The Top 10 Euro 2020 Moments Involving Serie A Players

Azzurri Triumph, Euro 2020, Inter Milan, Italian Football, Italy, Juventus, Serie A, Top 10

After more than a year of watching shades of football matches, fans of the sport were ecstatic with the action witnessed at the European Championship, and in the presence of crowds in attendance all over the continent. In fact, Euro 2020 has been described by many observers as one of the most exciting international tournaments ever held, and luckily for calcio fanatics, some of their favorite Serie A stars were at the center of the action.

On Sunday night, Roberto Mancini’s Italy challenge England who will be playing in their own backyard at Wembley, in what is expected to a be great Final.

But before the competition closes its curtains, let’s look back at the Top 10 crazy moments which included players who ply their trade in the Italian league.

10- Don’t Mess with Locatelli

After winning the first two matches against Turkey and Switzerland, Mancini decided to rest some of his key players for the final group stage encounter against Wales.

Whilst Manuel Locatelli was focusing on the match, Nicolò Barella – who was sitting right next to him on the bench – was in a rather playful mood, and decided to disturb his teammate’s peace by throwing a bandage into his lap.

However, the Sassuolo man reacted by ferociously hitting him back with a headshot, earning the love of Juventus fans who were pleased to see their potentially next midfielder already taking aim at Inter players.

9- Ronaldo vs. Armband

This one is becoming a classic. Whenever Cristiano Ronaldo loses a match, he decides to take his frustration out at his old enemy – the captain’s armband.

Following Portugal’s defeat at the hands of Belgium in the Round of 16, CR7 took the armband off, threw it to the ground and kicked it as only he can, and eventually escaped all repercussions because he’s… well, Ronaldo.

Some reports even claimed that the armband was the instigator this time, and could find itself in some deep trouble.

Ronaldo Wins! SIUUUUUUUUU

8- Morata’s Nightmare

Whilst most of the entries on this list can be taken light-heartedly, this one tackles a more serious case. No Serie A player (or any player for that matter) in Euro 2020 received more abuse than Alvaro Morata.

After being blamed for Spain’s shortcomings earlier in the tournament, the Juventus striker received some horrible threats and insults directed towards him and his family.

Even worse, when he scored the equalizer against Italy in the Semi Finals, his Italian wife, Alice, received some hate messages from her compatriots wishing ill upon her children.

The 28-year-old’s final action in the tournament turned out to be missing a decisive spot kick in the  shootouts, as his nightmare a tournament reached a fitting ending.

7- De Ligt’s Hand of God

In the FIFA rules, we have the accidental handball, then there’s the deliberate handball, and finally, we should add the “whatever de Ligt did against Czech Republic” handball.

The Bianconeri defender slipped to the ground while trying to defend the ball against Patrik Schick, and this is when a little orange demon inside his head told him to just grab the ball away from the opponent.

Whist Diego Armando Maradona’s infamous “Hand of God” helped Argentina winning the 1986 World Cup, the Dutchman chose the wrong era to pull off this maneuver, as it resulted in his dismissal following a VAR review, which culminated in his team’s shocking early elimination.

6- Please Take Your Seat, Sir!

“Any random guy in the crowd would do better than Bonucci” – we’ve probable heard this exaggerated statement coming up once or twice from a frustrated fan following some howler by Leo.

Coincidentally, a steward at Wembley mistook the defender for some random guy in the crowd as he was celebrating Italy’s triumph over Spain, and tried to prevent him from re-entering the pitch.

Following an awkward, yet hilarious moment, the steward realized her mistake, and earned herself a sweaty hug from a stranger who had just played 120 minutes of football.

Lucky lady.

5- Perfect Time for Bonding

Prior to Bonucci’s cute hug, his longtime teammate Giorgio Chiellini was trying to do some bonding with the visibly uncomfortable Jordi Alba.

The referee was tossing his coin to determine who would take the first spot kick between Italy and Spain, and while we were set to witness the most intense moments of the tournament, the Italian captain was hysterically hugging, pushing, cuddling and joking with his confused Spanish counterpart.

It was reported – at least from the Italian side of the mediasphere – that Alba claimed that Spain won the toss as the coin landed with its red side up – and red was Spain’s color. Too bad that both Chiellini and referee Felix Brych pointed out that red was Italy’s color instead, before the Juventus captain would burst into laughter and shout at him in his own language – with a grin disguised as a smile – “Mentiroso! Mentiroso!” (Liar! Liar!)

