After 18 months of pandemic hell, Italy revelled in some soccer heaven on Monday after its national team brought back the European Championship trophy for the first time since 1968 following victory over England at Wembley.
Led by coach Roberto Mancini, the players landed shortly after dawn to find many fans were still celebrating in the early morning cool, with the smell of fireworks lingering in the streets and flags flapping out of car windows.
“We really needed to get together again, to celebrate, to be happy, to have a shared moment. We really needed it,” said Rome resident Sara Giudice.
In the afternoon the squad were guests of honour at the Quirinale Palace of President Sergio Mattarella, before making the short journey through central Rome to be received by Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
The blue and white team bus moved at walking pace through streets lined by cheering, flag-waving fans, before a ceremony in the courtyard of the 16th century prime minister’s office. “You have excited us, moved us, given us joy and hugs,” Draghi told the team, which was accompanied by tennis player Matteo Berrettini, the first Italian man to reach the final at Wimbledon, where he lost to top seed Novak Djokovic on Sunday. “You have reinforced in all of us a sense of belonging to Italy,” Draghi said.
Overturning original plans, the team then boarded another open-topped bus which made its way down Via del Corso to Piazza Venezia, where Mussolini used to deliver his speeches, with the players waving to the crowds and holding the trophy aloft.
Italy was the first Western country to be slammed by the coronavirus last year and has registered 127,775 deaths so far, more than any European country bar Britain.
