GROUP A
Italy 1-0 Turkey
Chiesa '80
Eamonn Foster
Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy
Friday 12th June
All roads, as the saying goes, lead to Rome. Yet given the largely underwhelming nature of this premiere of Euro 2020, the bigwigs in the UEFA headquarters might just be breathing a sigh of relief from the posh seats that this tournament is the first ever to be taken ‘on the road’.
There was all the usual razzmatazz of an opening ceremony, including the the pitch-side performance of the, shall we say, lively, tournament-made song “I Feel Football / Football Feels Life” by Stromae & Nate Ruess. The proceedings were marked by much UEFA-endorsed emphasis on European unity, little over a week after the Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte- who applauded and smiled for photographs in the director’s box- had announced that a vote on Italian independence from the EU was looking increasingly likely. Eventually the pitches were cleared to make way for the football.
Roberto Mancini’s Italy side, spurred on by the sound of their beloved national anthem bellowed out by thousands of frenzied compatriots inside a capacity Stadio Olimpico bathed in pink evening sunlight, came close to opening the scoring several times in the opening ten minutes, barraging the Turkish goalposts with shots left, right and centre. A perturbed glance from defender Merih Demiral to his goalkeeper Fehmi Mert Günok was caught on television cameras but, more importantly, on the big screens at each end of the old Roman amphitheatre, picked up by thousands of Italians inside baying for blood. The half wore on; Ciro Immobile charged around up front looking anything but his surname and keen to add to his ten international goals, Fiorentina winger Federico Chiesa weaved between Turkish shirts at will and in the middle of the park Marco Verratti buzzed around incessantly, much to the delight of his manager.
And yet the Turks stood tall and withheld the pressure, gaining composure steadily until eventually, five minutes before half time, Italy suddenly looked dispirited and bereft of ideas, as if by not achieving an early goal they were condemning themselves to certain defeat. The Italians in the stands, however, remained optimistic and greeted every Turkish touch with jeers and every retrieval of the shiny new Adidas Uniforia matchball with cheers and shouts of encouragement, willing their side on.
By half-time it was the Italy side that looked more in need of respite. And so whilst the supporters who remained in their seats for the interval were treated to a game of FedEx-sponsored “Euro Legends Zorb-ball” (that is, near enough half of the players who played in the Italy-Turkey game at Euro 2000 charging around and falling over in equal measure with inflatable balls engulfing them from their midriffs upwards) it was up to Italian manager Roberto Mancini and his team to work out how to get the job done. He rolled the dice with the introduction of Internazionale’s lively midfielder Nicolo Barrella.
Italy started the second half purposefully enough but when on the hour mark Ozan Tufan broke through on the Italian goal, Mancini would have been forgiven for thinking that he might have preferred to have been with his old teammates rolling around inside inflated torus bubbles than in charge of his nation’s football team, where once expectations are not met it is never normally long before it is the coach’s bubble which bursts. And yet Turkey spurned their best chance yet as Tufan’s attempt to roll the ball underneath goalkeeper Ginaluigi Donnarumma fell short of the quality required.
During the second half the clock on the stadium scoreboard ticked along faster than most Italians would have liked, with few chances falling to those most trusted to convert them. Verratti headed one well wide of the post, Barrella miscued a sumptuous tee from Immobile and desperate claims for a penalty went ignored by the referee after a supposed shove in the back of Leonardo Bonucci.
However, Italy’s moment, and the moment of quality which thousands watching around the continent were so desperately awaiting, came with ten minutes remaining: Federico Chiesa, a baby-faced talent lesser known outside his homeland, and the son of nineties Serie A forward Enrico Chiesa, seized the opportunity for a quick short corner one-two with Barrella and upon receiving the return ball took one swerve inside, added the subtlest of faints to gain himself an extra half a yard of space before sweeping a sumptuous strike into the top corner of Günok’s net. Rome rejoiced as Chiesa charged around the Olimpico pitch in celebration, arms everywhere, eyes everywhere. Mancini breathed a sigh of relief.
Apart from a 40-metre lob attempt from midfield by the industrious Irfan Can Kahveci which almost left Donnarumma sweating that he had maybe misjudged his lines, Turkey never really looked like finding a way back in. They had been undone and the mental drain of the occasion showed in the final stages. As the game neared the final whistle, Turkey knew it was gone and tempers flared momentarily- not helped by the introduction of the widely-disliked veteran Belozugru Emre, still playing at 39 years of age- but wise heads prevailed as thoughts turned to preservation and focus on the remaining group fixtures. Italy had done enough.
So Mancini’s side are out of the blocks and will look to avoid the spotlight for a few days ahead of Wednesday’s potentially tricky match against a more potent Switzerland than of days gone by. Turkish supporters, on the other hand, ahead of Wednesday’s clash with Wales, will have a different thing altogether on their minds: which road exactly is it now that can take them out of Rome, and all the way to Baku?
Man of the match: Federico Chiesa