There is tension in the sticky air of Coverciano. And this is no wonder given that the European Championship is getting to the heart and from here on out it will never be possible to miss a beat. Now that they are forced to leave their comfort zone, between the safe fort on the outskirts of Florence and the wonder of the stadium Olimpico, the Azzurri discover the inevitable flaws of a traveling tournament during the pandemic. A Euro delusion. Roberto Mancini it would have wanted to spend the last Florentine day focusing on training. Instead he was forced to waste time and energy to redo the meticulous plan with which, together with his staff, he had planned this trip.
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The original idea was to leave on a charter this morning at 10 from Florence airport and train at Wembley in the afternoon. L’Uefasurprisingly, it upset the plans of Italy and also those of Austria. The lawn is apparently not in good condition and three days after our match in the temple outside London, England-Germany will be staged. So we turn around. There National postponed departure by almost 7 hours, further reducing the time spent in London. A 30-hour blitz considering that I will return to Florence in the night. the only good news. The Azzurri are vaccinated but the Delta variant, which spreads in England, creates a bit of concern.
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The change of plans did not make Mancini happy and it is easy to imagine that the coach took it a bit. Not angry, they assure the Football Association. Maybe annoyed. The first in or out of the European Championship must be prepared in detail, including logistical ones. Instead Italy had to do it all in two hours: training at 9.30 a Coverciano, take off at 5 pm towards Luton airport, walk to Wembley at 7.15 pm and return to the hotel at 9 pm. Almost 12 hours around. Mancini decided that raising the tension would only make the group nervous and tried to turn a negative news into a positive one: We train at home. The FIGC does not protest, but it is clear that we have not been facilitated. And we rejected the idea of setting up a second charter to bring selected guests. After all, political relations between Draghi and Johnson are very tense.
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Europeans 2021: all the insights
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Then there is the other slippery issue that complicates this strange long eve linked to Black Lives Matter, the anti-racist movement that has broken through in Europe. The fool with Wales, half team standing and half kneeling, must not be repeated. Everyone will have to behave the same way. The players already agree on this. They are still debating what the final position will be. At Wembley we will remain standing, like the Austrians. No requests have been made to UEFA and there is no more time to change. It is difficult to imagine that Italy could change its attitude going forward in the tournament. A line that seems also shared by Carlo Ancelotti, the new coach of Real Madrid, who was interviewed by The newspaper, said: It is not essential to kneel for a few seconds. The question is not resolved. The real theme: educating the new generation to the issue of racism that is still present in our societies.
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June 25, 2021 (change June 25, 2021 | 08:26)
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