It had a thousand shapes, the Savoy shield and then the tricolor one on the chest: but the color, that has remained the same for over a century of goals and emotions.
The
blue jersey turns 110 on Wednesday
, with honors because it represents a history of sporting glory, a true symbol of national identification.
'Azzurri', they are called all over the world
.
And in fact, when Giuseppe Milano, the first captain with that Savoy color, or Peppino Meazza, Gigi Riva, Fabio Cannavaro, Pablito Rossi, Roberto Baggio, even living football contradictions like Cassano and Balotelli, come on the field, here it seems a real flash of sky opens up. .
The first time was on January 6, 1911 in Milan
, an
Italy-Hungary at the Arena
.
The national football team had already played two games but dressed in white.
The Magyars also wore that color, so Italy chose the blue dear to the House of Savoy.
And she never left him.
Only four times has Italy completely betrayed its color, for a black worn in France '38 and never repeated, and for the green of the 1954 friendly against Argentina and then re-proposed, in a 'Renaissance' key, on 12 October last year for the European qualifiers match in Rome against Greece.
Then, even when the opponents forced to fall back on the second jersey - white - there was always a flash of blue.
Like the strip on the chest used by the heroes of Mexico '70, or the socks in the same color as many sports battles.
He was dressed as champions of four World Cups won, in Italy for the first time in '34 and immediately after in France, with the brace of coach Vittorio Pozzo, and again the boys of Bearzot in Spain '82 and those of Lippi for Germany 2006. But also captain Facchetti in the only European won, 1968, and then Rivera, Mazzola, Burgnich and the others in the legendary semi-final of Atzeca, Italy-Germany 4-3, or in the final lost to Brazil.
And again Roberto Baggio in the other final escaped from penalties in Pasadena, USA '94.
One hundred thirty-six times Fabio Cannavaro, captain of the Berlin night, the blue with the most appearances, wore it.
Ideally, and with pride, Gigi Riva, the all-time top scorer with 35 goals, still wears it, who confesses to still feeling it today.
A gallery of memories and emotions, which neither sports reversals nor modernity have affected.
Italy was the last, among the great national teams, to yield to the lure of sponsors.
When in France '98 Coni and Federcalcio agreed to print the logo of the company that from time to time supplied the new kits, it was almost a national uprising.
'' It is like a tricolor, it cannot be commercialized '', said a former coach, Azeglio Vicini.
That's how it went, and the new times didn't subtract anything from the charm: from football to all other sports, 'Azzurri' continued to indicate all Italians in sport in the world, and even something more.
