Former Italy international Alessandro Diamanti believes that, irrespective of the result when Gli Azzurri meet England in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday, Italy have already succeeded this summer.
Having missed out on the 2018 World Cup, there was little hope in Italy that Roberto Mancini’s current crop of players could go all the way to the final.
But Mancini has led Italy on a 33-game unbeaten run and now they’ll take on England at Wembley hoping to get their hands on silverware.
“I think Italy have already won,” Diamanti said to La Gazzetta dello Sport. “I’ll tell you what I mean…
“Italy have already won because Italians have fallen back in love. They’re celebrating in the streets, they’re smiling again after an awful period. This alone is worth a trophy.
“The result of the game against England is irrelevant.”