18 Months In Pandemic Hell, Italy Makes Azzurri's Victory As Nation's Healer

JAKARTA - After 18 months of pandemic hell, Italy enjoyed football paradise Monday after its national team brought back the European Cup trophy for the first time since 1968 after beating England at Wembley.

Led by coach Roberto Mancini, the players landed shortly after dawn to be greeted by fans who were still celebrating their national team success on a cool morning, with the smell of fireworks still wafting through the streets and flags fluttering from the car windows.

"We really need to get together again, for the sake of celebrating, for the sake of happiness, for the moment together. We really need it," said Roma resident Sara Giudice.

In the afternoon the group was guest of honor at the Quirinale Palace where President Sergio Mattarella is located, before making a short trip through central Rome to be received by Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

The blue and white team bus moved slowly through streets lined with cheering fans waving flags before being greeted with a ceremony in the courtyard of the prime minister's 16th-century office.

"You've made us happy, cheered us on, brought us joy and hugs," Draghi told a team joined by Matteo Berrettini, who was the first Italian to reach a Wimbledon final but lost to top seed Novak Djokovic hours before Italy. beat England.

"You guys have strengthened us all on the sense of belonging to Italy," Draghi said.

Contrary to the original plan, the team then took another open-top bus bound for Via del Corso to Piazza Venezia, where Mussolini used to deliver his speeches. The players waved to the crowd and held the trophy high.

Italy was the first Western country to be hit by COVID-19 last year and has so far recorded a death toll of 127,775 more than any European country except the UK.

Most of the restrictions aimed at limiting the transmission of the virus have been lifted and Sunday felt like liberation in many squares across the country where soccer victories were greeted by loud cheers, car horns blaring and tears of joy.

"You are before our eyes. You are in our hearts. The pain of those who suffer. The hardships of those who are at their knees because of the pandemic," captain Giorgio Chiellini wrote on Twitter.

This team is known simply as the Azzurri, the color of the deep blue sky that stretches over Italy all summer long, which unites the country as much as a shared passion for football.

"Football is not a metaphor for life or politics, but the national team always ends up resembling the nation it represents. Last month, Mancini's team reminded us that being Italian is not bad at all," wrote the newspaper Corriere della Sera.

A band broke through the streets of the southern island of Lampedusa, fans rowed through Venice's canals and a car honking procession took place along the same street in the northern Italian city of Bergamo where last year army trucks lined up to collect the coffins of COVID victims.

Praise poured in from everyone, from politicians to clergy, hoping that success on the football field carried a broader message to a country that went into its worst recession last year since World War Two and is now seeking redemption.

"Behind this team is an entire nation that never gives up, who never stops, who always finds new energy in which to pour out courage," wrote the Italian Catholic bishops' association.

The Coldiretti farmers' federation hopes to boost the economy to a level similar to that of 2006 when the Azzurri won the World Cup. At that time, exports were up 10 percent the following year, while tourist visits rose 3.5 percent to the country as national brands picked up globally, Coldiretti said.

"Whether this (victory) remains a happy memory in a dark moment or becomes a symbol of rebirth, it all depends on us," wrote Corriere della Sera.