by Antonio Ricotta
PALERMO (ITALPRESS) – Natal, Brazil, 24 June 2014. Suarez bites Chiellini, Godin scores, the Uruguay wins. Italy outside the world. Not an hour after the resignation of Cesare Prandelli and Giancarlo Abete. Eleven years ago. In the middle of new ct (Conte, Ventura, Mancini, Spalletti), other federal presidents (Tavecchio, Gravina), the accreditation of the wonderful European won in 2021 with the Mancio, some discrete Nations League, but a constant and depressing situation: Italy outside the world. And be careful, not after the group stage like 11 years ago. No, because the National Four-time World Champion couldn’t even win the entry ticket for Russia2018 and Qatar2022. On both fatal shooting occasions, first with Sweden (Ventura ct), then with Macedonia (the European champion throw on the bench). A football nightmare, a private generation of the most beautiful balloon appointment, stronger emotions (that are joys or sorrows).
We returned to the “never more” of 8 years ago, to the same “never more” of four and a half years later. Do not repeat it means to overcome the northern Irish rock and then the Welsh or Bosnian one. You can do it and we’d miss it. You have to do it. We cannot afford another football apocalypse, we play everything and this is not only the World2026, it is a point of no return, it is the survival of a football, the Italian one, that of problems has avalanche, but that it is alive, that fight as the boys of the blue youth, but that risks taking another cock knockout that would send to the carpet not only the National, but indeed the whole system. Do we deserve it? Surely not everyone. Not those children who have never seen them, not our history that allows us to bring, as only Germany can do, four stars on the chest, to have just one in less than the pentacampeas of Brazil, but one in more than Argentina and two in more than France.
All this, however, does not go into the field, the desires and hopes of the fans do not go the golden clouds. In the field goes Donnarumma, one of the strongest if not the strongest in the world in its role, go Bastoni and Calafiori, top defenders, go midfielders like Tonali and Barella that all envy us, go centering like Kean and Retegui that the goal in the blood have it. It is true there are not the very great of a few decades ago (Nesta, Cannavaro, Pirlo, Totti and Del Piero and so), but seeing everything black is not needed and is not even right. Northern Ireland does not have Donnarumma, nor Calafiori or Tonali, and if instead of seeing everything black we strive to look clear, indeed blue, also Wales and Bosnia these champions if they dream. Of course you will have to see what will be the conditions of the players, as we will get there, four months are missing, a time space calcitically long.
Speaking of times, the editorial director Italpress, Italo Cucci, one that the history of football knows it well because he wrote it and continues to write it, remembering how it was yesterday December 1957 when Italy fell to Belfast. He did so bad, he says, that rejection. It is also true that no one forgets the 0-0 of November 2021 when the European champions stumbled in the northern capital of Ireland, wasting the match point to close the group first and then fell fragorously in the shoot with Macedonia. As Gigi Buffon recommends, however, it is right and necessary to shake off of meager negativity and fears. Better to make room for responsibility, grit and belonging, characteristics in the DNA of Gennaro Gattuso, one that these things can transfer them and in these months from ct in part has already done it. First Northern Ireland in the house (Bergamo is ready), then, because there can not be one then, the final in Cardiff or Bosnia, in warm, warm environments, but they were also San Siro and Barbera, yet Swedes and Macedonians came out fresh and winning. Now it is our turn, America is not so far away.
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(ITALPRESS).
