Euro 2020 is here, and Italy made the perfect start to the event with a 3-0 win over a tricky Turkey side. Italy’s odds were slashed after that dazzling performance and it’s no surprise that Roberto Mancini’s side are amongst the most fancied to win the competition.
OLBG are specialists at analysing football matches and betting markets, and they’ve created this list of the bookies you need accounts with this Euro 2020. Italy is still well priced to win the tournament at 8/1 despite the early indicators that they have the power to challenge for the trophy.
The squad and fans will be desperate for the Azzurri to win the tournament, but it’s worth considering whether a Euro 2020 victory would actually benefit Serie A and Italian football. In this article, we’ll review the pros and cons of an Italy triumph.
Italy fans are desperate for international success
National Recognition
A major tournament victory is the perfect tonic for any National statesmen, and it provides a welcome relief for people and politicians.
Like many nations, Italy are in need of a big celebration and a win at Euro 2020 would give the perfect reason.
With no major trophy since the 2006 World Cup in Germany, a generation has passed and any players who contribute to the victory would become national treasures. Italy is a country with immense historical significance and football is treated like a religion, such is the passion of its people for the sport.
Players have had statues erected in remembrance of their exploits during successful international tournaments, and often on a global scale. Simone Perrotta was part of the Italian side which won in 2006 and he only found out about his own statue seven years after it was constructed.
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International football tournaments are a global phenomenon, and they have huge spectatorship. Over two billion individual viewers tuned in to the Euro 2016 tournament, and we can expect that number to rise in Euro 2020.
Such huge viewership creates hype around players, either because of their reputation or because of their performance in the tournament.
It’s inevitable that any player who excels in major competition will attract interest from the biggest clubs on the planet, and scouts will be keeping a close eye on all participants. Whilst this isn’t a big issue for players at the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid or Manchester City as there are few clubs who can offer them a better package, it is a big issue if the player is at a club deemed smaller.
A perfect example of this is Karel Poborsky who scored a memorable lob in the Euro ‘96 quarter-finals and later that summer was signed by Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United for a £3 million fee. The impact of the Euros was clear as Poborsky was offered to West Ham the previous year for a fraction of the price the Red Devils paid.
Smaller clubs such as Sassuolo will find it difficult to keep hold of their best players when big bids come in
Clubs
Despite playing no part in the process, Italian clubs will certainly feel the effect of any international trophy. Italy’s key personnel all play in Serie A and players with an international trophy under their belt play with much more confidence and experience of pressure situations.
A victory for Azzurri would be welcomed by the clubs as not only would their players have benefited from the win, but their values would also have increased so even if a major club bid, they’d have to pay a premium to acquire the player.
It’s feasible that players such as Domenico Berardi and Manuel Locatelli, both of Sassuolo, would be targeted by clubs like Juventus or Inter if they play an integral part at Euro 2020. Whilst this wouldn’t be welcomed by the club, the inflated fee they’d receive for the players would allow the club a larger sum to reinvest in new talent.
The added prestige of a tournament win would also pique interest from players and managers to come to the major league in Italy. Before the 2006 World Cup win, Serie A had lost its excitement and interest on a global scale which it was esteemed for in the 90s.
After the Azzurri’s monumental win, world class players and staff started to make their way back to the country with arguably the world’s best manager Jose Mourinho joining Inter Milan and one of the premier strikers in Samuel Eto’o. A victory in Euro 2020 could see the world’s best flock back to Serie A again.
