ROME – Giorgio Chiellini, captain of the Italy team, assured that last Tuesday, in the draw prior to the penalty shoot-out of the Eurocup semifinal won by Italy against Spain, the Spanish captain Jordi Alba He “made a mistake” in deciding the area in which to throw the maximum penalties and that he made him “notice jokingly”.
“We had to say under what fund to take the penalties and he made a mistake in the decision, I made him notice jokingly,” Chiellini explained in an interview published by UEFA.
“We have had an extraordinary European Championship. Each player contributed their grain of sand. If we are here, the credit goes to everyone and a great coach (Roberto Mancini),” continued the expert Italian defense.
“During the shootout I hugged Locatelli, all the time. I was desperate to miss the penalty, I shared with him emotions that will stay forever. In the end there was a hug, it was a release, with some tears after the last penalty from Jorginho“, he concluded, when reviewing the way in which he lived the final batch.
Italy will play this Sunday at Wembley in the final against England, with the possibility of winning the second European Championship in its history.
“What we dreamed of is getting closer, a plan that Roberto Mancini made us believe little by little. The emotions were growing and they allowed us to do this great Eurocup in order to reach the end,” he said.
“It is clear that we have a bit of tension, but I am sure that we will turn it into a positive push. We would have preferred to play in Rome, this is for sure, but we will play all over Italy and we hope to have a fantastic night,” he added.