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Italy Manager Roberto Mancini said seeing three years of hard work come to fruition with Euro 2020 glory reduced him to tears at Wembley after his side battled England on penalties.
The Italians fell behind early on a Luke Shaw goal but equalized in the second half by Leonard Bonucci, before winning 3-2 in shootout after a 1-1 draw after extra time.
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It was Italy’s first European Championship title since 1968 and was the result of Mancini’s intelligent rebuilding of the national team after his humiliating failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Asked about the tears he shed full time, Mancini said: “It was the emotion that comes after doing something amazing, to see the guys celebrating, the fans celebrating in the stands.
“It was seeing how much we’ve managed to create, all the work we’ve done over the past three years and especially the past 50 days, which have been very difficult.
“We get along really well, there have never been any problems and the players deserve to be rewarded for that. Not just on the pitch they did a brilliant job there but I think it is. the fact that we were able to forge this team spirit.
“They created something that can never be separated in the future. They will always be synonymous with that triumph because they have so much respect for each other.”
Veteran defender Bonucci won the UEFA Star of the Match award winning his first international honor, nine years after losing the Euro 2012 final to Spain.
The 34-year-old shouted ‘It’s coming to Rome’ on camera after the game, in response to the ‘It’s coming home’ chant popular with England fans.
“We have heard it day after day since the Denmark match, that the cup would return to London, ”Bonucci said.
“Sorry for them, but in fact the cup will fly to Rome and so Italians all over the world will be able to savor this competition.
“It’s for them, it’s for us, we’ve been saying since day one that we think we can do it. It’s only fair that Italians are celebrating all over the world tonight.”
Bonucci is one of the oldest members of the squad, but the youngsters love the tournament keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, Midfielder Nicolo Barella and winger Federico chiesa impressed at Euro 2020 to give hope for a bright future.
“We had the disappointment of not qualifying for the World Cup, but you always have to believe in it, aim for the top and never give up,” added Bonucci.
“It’s a renaissance for Italian football. I’m sure now that this team and this coach will still make a lot of headlines in the future.”
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