Italy – European Champions

We honor today the Italian football/soccer team which won the European Championship, held every 4 years, although this time it was delayed by one year because of Covid-19. They beat England yesterday (or better, early this morning) in the final after almost three hours of nail-biting and gut-wrenching drama. The score at the end of regulation time was 1-1, which demanded an extra two 15-minutes periods, with no additional score. This led to the cruel and anxious moments of the penalty kicks, with each team alternating 5 kicks from the penalty spot. Italy made three goals, and England made 2, as their goal-keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma saved two crucial kicks, earning him the title of the best player in the entire tournament. Some of the stronger teams had fallen by the wayside in earlier games, as Germany, France, Portugal, Spain and Belgium, the top rated teams, had been eliminated by inferior teams. But Italy survived the tough tournament led by coach Mancini and their star players Chiellini, Chiesa, Insigne, Bonucci, besides their star goalie and the rest of the team. Congratulations Italy!