Maldini: ‘Wales and England were waiting for Italy in their own half’

Former Italy defender Paolo Maldini said Roberto Mancini’s men went against the stereotype of a defensive Azzurri. ‘England and Wales were waiting for us in their half’.

Italy returned from London with the EURO 2020 trophy, after beating England on penalties in the Final at Wembley on Sunday.

Milan director Maldini was full of praise for the Italian players’ performances at the competition, but the former left-back also pointed out that the European Championship this summer provided ‘the first sign of happiness’ after the coronavirus pandemic.

“After what, not only Italy, but all the countries have been through in the last 18 months, it’s the first sign of happiness,” Maldini told SiriusXM.

“It was very important to start again, you know, a normal life.”

Maldini, capped 127 times by the Azzurri, has experienced three European Championships and four World Cups during an illustrious career.

The former captain spoke about the ‘prejudice’ of Italian football and praised Roberto Mancini’s men for their attacking football at the Euros, before adding that the Azzurri are now back where they have always been after not qualifying for the World Cup in 2018.

“In terms of football, I think there’s a lot of prejudice about the Italian because they are still talking about Catenaccio,” he continued.

“However, I cannot deny that that kind of football was great because it was something different. But right now, we are playing more attacking than anyone.

“We played against England and Wales, and they were staying in their own half waiting for us. I think that Italy showed that it’s just a prejudice, what we hear.

“And for the Italian football in general, it’s back where we have always been, because we don’t have to forget that we’ve won four World Cups and now two Euros.

“We had something different, and the idea of being all together is something that the Italians have. They have it, this idea to create a group that can be competitive.”

“𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱.”#ITA legend Paolo Maldini on what the @azzurri‘s #EURO2020 triumph meant to the country after a tumultuous 18 months.

Listen to the entire interview on the SXM App – https://t.co/YTCrlG69mK pic.twitter.com/vSssWRDRBc

— SiriusXM FC 157 ⚽️📻 (@SiriusXMFC) July 13, 2021