How ugly these European Championships are! Thank goodness for tennis and the Olympics

Good thing there are our fantastic tennis players, that unbridled devil Pecco Bagnaia and the Paris Olympic Games just around the corner (26 July -11 August) that presage that wave of enthusiasm that has not left us since Tokyo 2021 when we touched the historic record of 40 medals.
Apart from football, Italy is going through a magical period. Every day a new champion, a new talent pops up. And not only in athletics where we have those two phenomena Gianmarco Tamberi and Marcell Jacobs. But also in the other disciplines there is an incredible ferment. In just a few years we have made giant strides. Swimming, fencing, volleyball, marching, judo, track cycling. And we'll stop here so as not to make an endless list of names. A charge of more than 400 athletes, many of whom are unknown to most.
Always accustomed to complaining, we do not realise that, evidently, we have worked well in sport despite the fact that there are still many obstacles in the facilities - in Italian schools only two gyms out of ten are usable - and the gap between North and South is still deep. There has also been a very strong acceleration in the women's sector. And not only in the disciplines where we are traditionally stronger. Foil fencer Arianna Erigo, also a flag bearer in Paris like Tamberi, is just one of the many excellences that bring prestige to our country.

Once upon a time, when Sara Simeoni or Federica Pellegrini stood on the podium, they were considered flowers in the desert, sprung from some astral combination. Now our athletes go to Paris with their heads held high, to win. They are not exceptions, they are not rare pearls, they are the expression of a movement that comes from afar, thanks to federations that have worked well and to families that, despite the scarce help from schools, have sent them to the pool, to volleyball, to some training centre. Of course, as with boys, emigration helps. But they are perfectly integrated youngsters who sometimes, like the centometrist Chituru Ali, even speak the Lombard or Como dialect.

Distracted by Spalletti's theorems, we did not realise that another world of marathon runners, tennis players and swimmers was growing up unbeknownst to us, telling us beautiful stories that we would never have imagined. It is nice to hear these athletes casually recount after a victory how they got there. The efforts of their parents, the sacrifices, the training and that mad desire to throw their heart over the obstacle that was so lacking in our footballers, always sad, stingy with words, concerned only not to contradict themselves, not to tell a truth different from the official one.

In the days following the national team's disaster, a great fuss was made, as usual, in search of the culprits of the debacle. Everything was said: blame the coach who spoke an esoteric language that confused the players. Others accused the same players of being spineless wimps without the class of Totti or Del Piero. President Gravina himself was rightly impaled. Above all for the responsibilities of a Federcalcio that has done nothing for years to change course. After the embarrassing defeat against Switzerland, one thing was reiterated that was obvious to all: that there are too many foreigners in Italian football. And that if these foreigners occupy all the key roles in our most important teams, it is then impossible, even with Guardiola or Ancelotti on the bench, to bring out a decent national team. Words of fire have been used to describe this reality. It has also been said that our youngsters are the best between the ages of 17 and 18. And that they then disappear like Calafiori, forced to seek his fortune abroad, since our clubs had disdained him.

Useless preaching. Once the storm has passed, things have gone back to the same old way. It is enough to read the pages of sports websites and newspapers to realise that nobody gives a damn about young Italian talent. Inter jumped on Kim, the strong South Korean defender who played for Napoli. At AC Milan, with the arrival of Paulo Fonseca, the new Portuguese coach who has replaced Pioli, a thousand new formations are on the horizon. One with Emerson Royal, Brazilian right flanker. Another with Morata or Lukaku as centre forward. Then there is that Fofana, a French midfielder from Monaco. Among the Rossoneri, there isn't a single Italian player. Roma gets Enzo Le Fèe, midfielder of Rennes. Juventus are shopping at Nice where they would like to buy Thuram and Todibo... And one could go on all the way down to Serie C. Only Atalanta has bet on Zaniolo, for the rest it is a flood of French, Dutch, Brazilians and even Germans like midfielder Dele-Bashiru who signs with Lazio for five years. It is the fairground of dreams. Only these dreams cost us dearly. That's why we risk skipping the next World Cup too. Because nobody does anything. A trend that suits everyone, so with the approval of the Federcalcio and the Lega. Afterwards let's not complain if Spalletti, or whoever he is, gives numbers or says strange things. This has been Italian football for 15 years now. A football that no longer produces talent. And that when it meets Spain or Switzerland it makes us want to turn off the television or watch athletics and tennis.