![]() Perhaps given his Euro 2020 victory and his contribution in that tournament, Insigne feels that he’s achieved everything he can wearing the blue of Italy. Moreover, it would also sound the death knell for his international career, with Mancini unlikely to call upon Insigne if he isn’t playing in one of the major leagues in Europe. The league would also lose one of its best players, as would Napoli. He still has years left of playing in Serie A, hugging that left-hand side and bending in his famous ‘tir a gir’ style goal, where he cuts inside off the left and strikes the ball into the opposite top corner of the net. Insigne was an integral part of Roberto Mancini’s side that won Euro 2020 less than six months ago, and he’s still operating at a very high level. With all due respect to Toronto, it would be a crying shame to see Insigne leave Serie A for the MLS at the age of 30. If Napoli played badly, Insigne tended to bear the brunt of supporter anguish, whether he played well individually or not. Being the local boy made good has brought more pressure to perform than even a normal Napoli player would receive (which is still a lot, given the goldfish bowl environment of the city). Insigne’s relationship with the Napoli faithful hasn’t always been idyllic, and has been at times fraught with tension. I am sure Mancini is working on this because finals are won with these small but important details.He’s gone on to make some 415 appearances for the Partenopei ever since, and is only one goal behind equalling the legendary Diego Maradona’s total for the club of 115. This Italy team have many young players so it will be a different feeling to when we were in the final but we have to approach the game in a calm manner. We were aware of our qualities if you get all the way to the final it can never be a coincidence. In the dressing room before the game there was a lot of tension but also the right concentration: we were sure we could win despite facing a fantastic team. My memories from that day in 2006 in Berlin? We had many stars such as Francesco Totti, Alessandro del Piero and many others, who already had great international experience. In this type of match you always manage to give something special – and doing it at Wembley against England will be a historic opportunity for everyone. I am convinced that Italy can win it because they arrive at the final with the right mentality. They are also a physical team, as we saw against Denmark, and they have been strong and focused. England will be a formidable opponent because they are very well-organised. ![]() ‘We were sure we could win’: Italy’s world champions celebrate in 2006. This makes the difference in a tournament. The situation is similar to what I and Angelo Peruzzi did with Gigi Buffon in 2006, without any envy – only by transmitting support and strength. That is not an easy atmosphere to create, especially when there are a lot of high-profile players but I know for a fact that Salvatore Sirigu and Alex Meret, the second and third-choice goalkeepers are very supportive to the excellent young goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. On the contrary, the ones who are playing are always supported by their teammates and encouraged to do their best. But in my opinion the real secret of this Italy is the players who do not play that much: no one complains, no one creates any problems. Lorenzo Insigne and Jorginho are two leaders in their clubs and have brought their leadership qualities to the national team. Mancini has also benefitted from having players with a special charisma in the team. Italian players at the final whistle of the 2018 World Cup qualifying play-off against Sweden. You need to know how to make them work together, which Allegri has done in Serie A for many years with Milan and Juventus. Tactically he reminds me of another of my former managers, Massimiliano Allegri, because he is aware that just because you have many good individual players it does not mean the team will be successful. He has a very strong and direct relationship with the players there is respect but also a constant dialogue that brings a very positive atmosphere around the team. Mancini reminds me of José Mourinho, whom I had at Chelsea, in the way he manages a team. The fact that there are several young players helps because Mancini has always been good at giving youth a chance. This is a different Italy: they are ready to go out and play good attacking football and are intertwined with the spirit of their fans. He found many young talented players who perhaps had not been able to make it at a big club and then gelled them together by finding a collective identity in the tactics and the way the team plays. It was like Italian football had experienced a disaster and Mancini cleared up the rubble.
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