Italy and Turkey, on stage: the Eurocopa starts

This Friday is the day. The players from Italy and Turkey will jump to the Olympics in Rome and Euro 2020 will finally start. With a year delay due to the coronavirus pandemic, the great party of European football will begin, with an unprecedented format: it will be played in 11 cities of 11 countries.

Before the selection of Senol Günes and that of Roberto Mancini go on stage, a short and simple opening ceremony will take place (due to restrictions due to Covid-19) in which Alessandro Nesta (symbol of Lazio) and Francesco Totti ( de la Roma), world champions in 2006 with Italy, will host fans, some 16,000 due also to the measures for the pandemic. But the public finally returns to the Olympic in Rome.

During the ceremony, the Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli will perform the aria Nessun Dorma. And, virtually, the performance of Martin Garrix, Bono and The Edge, the creators of the Euro Cup song, We Are The People.

In sports, Italy makes their debut in this group A convinced, according to their coach, Roberto Mancini, “that the time has come to rejoice and we must have a free mind.” In the collective imagination ‘azzurro’ left a very deep mark that Italy was left out of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Mancini lost this Thursday through injury, in the preview of the opening match, to midfielder Federico Pellegrini (Roma), Barcelona's goal and who is relieved from the list by Gaetano Castrovilli (Fiorentina).

Mancini did not give clues about his eleven, but everything indicates that Italy will play with a 4-3-3, in which Manuel Locatelli will replace the injured Marco Verratti in the center of the field and the attacking trident will be formed by Domenico Berardi, Ciro Immobile and Lorenzo Insigne. “We managed to turn the disappointment of the World Cup into enthusiasm and now we are among the candidates,” said Giorgio Chiellini, captain of Italy. The other components of the group, Wales and Siza, are measured tomorrow.

The ‘azzurri’ know that they will not find an easy rival in Turkey. Their coach is Senol Günes, who in the 2002 World Cup led Turkey to no less than third place and who knows that one of his great assets is the great form of Burak Yilmaz, at 35 key years for Lille to be proclaimed champion of France at the expense of PSG.

Donnarumma, before Calhanoglu

Gianluigi Donnarumma, Italy's goalkeeper who is leaving Milan, will have as his rival the one who has been until now his teammate in the red-black team Hakan Calhanoglu, who said that “I have waited a lot for this match, but I dream of playing Italy again in the final”. Günes said: “It would be a dose of pride to win against Italy, we know their strengths but also their weaknesses.”

Today is your turn, all eyes will be on Turkey and Italy. Those in charge of finally opening this long-awaited Eurocup.

(+) We analyze the teams that will play the Euro:

Turkey-Italy

Olympic of Rome, 21.00 (Telecinco)

Turkey: Cakir; Celik, Demiral, Söyüncü, Meras; Yokuslu, Tufan, Cengiz Under, Calhanoglu, Karaman; Yilmaz

Coach: Senol Günes

Italy: Donnarumma; Florenzi, Bonucci, Chiellini, Spinazzola; Barella, Jorginho, Locatelli; Berardi, Immobile and Insigne

Coach: Roberto Mancini

Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)