Federico Chieza slipped to his knees on the turf of Wembley after the goal, his arms outstretched, the light in his eyes like a pilgrim who had come to the temple of football. And for Italian fans, the little Chieza, whose last name means "church", is tonight's saint.
In the quarter-final against Austria, Mancini continued to choose Torberdi as the starting right winger, who had better small-range coordination than Chiesa Jr. and a better finishing efficiency in the national team. However, in the fourth game of the European Championship, the previously brilliant Sassuolo star inevitably showed fatigue, and the ability to break through in a small area was also unable to be used in front of the Austrians who were tightly fenced. In the 84th minute, the fans who began to call for a "change for Chiesa" at half-time finally waited for Mancini's substitution.
Compared to the previous games, Italy this night was a little tired and confused. The arrival of the energetic Little Chieza is nothing short of a manna for this team with dry inspiration. Perhaps it was the experience of escaping the two disasters in the second half that Made Mancho dare not even change too early, and The Younger Chieza could not help the Blues solve the game in just 10 minutes left in regular time. His moment came in the 5th minute of extra time: Spinazzola's precise long pass was transferred to the other side, Chieza's chest stopped, his right foot flicked past Reiner, and then his left-footed shot left Bachmann powerless. With one goal, Chiesa Jr. made eighteen weapons all over again, just like his right and left positions on the field.
This is a moment of glory for Chiesa Jr. and the result of Mancini's clever hand. During the goal, the midfielder substitute Pesina's forward insertion played a crucial role, and the Atalanta star involved the defense of Alaba and others, leaving Younger Chiesa only need to deal with Reiner. Don't forget another substitute, Rocatelli! He passed the ball forward to Spinazzolla in midfield, burning the flames on the Austrian's doorstep in the most efficient way.
Everything is familiar. At Juventus this season, The Younger Chiesa has shone several times in the stalemate moments of the crucial battle, even standing out in desperate situations. At the end of the season, Chiesa Jr.'s two-time win at San Siro was worth thousands of dollars, and in the Champions League knockout match against Porto, he scored three of the team's four goals to help Juve equalize at one point in a 1-3 overall situation. The solo show in the Champions League was somewhat discounted in the context of Juve's out-of-the-box game, and this time, the goal of the blue winger brought real qualification.
Italy has passed the unexpectedly dangerous hurdles, and Chiesa Jr. has completed a breakthrough on the personal level: previously, he had only scored 1 goal in 27 games of the national team, and the final score was 9-1, which was a bit less than the national team's rival Beladi, who had scored 5 goals. But the number is not all, the group stage radiant Italy, almost to repeat the Dutchman's 2008 tragedy, in the attacking end of the Wan Ma Qi, the little Chiesa with the most important goal of his career so far, to save the fate of the Blues.
The goal relies on hard work, and the speed and depth of the impact of The Younger Kyesa play a decisive role; but the goal is more on the mind, and the Juve star, who has always been very modest and low-key, also can't help but boast after the game: "When the game is so glued, after you receive a pass in that position, you are likely to subconsciously smoke a kick, but I was calm enough to choose to control the ball." "It's not just that goal, Chiesa Jr. was the absolute protagonist in extra time: after Pesina extended the score, Italy had a chance to kill the game once and for all, Chiesa Jr. broke in on the right and then delivered just the right ball to Bellotti, but the Turin centre-forward shot flawed. In the 119th minute of the game, the Italian who was pulled back by Austria was put back in danger again, and The younger Chieza received a long pass from the midfielder and exquisitely picked the ball past Bachmann, but unfortunately the final push-off attempt was preemptively destroyed by the Austrian defender.
The beautiful dream almost ended early at tonight's Wembley, and it was The Wonder Boy Chiesa who made the theme song of the 1990 Italian Summer "Magic Night" continue to resound throughout the Apennines. It was also the magic night of the Chieza family, with Federico and his father Enrico becoming the first father and son in the history of the European Championship to score both goals. Exactly 25 years ago, Enrico Chiesa scored a goal in the group stage of Euro 1996 between Italy and the Czech Republic to equalize. At that time, the younger Chiesa had not yet been born, and the stage was also in England, but not Wembley, but Anfield, 300 kilometers away. Younger Chieza had taken over his father's mantle, and he had reason to expect more—after tonight's hard battle, the selection of some of the positions of the Blue Legion had quietly changed.
This article is written by Shen Tianhao