gündogan.
But before the German jokers could even influence the game, an Italian substitute started the 1-0 lead. Wilfried Gnonto, 18 years young and under contract with FC Zurich, crossed perfectly to Lorenzo Pellegrini, who only had to put his foot out from four meters.
It was a fairly modest performance by the Germans up to that point, and that was clear to see on Flick’s face. But at least his players showed a reaction after going behind. After an attack via Kimmich and Havertz, Hofmann shot Werner with a cross – and Kimmich dusted off. The German team put the pressure on again, but the score remained 1-1.
