An Italian campaign that began with so many questions surrounding it ended in glory on Saturday night at Euro 2016.
Glory? Yes, glory. The Italians pushed the reigning world champions to the brink, and very nearly pulled it off. In the end, the Azzurri lost the match, but they won respect.
Italy lost a dramatic penalty shootout to Germany in Bordeaux, a result that allowed the Germans to earn their first win over the Italians in nine matches at major tournaments, and send the Azzurri exiting the tournament in the quarterfinal round.
But Italy can hold its head very high as it returns home after gracing the competition with its splendid brand of intelligent football, for defying its many vocal critics (and its legions of vocal haters), and for reminding us all that the collection of best players don’t necessarily make up the best team.
Here are my three thoughts on Italy’s run at Euro 2016.
THE COLLECTIVE
One of the major themes at this tournament has been the importance of the collective over the individual; of team work; of sides overcoming a lack of star power and playing as a unit, and being far more than the collective sum of their parts. The Azzurri perfectly exemplified this ethos.
This Italian side was labelled by many pundits and fans as one of the worst in a generation. Injury absences to key players such as Marco Verratti and Claudio Marchisio, and some seemingly questionable squad selections led to a general belief that Italy didn’t have enough genuine quality in attack, and that it would struggle for goals. Most thought Italy would get out of the group, but as for a sustained run in the knockout round, forget it—the Italians simply couldn’t match up with some of the best nations in the competition.
Man-for-man, there are far more talented teams at Euro 2016. But as a collective unit, Italy was among the best in France, and it was this commitment by the players to each other and playing within manager Antonio Conte’s tactical system that allowed them to get the better of No. 2 in the world Belgium, dispose of the reigning European title holders in Spain, and come within a whisper of eliminating the World Cup champions in Germany.
THE DEFENCE
In a word, it was magnificent. The Juventus quartet of Andrea Barzagli, Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci (the best defender at Euro 2016 thus far) and Gianluigi Buffon put on a master-class in the art of defending as a collective unit.
Few last ditch tackles were made by the Italian defenders. Rarely did the opposition get in behind them. They routinely cut off the danger before it had a chance to develop, they remained incredibly well-organized, and they did a wonderful job of keeping the game in front of them, and protecting Buffon. When the goalkeeper was called upon to make a crucial save, he did—see the last 15 minutes of the game against Spain. No doubt, Buffon could have done much better on Jonas Hector’s winning penalty kick, but overall, the Italian goalkeeper was terrific for his country.
It wasn’t just about the back four, either. The Italians defended as a team, collectively—there’s that word again! Italy’s defence was ably abetted by its wingbacks, and Daniele De Rossi and Marco Parolo, who worked tirelessly in central midfield to act as a shield for the back three. Up front, forward Graziano Pelle and Eder acted as the first line of defence, pressing opposing defenders high up the pitch as they tried to bring the ball forward from out of the back.
This wasn’t ultra-defensive football from Italy. Far from it, in fact. They didn’t bunker, park the bus, and put 11 bodies behind the ball. Instead, they defended with intelligence, were strategic in where and how they pressed their opponents, and picked their spots to go forward.
ALL CREDIT TO CONTE
It was the ultimate sign of respect from Germany that manager Joachim Low abandoned his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation—and in doing so benched attacker Julian Draxler, who was the man of the match in the Germans’ 3-0 win over Slovakia in the Round of 16—and went with a 3-5-2 setup to mirror Italy’s tactical setup. To force a team the calibre of Germany to make a change like that in such a crucial knockout game underlines the effectiveness of Antonio Conte as a tactician.
The former Juventus midfielder was spot on with his tactics the entire tournament, organizing his team in a way and having them play within a clearly defined structure and game-plan that set them up for success. The Azzurri bossed their matches (we won’t count the Ireland contest, as Conte fielded his ‘B team’ and the Italians were clearly not terribly interested) and managed the tournament brilliantly, getting better with each game.
Tactics is one thing. Conte’s greatest strength could be his ability to inspire his players, to make them play above their heads. The Italian manager was a whirling dervish on the touchline, living and dying with every moment, his naked passion there for the entire world to see. His players picked up on that, and his passion transferred to them on the pitch.
What’s more, a tip of the hat must be given to Conte for his team selections. A number of Italian players who were coming off poor campaigns and whose inclusion on this roster were widely questioned and mocked, foremost among them Pelle, Eder and Emanuele Giaccherini. As it turned out, all three were superb, and played critical roles in helping Italy make it through to the quarterfinals—and almost to the final four. In the end, Conte ended up having the last laugh on those who felt his team selection choices were comical.
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