Italy fans have felt any type of emotion in 2021 and Giancarlo Rinaldi explains what Roberto Mancini’s Azzurri need to get in the Euros mood again in 2022.
If there was anything up to be won in 2021, Italy was probably involved. From UEFA Euro 2020 to the Eurovision Song Contest, from the Great British Bake Off to Strictly Come Dancing, it felt every televisual triumph had a green-white-and-red flag draped across its shoulders. The trouble, of course, is how on earth do you follow a year like that?
Roberto Mancini will be less concerned about TV titles than those available on the football field. His Azzurri flew under the radar to success at Wembley in the summer but that has raised expectations of what this group of players can achieve. The fact that they need to hope for a playoff ticket to the World Cup shows how quickly the sporting gods can deliver a two-footed tackle to your recently regained reputation.
Still, let’s not lose all of the glorious afterglows from the European Nations straight away. Italy went into that competition on a great run of form and a squad without many superstars performed perfectly to take the trophy. Other teams had more outstanding soloists, but football has always been about the entire orchestra – not just talented individuals. The way they coped with losing one of their outstanding players – Leonardo Spinazzola – typified their attitude. They turned his absence into inspiration and lifted the cup, in part, to honour his contribution. That magical month or so was always going to be hard to replicate.
Indeed, the second half of 2021 felt a bit like the horror hangover induced by one grappa too many on a wonderful night out. The Azzurri were not awful, but their old goalscoring headaches returned with a vengeance. They will need to get that out of their system pretty quickly if they hope to return to the levels they have set themselves over the past year.
In that sense, all eyes will be on the Renzo Barbera in March. It will be in Palermo that much of how they view 2022 will begin to be decided. A first playoff showdown with North Macedonia needs to be won before tackling a mildly more tricky trip to Portugal to see off a certain Cristiano Ronaldo and company. If not a mountain to climb, then certainly a very challenging cliff face.
Mancio will need to try his best to recreate that team spirit that stood him in such good stead at the Euros. This little mini-competition will only be navigated by getting this squad to perform – once again – much better than the sum of its parts. In that respect, it is to be hoped the Italian football authorities give him as much time as possible with them before these key clashes in order to have the best chance of success. Everything will have to click to ensure Italy fans don’t face watching another miserable World Cup with their noses pressed up against the window.
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The year to come, really, revolves around that. Win those playoff clashes and the summer showdown planned with South American champions Argentina becomes a much more exciting prospect than Nations League matches against Germany, England and Hungary. Elimination, though, would give a hollow feeling to every other game in 2022.
The Azzurri have the players to make it to Qatar but they won’t do it by playing anything less than flat out and with everyone pulling in the same direction. The slightest doubt or hesitation – as witnessed in recent games – undermines their overall play significantly. Yes, it will be important to have as many key men back as possible but if they don’t approach these ties with the right attitude, it won’t matter a jot. Teamwork makes the dream work – or some other trite phrase along those lines.
Football fans can have short memories, but they owe it to Mancini not to forget everything he did at Euro 2020 – and before – to re-establish Italy as a major force in the global game. That victory should be celebrated for years to come as the moment the boys in blue got their international mojo back.
However, this crop of players could truly cement its reputation by making sure it gets to the World Cup too. That competition has always been the yardstick by which La Nazionale is measured and missing out again would be too painful for any words I can select to describe. Those four stars on the shirt mean a lot – and everyone who celebrated the gathering of any of them in the past will dearly hope to see a tilt at collecting a fifth when next winter rolls around.