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Lorenzo Insigne (left) and Ciro Immobile are Italy's most important offensive players
Photo:
Antonio Calanni / AP
Uefa is doing its best to make the European Championship appear as normal as possible.
This also applies to the host city of Rome, where Italy opened the tournament against Turkey in the Olympic Stadium in the evening in front of almost 16,000 spectators (9 p.m. ARD, live ticker SPIEGEL).
There will be a fan festival in the Italian capital, a so-called "Football Village" with numerous events is planned on the Piazza del Popolo, and public viewing will also be allowed in Rome. Andrea Bocelli sings at the opening. So everything as usual in times of the pandemic, which has lost its horror in Europe in the past few weeks, but has still not ended?
But if you take a closer look at the editions, you will quickly notice that it will not be a normal EM.
1000 fans can watch the Italian games together, body temperature will be measured before entry, there will be distance rules and a mask requirement.
Tifosi are known for their enthusiasm for football, but under these conditions no atmospheric festival can be expected.
And in purely sporting terms, trust in the Squadra Azzurra has suffered.
Missed World Cup 2018 was the low point
Coach Roberto Mancini's team is not one of the closest favorites.
There are mutliple reasons for this.
What is missing is a top star who attracts attention, like Kylian Mbappé for France or Romelu Lukaku and Kevin de Bruyne for Belgium.
The upheaval in the squad has now begun, but may not be with the necessary consistency.
There are one or two weak points in the squad that should be dealt with by a strong collective.
Above all, the national team has gone through a complicated tournament phase, which makes it difficult to make the semi-finals or even more a natural goal.
Since the 2006 World Cup in Germany, there has been almost no success at major events.
The low point was the missed 2018 World Cup - such a disgrace had only happened once in 1958.
Italian football was in deep crisis, and that was true for both the national team and club football for years.
But then Mancini came and brought confidence back.
The upswing was interrupted by the corona pandemic, which hit the entire nation in an extraordinary way last year and even made football, the country's most important minor matter, a thing of the past.
Mancini knows this and puts a lot of pathos into his words: "The title could be a rebirth for football and for the whole country."
Under the 56-year-old national coach, whose most successful time at Inter Milan and Manchester City was a few years ago, Vincenco Grifo also rose to the national team. The son of Italian immigrants was born in Pforzheim and trained in German clubs, but his footballing heart always beat Italy. Mancini called Grifo into the expanded EM squad, but a few days later the SC Freiburg professional was canceled again.
Grifo is understandably disappointed and currently does not want to comment on his removal from the boat.
When SPIEGEL had an appointment to talk to Grifo about the European Championship at the beginning of May, his confidence could still be heard in every word.
"It was always my biggest dream to play for the Italian national team," said Grifo.
“As a kid on the football field, I only thought of the Squadra Azzurra.
I always had in mind that I would play for Italy at some point. "
Italy have not conceded a goal in eight games
Grifo was there when Mancini formed a team with a clear idea of the game from an insecure team that had lost its self-image under his predecessor Gian Piero Ventura.
Italy lost only two of 32 international matches under Mancini, meanwhile the Squadra Azzurra has been unbeaten for 27 games, eight times in a row there have been no goals.
"The defense is very important to Mancini and it will always be so in Italy," said Grifo.
And yet the coach has managed to give the classic catenaccio of earlier times a little less importance.
In the preferred 4-3-3, Lorenzo Insigne enjoys a lot of freedom as playmaker and template provider, with Nicoló Barella and Federico Chiesa there are two youngsters who think very aggressively, and the ex-Dortmund Ciro Immobile has what it takes to be a goalscorer.
Grifo, the unwilling observer, cannot manage his assessment entirely without football stereotypes.
"German football is robust, athletic, fast, competitive and characterized by pressing," said the midfielder, who was nominated for the first time during his time at TSG Hoffenheim.
“Everything is a little quieter in Italy.
Football is very well trained tactically, but also very high-quality technically.
The positional play and correct movement are more in the foreground. "
Chiellini and Bonucci keep the place together
The biggest plus for the Italians could be the closeness - on and off the pitch. Mancini stimulated the team spirit, so it was important not to part with all the veteran players. In defense, Leonardo Bonucci, 34, and his 36-year-old Juventus team-mate Giorgio Chiellini will have primary responsibility. Some experts consider this to be a danger, the veterans have an average season behind them in Turin and could get into difficulties with the high stress of an EM.
Grifo sees it differently.
"They are both of a certain age, but they are disciplined, hungry and always want to win," he said.
"I am fascinated by how helpful both of them have remained - despite their many successes." It was Captain Chiellini who greeted Grifo with kisses on both cheeks when he was nominated for the first time in 2018 and immediately integrated him into the group.
That is one of the reasons why he never felt like a German who had come here, but rather a full member of the team.
Now Grifo will have to cheer his colleagues from afar.
After the start against Turkey, there are two more opponents, Switzerland and Wales, who sound defeatable with their standing in world football, but should by no means be underestimated.
Mancini recently extended his contract as national coach until 2026.
He knows his team behind him, now he also wants to get the fans in the mood for the coming weeks.
"Our team is aware that they represent a fantastic and determined nation at the European Championship, which starts in a few hours," wrote Mancini in an open letter on social networks on Thursday.
"That's why the boys take to the pitch, we'll use every minute to honor the country we represent."
So it could be something with the EM atmosphere in Rome.