Italy chief delegate Gianluca Vialli has become a symbol of this Azzurri and the hug with CT Roberto Mancini after the triumph against Austria spoke louder than words.
The former Sampdoria hero and previous teammate of Mancini became his colleague once again when he was appointed the new team coordinator of the Azzurri.
Vialli, capped 56 times by Italy, retired in July 1999 after a three-year stint at Chelsea. But it’s his time with Sampdoria and Juventus that carved his name into the football history of both Italy and Europe.
The 56-year-old won the Champions League with Juventus in 1995-96 and played in the European Cup Final with Sampdoria in 1992.
Vialli had picked up the Scudetto and three Coppa Italia with Samp before he moved to complete a domestic double with the Bianconeri in 1994-95.
Mancini and Vialli represent the heights of Sampdoria as a club and now they are together again with the Azzurri.
When Vialli was appointed, he said the role as head delegate and working with Mancini ‘will keep us all young’ and yesterday the two protagonists from the Blucerchiati’s European Cup run in 1992 relived their younger days at Wembley together.
Samp played their first ever Final of the European Cup in 1992 at the old venue in London, when Barcelona eventually won the match 1-0 after extra time between the two Twin Towers.
It was Ronald Koeman who secured the win in the 112th minute for the Blaugrana in 1992, and when an intense match between Italy and Austria went to extra time on Saturday, it brought back memories of Mancini’s and Vialli’s previous experience in the English capital.
Federico Chiesa and Matteo Pessina entered off the bench to help Italy secure a 2-1 win after extra time and the way Vialli and Mancini embraced each other, mouth wide open, eyes lit up with joy, showed a feeling of liberation.
The story of Vialli took a challenging turn in recent years, as he faced greater fears than quarter-final exits or defeats in Finals of the European Cup.
The former striker battled an unwanted enemy as he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. “I hope it will get tired and let me live the years ahead of me peacefully,” Vialli then said and he was still receiving cancer treatment when the Azzurri appointed him chief delegate.
The former Italy star was given the all-clear in April 2020, after two years battling the disease, but admitted he’s still ‘very scared’ about the illness coming back.
“You never know until it’s been a few years with no problems,” Vialli told The Times, but assured he physically felt fine.
After over a year without physical contact with others due to the coronavirus pandemic, the hug between the ‘goal twins’ spoke louder than words.
The chief delegate is the glue between staff, coach, team and management at the Azzurri and he conveys a character full of life, hope and ambition during the Euros.
Italy were tested by Austria, but the hug between Mancini and Vialli concluded another challenge where the Nazionale proved they can suffer and fight for their targets.
The hugs that have been missing during the pandemic, the joy and happiness after 120 intense minutes of football, for a moment, all the pain is in the past. Wembley continues to be a special place for the two former Sampdoria legends.