For once, i penalty shootout they smiled atItaly. Even against the Spain.
Before the final of World 2006 the Azzurri were returning from a long series of disappointments in the decisive matches which ended in a draw in extra time.
Just think of the historic semifinal of Italy ’90, when on the notes of ‘An Italian summer’ it was Argentina’s Maradona to party on the night of San Paolo, or obviously at the final of Usa ’94 or in the quarter-finals of World 1998 in France, when the Di Biagio crossbar sent forward the hosts who were then winners of the competition. In truth, the negative tradition continued even after, with two disappointments against Spain, in the quarterfinals of Euro 2008 and in the semifinal of the Confederations Cup 2013.
This time no, it was the Italians who celebrated and the Iberians were crying.
L’Italy wins the tenth final in its history between European and World Championships and will try to win the second continental title after that of 1968.
The epilogue of the Wembley match was dramatic, with the initial mistake of Manuel Locatelli to foreshadow the umpteenth disappointment from the spot, but then the blue shooters were impeccable and to complete the work he thought Gigio Donnarumma opposing the shot of Alvaro Morata.
In Spain, however, there are those who have not taken more well than the outcome of the penalties, the progress of the draw.
It is about Gerard Piqué, historical leader of the defense of Roja, who said goodbye to the national team at the end of the 2018 World Cup in which Spain was eliminated by Russia in the round of 16 right after the penalties.
The Barcelona defender attacked on Twitter, deeming it unfair that to define who should start kicking is a draw and carrying out statistical data in defense of his tense
“Studies say that the first team that kicks has a better chance of winning – he wrote on Twitter – it doesn’t seem fair to me that a dime makes you start at a disadvantage.”
Piqué reported the outcome of the two study economists Spanish experimentalists, Jose Apesteguia and Ignacio Palacios-Huert who, studying the lottery of penalty kicks on a statistical basis, pretended that whoever wins the “toss of the coin” has the upper hand in 60% of cases.
“It is no coincidence that the four matches that ended on penalties at Euro 2020 and Copa America were won by those who started football – added Piqué in his post
Moreover, the real “yellow“Occurred during the draw.
Before starting the series of penalties, in fact, the two captains, Giorgio Chiellini e Jordi Alba, they found themselves in the center of the field with the referee Felix Brych to determine who should start kicking and under which goal.
However, the German whistle played the draw in an unusual way, dividing it into two parts. In the first it was decided which door to take the penalties, with the referee assigning the right door to the ‘head’ and the left door to the ‘cross’.
After the toss of the coin and the fall of the same to the ground, Jordi Alba believed he had won the draw (or more likely he tried cunningly to win …) and to kick under the curve of the Spanish fans, but it did not happen, because it was went to kick under the clove of Italian fans. Chiellini has “denied” the opponent, jokingly calling him “lying”, or liar.
Subsequently Brych made the players choose ‘heads’ or ‘tails’ for the order of the shooters and also in this case it was Italy who won.
And with all due respect to the accuracy and coldness of the shooters, according to the statistics and according to Piqué, the night of Wembley would have been decided right at that moment …
OMNISPORT | 07-07-2021 08:14
