This Italian team does not have an abundance of brilliant players. Mario Balotelli? Tick. Andrea Pirlo? Tick. Gianluigi Buffon? Tick. And that’s about it. Still, the game against England showed why they can go far at this World Cup. There is a togetherness there that has not always been case in Italian teams. On the morning of the game, Mario Balotelli, tweeted to an expectant nation: “Whatever team you support, today only the blue Azzurri team matters. Leave hate, jealousy and contempt to one side and we will stay united ALL of us.” It seemed to set the tone and the team were certainly united, and you could see at the final whistle what it mean to the players. There was hugging, there was shouting, there were high-fives and a big embrace between Georgio Chiellini and Mario Balotelli, who on the face of it could not be more different. One is a Juve player and the other a Milan player. One is a defender and the other a striker. One is a brute and the other a newly-engaged bad boy. Yet they played in harmony and celebrated in harmony. And there was even a smile from Balotelli. If he is that happy, who knows what can happen this summer. [theguardian/football/blog/2014/jun/15/england-italy-world-cup-talking-points]
Posted on: Sun, 15 Jun 2014 17:45:35 +0000
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