He prevented a goal with his ass, then cried on a stretcher. The Italians advanced, but lost their star – Diary N

Good day,

if so far someone doubted the strength of Italy, the advance through strong Belgium must have convinced him that the Italians are the favorite for the title of European football champions.

In the match, they showed all the good things they learned under the new coach Robert Mancini, but in the end they did not deny their defensive DNA and did not hesitate to “hang out” to win.

However, the Italians (and with them the fans) suffered a big loss – one of the best players of Euro Leonardo Spinazzola left the lawn in tears and ended up in the tournament.

Italy’s opponent in the semifinals will be Spain, which has suffered against Switzerland and, despite a large majority, advanced only after a penalty shootout.

The hero was the goalkeeper Unai Simón, who collected a curious goal in the round of 16 against Croatia. Now, however, a remarkable tactic has thrown the Swiss shooters.

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The Italian national team experienced a historic crisis before the arrival of coach Robert Mancini, when after 60 years it failed to get to the world championships, as a result of which it dropped to the worst 21st place in the FIFA ranking.

Mancini tried to renovate the team with a modern game, which was in contrast to the typical Italian defense and waiting for counterattacks.

“He went against traditions, but after a failed qualification he could probably try anything, because it was a real bottom,” vravel for the BBC Roberto di Matteo, former Chelsea coach.

Under Mancini’s leadership, the Italians initially had embarrassing results when they won only one of his first six matches over Saudi Arabia. Since then, however, they have been unstoppable and before the quarter-final duel between the Euro and Belgium, they have drawn a series of 31 matches without losing.

BBC reporter Phil Dawkes covered the meeting text transmission and in one of the first reports after the final seconds, he described himself as “a fool who had thought of questioning the Italians.”

The reason? Dawkes reminded the Italians before the match