Chiellini and Bonucci, Italy’s old guard defying English ‘youngsters’

LONDON: Italy’s old guard Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci will have the task of stopping English ‘youngsters’ Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling in the Euro 2020 final in London on Sunday.

The Juventus centre-backs are the only survivors of Italy’s 4-0 final loss to Spain in Euro 2012, and central to the side Roberto Mancini’s reconstructed after the Azzurri failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup campaign behind them.

Both Chiellini and Bonucci were on the pitch during the low of their play-off defeat by Sweden in November 2017 when they failed to qualify for the World Cup in 60 years. “The will to rebuild was immense. We managed to transform the disappointment into enthusiasm and the desire to do well,” said captain Chiellini.

“It is a dream that we have cultivated in the last three years, we carry it with us. The coach instilled it in our heads until it became reality. At the beginning when he said we had to think about winning the European Championship we too thought he was crazy. Instead we managed to get there and now the last centimetre is missing.”

In Italy’s new-look young side, 36-year-old Chiellini and 34-year-old Bonucci, who between them boast 219 caps, are the centre-back pairing of choice. The duo have cultivated their art during a decade together at Juventus, apart from a brief ill-fated season-long spell Bonucci spent at AC Milan three years ago. “Chiellini and Bonucci are two monsters, monumental,” said Italy’s former World Cup winner Andrea Barzagli, the third pillar in Juve’s famed ‘BBC’ (Bonucci, Barzagli, Chiellini) defensive partnership until he retired in 2019.

“They are the cornerstone of the national team. They still play at a very high level and then, when you need someone to do the barking...”

Jose Mourinho lauded a pair who could give “a masterclass in defending at Harvard University” after his Manchester United side fell to a Champions League defeat in Turin. “Mourinho’s compliments pleased us, they make us think of how much good we had done in our career,” said Bonucci on Friday. “(But) every game you have to prove you are strong, a team”.