After a year’s delay, Euro 2020 kicked off on June 11 in Rome, in front of a small but loud crowd. It seemed apt, poignant. Italy had suffered more and earlier than most due to the Covid-19 pandemic and here, perhaps, was a sign that something resembling normal life was close to resuming. When Andrea Bocelli, natty in an Azzurri-blue jacket (though the team itself, irritatingly, wore white on the night), sang ‘Nessun Dorma’, Puccini’sstirringariafrom Turandot, with its sustained final notes of triumph, the nostalgia for Italia 90 was palpable. You could feel the heartache through the screen.
Fortunately, after years in the footballing wilderness, the Italians have a team of which they can be proud. Its coach Roberto Mancini, once a glossily skilled showpony of a player, has created…
