Italians celebrated the European Championship soccer title as a new beginning not only for their youthful national team but for a country that's been yearning to return to normalcy after being hit hard and long by the coronavirus pandemic. (More Football News)
A cacophony of honking cars, fireworks and singing fans filled the night in Rome as thousands of people took to the streets after Italy beat England in a penalty shootout Sunday to win its first major soccer trophy since the 2006 World Cup.
바카라We are coming out of a difficult year and a half which has left us exhausted, like other countries in the world,바카라 said Fabrizio Galliano, a 29-year-old from Naples who watched the match on a big screen in downtown Rome.
바카라This means so much. Sports is one of the things that unites us, among all the things that separate us. But to finally be able to feel that joy that we've been missing, it goes beyond sports.바카라
Many Italians saw the European Championship as a relaunch for a country that spent much of the past 16 months in various stages of lockdown. Italy was the first country outside Asia to get hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and suffered immensely, particularly in the spring of 2020 when hospitals in northern Italy were overwhelmed with patients and the death toll soared. Italy has recorded more than 127,000 COVID deaths, the highest in the 27-nation European Union.
WATCH: English Fans Attack Italians
바카라It's been a complicated year for everyone but especially for us who were one of the first countries hit. This is a signal of a new beginning,바카라 said Michela Solfanelli, a 30-year-old event producer based in Milan.
Most virus restrictions have been lifted since the spring and those that remain were largely ignored by the mass of Italy fans who danced in the streets of the capital chanting 바카라we are champions of Europe.바카라
David Bellomo, a 23-year-old from the southern city of Bari, pointed out that this was Italy's second big victory this year, after Italian band Maneskin won the Eurovision Song Contest in May.
바카라Thanks to Eurovision and thanks to this game and soccer we've managed to come back this year,바카라 he said. 바카라We almost got a triple,바카라 he added, referring to Matteo Berrettini, the Italian tennis player who lost the Wimbledon final to Novak Djokovic earlier in the day.
Shoulder to shoulder, fans nervously watched the penalty shootout on two big screens set up on Piazza del Popolo, an ellipitcal cobblestone square at the edge of Rome's historic center. A deafening roar rose to the sky as Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma saved England's last penalty.
Among the sea of blue Italy shirts was an immigrant family from Senegal, who came from the town of Zagarolo, an hour outside Rome, to experience the final with the crowd in the piazza.
바카라I am not Italian, but I can feel the emotions. I feel it, as if I were Italian,바카라 said Falilou Ndao, 42. 바카라We really love this country.바카라
His 13-year-old son Yankho, an Italy fan and soccer player, was impressed by the team.
바카라They showed courage. They never gave up, even when they were down by a goal,바카라 he said.
바카라It is so well-deserved. They have been playing great the entire tournament. Go Italy!바카라
Though people are still required to wear masks in crowded situations, police made no attempts to intervene as throngs of barefaced fans poured of out the piazza, singing the national anthem and lighting flares. Fireworks cracked overhead as fans cruised through the city waving Italian flags from their cars.
Dr. Annamaria Altomare, a 39-year-old gastroenterologist, watched the spectacle with a friend from a safe distance. They were among the few wearing masks.
바카라We want to avoid the delta variant in this mess,바카라 she said, laughing.
(AP)
