An attachment to the cause that, yes, let’s be honest, we would have also appreciated from the Azzurri who came out badly from the European Football Championships. Revenge – so to speak – is a dish best eaten cold. And the minor sports (a label peeled off with strokes, foil strokes, one-handed backhands and pirouettes…) have been enjoying their “revenge” for a while now. The Italy that revolved mainly around football no longer exists, crumbled both in body (it’s terribly hard to stay competitive) and in soul (attachment to the cause is at an all-time low). We would have liked to see them, yes, Donnarumma and company with the same ember eyes as Giannelli and co. Or with the same lucidity as Bacosi and Rossetti. Or with the courage of our gymnasts. Because the difference, at certain levels, is not made by basic technique, but by motivation and team spirit. The head, that too.
A date that will remain in the heart
If not in proportion – it will be complicated, but not impossible, to equal the medal haul achieved in Tokyo (40) – at least in terms of emotions offered, the Paris Olympics are providing them in abundance. Italy is there. And the tricolor waves on the heads of shooters, fencers, gymnasts, swimmers and tennis players. Just to name a few of the Italian heroines and heroes who have conquered the scene in the last ten days. And that it is not just about quality, Alice D’Amato demonstrated today when, against the queen of world gymnastics Simone Biles, she remained lucid and crowned herself with gold, while Manila Eposito with bronze. And what about the resilience of Fefè De Giorgi’s Italvolley? Practically doomed against Japan, they accomplished one of the greatest Olympic feats ever. And the duo of “gunslingers” Bacosi-Rossetti? All on the same day, August 5, 2024, a very close relative of August 1, 2021, when athletics dominated the Japanese track. Because when you defend the blue jersey, the attitude is that one.