Girelli, tears in his eyes, and a lecture to the referee: "Not even a penalty like this can take this away from us."
Words from the leader of an Italian team that surrendered only after 120 minutes, and with a dubious episode, to the reigning champions England: all the post-match comments
GENEVA (Switzerland) - The Azzurre's dream at the European Championships was ended in the semi-final against England with a double defeat: first Bonansea 's equaliser in the 96th minute, then the defeat in the 120th minute with a very dubious penalty from which Giuliani 's save was not enough. At the end of the match, there was a mix of pride and regret, with coach Andrea Soncin analyzing the national team's progress in Geneva at a press conference: "It hurts, but we should all be proud of the journey we've made. Before the European Championships, they said we'd have a hard time getting out of the group; against Norway, they wrote us off, and we went further. Tonight, they said we wouldn't even get on the pitch, and instead we were one minute away from a final that the girls deserved given their performance. But that's football, and sometimes you don't get what you deserve. There's great pride, but obviously also a lot of bitterness over a defeat when we were so close to the final. It hurts to think about what could have been, but we must be proud of what we've achieved."
The incredible growth of an entire movement, which the European Championships have further enhanced. Now the important thing is not to waste what has been achieved: "The foundations have been laid for continued growth. The fact that we came within a minute of reaching the final and failed to reach it should motivate us to take another step towards managing these matches better. We will certainly continue to grow, even if it will take a few days to put the bitterness aside, but then the work will resume, the constant monitoring of the girls and the relationships with the clubs, which are the key elements for valorizing what the girls do in the league and reaping the rewards when they join the national team. We have another future goal: to win the World Cup in Brazil. Let's look ahead." And a doubt arises regarding the Soncin penalty incident: "I saw it fleetingly, I spoke to the assistants who were reviewing it and were holding each other back. I'd be tempted to ask if it would have been called in the other area at that point in the match. I don't know. It's a penalty that could or could not be given because the holding was mutual and light."
"Confidence for the future"Regarding the continued growth of women's football in Italy , the coach explains : "The other nations are all those that started the journey we began earlier. The clubs are structuring themselves very well, structuring their youth sectors very well, and this takes time. But it's no coincidence that this year the Under-17 and Under-19 teams reached the semifinals; this is a symptom of what's developing underneath. Maybe I won't even reap the benefits because they will arrive in the medium term. It's a shared journey between the Federation, the division, and the clubs, but these results can raise awareness that we're close and be an incentive for the younger ones to continue dreaming of wearing the blue jersey. And in this respect, we've achieved our goal because we've ignited the passion not only in many girls, but also in many boys who perhaps will watch women's football differently and become adults who will show more respect for the girls who play football." She concludes: " The pitch will always determine which players are worthy of being part of the national team. Since I started this job, the main goal has been to monitor all the girls eligible to be called up to try to raise the level of internal competitiveness, and this has brought huge benefits. Seeing how much the clubs and the Federation are investing and pursuing, there is a lot of confidence for the future."
A key figure in the European Championships wearing the captain's armband and the number 10, Cristiana Girelli comments on her Italian adventure with emotion: " We came here to rekindle the fire that has been missing in recent years. We want to thank you, but the disappointment is enormous because we were two minutes away from something historic. I'm proud of my teammates because we played an incredible match. Then, I can say, when the level rises this much, you also need top-notch refereeing. When you make important decisions, you have to keep a cool head. When you award a penalty like that, at least go and review it. But it's not an excuse; we could have doubled our lead in the final minutes and the match would have ended there. I'm proud of what we did; these are tears of sadness and pride."
What remains is the national team's growth journey and the knowledge that we've given all of Italy a wonderful adventure: "I think I've had some wonderful evenings, the best of my career at 35, and this gives me hope for those who come after. It's been an incredible journey. I believed so much in it, I had great feelings, we've experienced incredible emotions, and that's what you live for. This is what stays with us most, including the results, but no one can take that away from us, not even a penalty in the 120th minute."
