Italy erupts as Europe's soccer champions come home to Rome
Europe's soccer champions have returned home to the ecstatic cheers of Italians
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Europe's soccer champions returned home at dawn Monday to the ecstatic cheers of Italians who spent the better part of the night honking horns, setting off fireworks and violating all sorts of coronavirus precautions to celebrate Italy’s 3-2 win on penalties over England.
Captain Giorgio Chiellini his fist pumping in the air, and coach Roberto Mancini hoisted the trophy high over their heads as they descended from the Alitalia charter at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport. Amid cheers from airport workers, defender Leonardo Spinazzola hopped down the steps on one foot, his other one in a cast after he injured his Achilles tendon earlier on in the tournament.
“Grazie Azzurri,” read the banner on the tarmac — a sentiment felt across the country after Italy took home its first major trophy since the 2006 World Cup.
The national team was being feted officially by President Sergio Mattarella and Premier Mario Draghi later Monday, joined by Matteo Berrettini who had given Italians another reason for pride Sunday by reaching the Wimbledon finals. Berrettini lost to Novak Djokovic, but he joined Mattarella at Wembley Stadium to watch the Azzurri finish 1-1 after extra time Sunday and then win on penalties.
For Italians, the Championship was a new beginning for their youthful national team and a country that’s been yearning to return to normalcy after being hit hard and long by the coronavirus pandemic.
A cacophony of honking cars, fireworks and singing fans filled the night in Rome as thousands of people took to the streets. As the sun rose Monday, the noise had died down but not the sentiment.
“It seems to me that this victory is so good for the national spirit because after all that suffering for COVID," said Daniela Righino and Italian living in Uruguay who was back in Rome for the final. “Yesterday was an explosion of joy. I’m happy.”
Many Italians saw the European Championship as a relaunch for a country that spent much of the past 16 months in various stages of lockdown. Italy was the first country outside Asia to get hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and suffered immensely, particularly in the spring of 2020 when hospitals in northern Italy were overwhelmed with patients and the death toll soared. Italy has recorded more than 127,000 COVID deaths, the highest in the 27-nation European Union.
“It’s been a complicated year for everyone but especially for us who were one of the first countries hit. This is a signal of a new beginning,” said Michela Solfanelli, a 30-year-old event producer based in Milan.
Most virus restrictions have been lifted since the spring and those that remain were largely ignored by the mass of Italy fans who danced in the streets of the capital chanting “we are champions of Europe.”
David Bellomo, a 23-year-old from the southern city of Bari, pointed out that this was Italy’s second big victory this year, after Italian band Maneskin won the Eurovision Song Contest in May.
“Thanks to Eurovision and thanks to this game and soccer we’ve managed to come back this year,” he said. “We almost got a triple,” he added, referring to Matteo Berrettini, the Italian tennis player who lost the Wimbledon final to Novak Djokovic earlier in the day.
Shoulder to shoulder, fans nervously watched the penalty shootout on two big screens set up on Piazza del Popolo, an elliptical cobblestone square at the edge of Rome’s historic center. A deafening roar rose to the sky as Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma saved England’s last penalty.
Among the sea of blue Italy shirts was an immigrant family from Senegal, who came from the town of Zagarolo, an hour outside Rome, to experience the final with the crowd in the piazza.
“I am not Italian, but I can feel the emotions. I feel it, as if I were Italian,” said Falilou Ndao, 42. “We really love this country.”
His 13-year-old son Yankho, an Italy fan and soccer player, was impressed by the team.
“They showed courage. They never gave up, even when they were down by a goal,” he said. “It is so well-deserved. They have been playing great the entire tournament. Go Italy!”
Though people are still required to wear masks in crowded situations, police made no attempts to intervene as throngs of barefaced fans poured of out the piazza, singing the national anthem and lighting flares. Fireworks cracked overhead as fans cruised through the city waving Italian flags from their cars.
Dr. Annamaria Altomare, a 39-year-old gastroenterologist, watched the spectacle with a friend from a safe distance. They were among the few wearing masks.
“We want to avoid the delta variant in this mess,” she said, laughing.
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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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