Leonardo Bonucci maintains Italy’s star man is ‘the unity of this group, as we don’t have outstanding individuals like Cristiano Ronaldo or Romelu Lukaku.’
Euro 2020 kicks off with Italy-Turkey in Rome on Friday June 11, followed by games with Switzerland and Wales.
“We waited so long and finally the time has come,” said the defender in his press conference.
“It’s a whole other sport with fans in the stadium, people pushing and helping you. We hope to make them very happy.
“We started a certain approach with Roberto Mancini and it was obvious in the most recent friendly against the Czech Republic too, all about playing out from the back.
“Unlike other teams, we don’t have an outstanding individual like Cristiano Ronaldo or Romelu Lukaku. Our ‘star’ is the unity of this group. After the dark time of the 2018 World Cup failed qualification, we want to fight hard for Italy and the Italians, getting this Nazionale back to where it belongs.
“This project is taking shape, we have enthusiasm, talent, youth and experience. It also feels like the first time since I’ve been on international duty that there’s no controversy. That allows us to work better.”
Italy have scored 25 goals in their last eight games, but have also conceded zero goals during that period.
“When you keep a clean sheet, the credit goes not just to the defenders, because if you don’t have the team working with you, then that wall will come down. I am so glad we’ve seen not just attractive attacking football, but also everyone getting their hands dirty. As a defender, you always like winning 1-0,” admits Bonucci.
The opening game is against Turkey on Friday evening, including his Juventus teammate Merih Demiral and Milan’s Hakan Calhanoglu.
“Turkey deserve respect, they showed how strong they were against France, are an interesting team on the way up. Hakan and Merih are friends, we speak often and Merih said he won’t let me score.”