Linari also spoke post-match: "There's a lot of disappointment; we were a minute and a half away from achieving our dream. I'm particularly disappointed about the rebound that came in to equalize, and I take responsibility. We played on par with the defending champions and came close to winning, but unfortunately we were tired towards the end." He then spoke about the penalty incident: "120 minutes is a long time, but I was hoping it would go to VAR because I know Severini, and if he tells me it wasn't a penalty, I'll believe him. I'm proud of the girls; it's a bittersweet evening, but also a sweet one."
Giugliano 's analysis: "They definitely didn't deserve to win, we gave it our all and have nothing to regret. We showed what the real Italy is, a team that wanted to reach the final and achieve a great goal not just for ourselves, but for all Italians. We definitely made people fall in love, and now we have to continue to prove we can stay at this level." "Tears? We were very aware we could win that trophy that this jersey has sorely missed, " Giugliano continued. " Losing the opportunity like this at the last minute isn't so nice, and starting over won't be easy because there's still some regret, but we gave it our all and we're aware of that." She then turned her attention to the future with an appeal to all those who have followed the Azzurre on this journey: " People must continue to watch us, support us, and love this beautiful sport because we will always strive to demonstrate the value of wearing this jersey and representing our country. This must make the people who followed us in this European Championship smile and continue to believe in this movement to reach ever higher and maybe one day win something."
GENEVA (Switzerland) - The Azzurre's dream at the European Championships was ended in the semi-final against England with a double defeat: first Bonansea 's equaliser in the 96th minute, then the defeat in the 120th minute with a very dubious penalty from which Giuliani 's save was not enough. At the end of the match, there was a mix of pride and regret, with coach Andrea Soncin analyzing the national team's progress in Geneva at a press conference: "It hurts, but we should all be proud of the journey we've made. Before the European Championships, they said we'd have a hard time getting out of the group; against Norway, they wrote us off, and we went further. Tonight, they said we wouldn't even get on the pitch, and instead we were one minute away from a final that the girls deserved given their performance. But that's football, and sometimes you don't get what you deserve. There's great pride, but obviously also a lot of bitterness over a defeat when we were so close to the final. It hurts to think about what could have been, but we must be proud of what we've achieved."
The incredible growth of an entire movement, which the European Championships have further enhanced. Now the important thing is not to waste what has been achieved: "The foundations have been laid for continued growth. The fact that we came within a minute of reaching the final and failed to reach it should motivate us to take another step towards managing these matches better. We will certainly continue to grow, even if it will take a few days to put the bitterness aside, but then the work will resume, the constant monitoring of the girls and the relationships with the clubs, which are the key elements for valorizing what the girls do in the league and reaping the rewards when they join the national team. We have another future goal: to win the World Cup in Brazil. Let's look ahead." And a doubt arises regarding the Soncin penalty incident: "I saw it fleetingly, I spoke to the assistants who were reviewing it and were holding each other back. I'd be tempted to ask if it would have been called in the other area at that point in the match. I don't know. It's a penalty that could or could not be given because the holding was mutual and light."
"Confidence for the future"Regarding the continued growth of women's football in Italy , the coach explains : "The other nations are all those that started the journey we began earlier. The clubs are structuring themselves very well, structuring their youth sectors very well, and this takes time. But it's no coincidence that this year the Under-17 and Under-19 teams reached the semifinals; this is a symptom of what's developing underneath. Maybe I won't even reap the benefits because they will arrive in the medium term. It's a shared journey between the Federation, the division, and the clubs, but these results can raise awareness that we're close and be an incentive for the younger ones to continue dreaming of wearing the blue jersey. And in this respect, we've achieved our goal because we've ignited the passion not only in many girls, but also in many boys who perhaps will watch women's football differently and become adults who will show more respect for the girls who play football." She concludes: " The pitch will always determine which players are worthy of being part of the national team. Since I started this job, the main goal has been to monitor all the girls eligible to be called up to try to raise the level of internal competitiveness, and this has brought huge benefits. Seeing how much the clubs and the Federation are investing and pursuing, there is a lot of confidence for the future."
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