Some consider it to be some sort of mind games from the Serie A legend, others think he was sincerely enjoying the moment, but whatever was the motif, this remains one of the most hilarious incidents of Euro 2020.

4- “I Guess I’m Ok Now”

“Italian football is boring and full of divers” – says any calcio detractor.

While Mancini did his best to prove that the first stereotype no longer applies to Italy, as he presented a fresh and entertaining version of the Azzurri (maybe not against Spain), Ciro Immobile gave the haters another free pass to mock Italian football.

The Lazio striker went down to the ground inside the penalty box following a challenge by Vertonghen, pretending to be in great pain, before magically standing on his feet once he realized that his teammate scored a goal, and in fact joined in the celebrations.

3- Ronaldo vs. Coca-Cola

Though the rest would be lucky to appear once on this prestigious list, the biggest superstar in sports certainly deserves more than one spot.

Being one of the biggest Soda brands in the world, Coca-Cola decided to invest their marketing money on Euro 2020, paying just enough to convince the competition’s organizer to put not one, but two bottles on every press conference table.

What could possibly go wrong?

Enter Cristiano Ronaldo. Ever so proud of his six-pack physique, the Portuguese legend decided to publicly mock the brand, and moved its bottles aside, while proudly proclaiming that all he needs is a fresh bottle of water.

Once again, CR7 went away with it (at least until now) whilst Coca-Cola reportedly suffered from major losses due to the player’s surprising antics.

Ronaldo wins again! SIUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

2- Veronique Rabiot

Here’s an advice for whoever is willing to listen: Do not mess with Adrien Rabiot.

And no, it’s not due to the fact he’s a big, strong and athletic guy, but because you wouldn’t want to face the wrath of his mother and agent, Veronique.

Whenever the Frenchmen get unceremoniously eliminated from a major tournament, you just know that chaos is about to ensue, and this time around, Mrs. Rabiot was the major star of the show.

Following France’s defeat against Switzerland, the Juventus midfielder was on the pitch arguing with his teammate, Paul Pogba, but his mother took the battle to the stands, exchanging some unpleasant words with Pogba’s family, as well as telling Kylian Mbappé’s father that his son needs to learn how to behave.

Have you ever wondered why Adrien is one of the Bianconeri’s highest earners? You can only imagine what Fabio Paratici had to endure throughout the negotiation process.

1- Eriksen’s Horrifying Collapse

Whatever happened later in competition, nothing was more shocking, dramatic and horrifying than what we’ve witnessed on the second day of the tournament.

Christian Eriksen, one of the most respected players by his teammates and peers, fell to the ground after suffering a heart attack.

Whilst the world held its breath, luckily, the Serie A star regained conscience and is in much better state at the moment, and this experience inspired his Danish teammates to mount an unlikely run to the Semi Finals of Euro 2020, before losing against their English hosts in extra-time, and leave the tournament with their heads held high.

Let’s hope we’ll never witness such incident ever again on a football pitch.

Bonus – Verratti Spots the Intruder

Count this a “bonus track,” as it does not strictly involve a Serie A player, but the episode is too bizarre to be missed.

How many fans have ever dreamed of celebrating their Team’s victory alongside their favorite players? Well, that’s exactly what happened to a reckless Italian fan, who was seen jumping and chanting next to the Azzurri crew in the aftermath of their penalty win over Spain.

The daring supporter, who turned out to be a 28-year-old paisà working in London as a waiter, had his moment of glory – which lasted only a few seconds but enough for him to be featured in a video and some pictures – not because of the munificence of some sponsor, but simply because he managed to sneak past security (who were perhaps busy preventing Bonucci from re-entering the pitch…)

So lost in celebrations were the Azzurri players and staff that the presence of an unfamiliar face slipped under most people’s radar. Not that of Marco Verratti, however, who suddenly found himself face-to-face with the intruder and amiably asked him (not without reason, one would say): “…and who the heck are you???”

The PSG man’s doubts – whose exact verbiage we censored – grabbed the security’s attention and prompted them to finally escort the man off the pitch. He was fined and banned from ever re-entering an English stadium, as well as from even watching football games at a pub (yes, seriously).

Whether to be perpetually immortalized in a picture with the celebrating Azzurri was worth the lifetime ban, we will leave for posterity to decide.

Read More – The Top Five Italy Players On The Road To Euro 2020 Final

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