L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, JULY 22, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 4 BARBARA MINAFRA NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS T he focus is on Tokyo, but Italy still has the Wembley fi- nal in the eyes. A magical night that filled our hearts with joy and new hope for the future, and our streets with too many people who, quite simply, couldn't say no to chanting and cele- brate together without masks, in spite of the risks. Too strong was the need to celebrate our team -- which wasn't considered a potential winner for the competition, too strong the dream to do again what Covid doesn't al- low us to do: hugging one an- other. T h e O l y m p i c s c o u l d bring to Italy more "cher- ries on the cake," after our t r i u m p h a l E u r o p e a n C h a m p i o n s h i p , t h e f i r s t t a k i n g p l a c e i n s e v e r a l c o u n t r i e s , a n d t h a t brought the cup back to il Belpaese after 53 years. On one hand, the success o f R o b e r t o M a n c i n i ' s team embodies a moment of redemption for a country eager to go back to normal after a year and a half of difficulties and restrictions caused by Covid-19; on the other, it is also a reason of p r i d e f o r m i l l i o n s o f Italians who, at home and around the world, exulted after the penalties against England, ideally embracing y o u n g G i g i o D o n n a r u m m a w h o , a t only 22, was elected best player of the tournament. Our President Sergio Mattarella, who was seen c e l e b r a t i n g a t W e m b l e y stadium, just like Pertini had done in 1982, received t h e A z z u r r i a t t h e Quirinale, underlining the immense moral and emo- tional value of their suc- cessful ride to the final, a feat that brought together t h e e n t i r e n a t i o n , a s i t a l w a y s h a p p e n s w h e n i t c o m e s t o s o c c e r a n d o u r national team. "Italian peo- ple's affection was with you during these seven games. You were surrounded by it. You repaid them represent- ing Italy well and honoring s p o r t . " A v i c t o r y t h a t s h o w e d d e t e r m i n a t i o n , commitment, but also team spirit and unity in adversi- ty. "You showed there was harmony and balance in the team, and it was evident on the field. This emphasized the extraordinary value of sport." And – we cite again the President – "you didn't only seek victory, you won playing magnificently." The image the team and t h e s t a f f o f f e r e d t o t h e world represented some- thing that goes beyond all expectations, a spirit we Italians don't always man- age to use but that, given the right conditions, we can t a k e a d v a n t a g e o f b e t t e r than anyone else. H i s t o r y t e a c h e s t h a t s p o r t s , e s p e c i a l l y t h o s e w i t h h i g h m e d i a i m p a c t and popularity such as soc- cer, always benefited the image of export-focused countries like Italy. It is the positive effect of inter- n a t i o n a l p r e s t i g e . " Y o u p l a c e d – o u r P r i m e M i n i s t e r a n d e c o n o m i s t Mario Draghi said – Italy a t t h e h e a r t o f E u r o p e . " And the fact half of the con- tinent, in this post-Brexit c l i m a t e , s u p p o r t e d t h e Azzurri, is quite significant. A c o n f i d e n c e a n d i m a g e boost, an important chance to shine on international m a r k e t s , w h i c h a l a r g e c h u n k o f o u r e c o n o m y relies on, and where a good slice of our GDP – it should grow of 5% in 2021 – is cre- ated. Economists estimate that important soccer wins c a n b r i n g a 0 . 7 % G D P , which means a potential boost of 12 billion euro for Italy: a lot, in a moment of recovery such as this. Coldiretti – that, with its 1.5 million members, is the most important organi- zation of agricultural entre- p r e n e u r s i n I t a l y a n d Europe – supports these estimates, declaring that "the year after the Azzurri's l a s t v i c t o r y a t t h e 2 0 0 6 W o r l d C u p i n G e r m a n y , national economy grew of 4.1% and unemployment d e c r e a s e d o f 1 0 % . " S o , t h e r e m a y a c t u a l l y b e Continued to page 6 Italian president Sergio Mattarella with Matteo Berrettini and the soccer national team, winner of the UEFA EURO 2020 Championship (Photo: Quirinale.it) The Azzurri lead the way towards the country's new renaissance

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