Spain manager Luis Enrique celebrates at the end of the Euro 2020 Soccer Championship round of 16 match between Croatia and Spain at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen on Monday 28 June.
They are the opponents who have long struck fear in the heart of Spanish football.
Italians: Tough, defensively strong, cynical. Either way the winner – or so it was widely considered in Spain anyway.
And Luis Enrique knows all about it.
Spain’s current coach was a member of the national team that was defeated 1–0 by Italy in the 1994 World Cup quarter-finals. Luis Enrique, famous as the winning goal in the 88th minute by Roberto Baggio, had an elbow to the face, administered by Italy’s tough man in defense, Mauro Tassotti.
Violent acts during the game were not punished – Tasotti was later banned for eight matches – but was not forgotten in Spain. The photograph of a victim Luis Enrique bleeding from his broken nose on a broken white towel has gone down in history, and is often brought to the fore whenever two rivals meet.
As they will be in the semi-finals of the European Championships at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday.
“We have spoken many times since then, but it is part of the history of football in the past,” Luis Enrique said of the incident with Tassoti on Monday. “Sure, we both would have liked it had we gone separately but there’s nothing more to say.”
In fact, Luis Enrique holds no grudge against Azzurri, possibly turning his feelings after spending a year coaching Italian club Roma in the 2011–12 season.
“This is a country I love very much,” he said. “Whenever I have a little free time, I always like to go to Italy. It’s good to come up against Azzurri – it’s always great.”
Many in Spain would disagree.
For 88 years, Spain did not beat Italy in a competitive match and an inferiority complex naturally grew. The clash of styles – usually invading Spain against defensive Italy – always went one way.
As of 2008, ie. It was then that Spain took the weight off a country that was on its way to its first continental title in 44 years after beating Italy in a penalty shootout in Vienna in the European Championships quarter-finals.
Four years later, Spain would again beat Italy at Euro 2012, this time in Kiev 4–0 for the most one-sided score in the final in the tournament’s history.
Yet Spain’s title defense had been ended last 16 five years earlier by a limited but tactically superior Italy coached by Antonio Conte, who won 2–0 in Paris.
The teams will then face each other for the fourth consecutive tournament. The match promises to be different, however, purely because of the change in Italy’s approach since Roberto Mancini took over as coach in 2018.
Sure, the defense still has the trademark Italian fortitude, but the team has an attacking swagger these days and has become a passing team as well. They are not in the league of Spain in terms of possession, but then who is?
“We are the leaders in possession statistics, but they are also a side that enjoys playing with the ball. So this will be the first fight to win,” said Luis Enrique. “But they are very good even without the ball. We need the ball. We want to get it.”
Spain is the team with the youngest in the tournament – at 24.1 years old – and there is a feeling that Luis Enrique feels his players have exceeded expectations by reaching the semi-finals.
This is why he was so proud to have overtaken Switzerland in the quarterfinals, albeit requiring a penalty shootout.
“It’s impossible to reduce it,” he said. “We are not an experienced national team.”
In fact, when it comes to being street-wise on the international stage, only a few can surpass the Italians.
A clip of Italy striker Ciro Immobile falling dramatically and clearly hurt during their quarter-final win over Belgium, only to spring to his feet immediately after an opening goal by Nicola Barella, is widely shared on social media. Media has spread widely.
Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci laughed it off on Monday, saying: “The joy and excitement of scoring a goal in matches like this means you won’t experience any more pain.” But for some it was another classic example of sportsmanship.
This is why players like Champions League winners Cesar Azpilicueta, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba will be so important for Spain to guide the team’s young players at Wembley.
“We are not an experienced team,” said Luis Enrique, “but that does not mean that we do not have experience in the game. Many of our players have played at a very high level and are used to these games.
“I hope we are up to the challenge.”
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