Italy returned to Rome the morning after winning the EURO 2020 Final against England on Sunday, met the President, Prime Minister and paraded the city in an open top bus.
The Azzurri returned by plane the morning after the success at Wembley Stadium, when Roberto Mancini’s men overcame England on penalties and the CT rested the trophy on the National’s front page where he was depicted as the Scottish warrior William Wallace.
Gianluigi Donnarumma saved two penalties when England missed three on the bounce to hand Italy the European Championship.
The Italy players went to see President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale Palace, where CT Mancini and captain Giorgio Chiellini spoke in the presence of the President of the Republic.
The Juventus veteran dedicated the win to Davide Astori, who died on March 4, 2018, prior to Fiorentina’s game against Udinese.
Mattarella welcomed the European Champions and congratulated the players with the ‘deserved trophy’ and wished them the best for the future and reiterated Chiellini’s words about former Italy defender Astori: “He has been in the thoughts of all our players throughout this period.”
The local authorities had initially decided to avoid mass gatherings in the Italian capital due to the coronavirus pandemic, and thus decided the team should not parade the trophy in the streets of Rome.
Italy then moved towards Palazzo Chigi to meet with Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who continued the institutional praise, thanking the players and congratulating Gianluigi Donnarumma for ‘being the best player in the European Championship’.
Leonardo Bonucci revealed to Sky Sport Italia that the players had convinced the authorities in Rome and had been given the green light to parade the streets of the Eternal City with an open top bus.
“We won the negotiations to be able to do this round for our supporters. The Cup is theirs,” Bonucci told the broadcaster before the team celebrated the triumph with the Azzurri fans in the capital.
Check out the photos and videos from the bus ride here.
The players sang ‘It’s coming Rome’ and ‘Notti magiche’ before leaving the bus and returning to their usual resting place during the European Championship – Hotel Marco dei Principi – but this time for a festive dinner.