Ital-Juve might not be the most creative of terms nor the nicest on the ear, but this expression emerges every few generations to describe an Italy side that is predominated by Juventus players.
During the latest European Championship, the Old Lady’s stars surely left their mark on Roberto Mancini’s side. After all, the team was built on a strong defensive unit and cohesive group led by Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci.
The latter even scored the equalizer against England in the grand finale at Wembley, as an entire nation breathed a huge sigh of relief.
We must also mention Federico Chiesa and his heroics against Austria and Spain, and even Bernardeschi lent a hand.
Following the triumph, the winning foursome were joined in Turin by Manuel Locatelli whose role within the Azzurri is growing with time, while Moise Kean is currently enjoying a return to both his homegrown club and his national team.
Thus, Juventus has provided six out of the 23 players that Italy will rely on in the finals of the UEFA Nations League. They will face Spain on Wednesday night in the Semi Finals and the winner will earn a ticket to Sunday’s Final, where he’ll meet either France or Belgium.
In the peninsula, some say that Ital-Juve was behind three of the nation’s four World Cup triumphs. It is also believed that the Azzurri and the Bianconeri walk side by side. When the Old Lady is doing well, the national team should consequently prosper.
Juventus might be having a complicated start to the campaign, but it’s still too early to judge their season. But perhaps another medal on the players’ shoulders could offer them a significant moral boost and lift their confidence throughout the exhausting campaign.
The Turin based club had often been the rock that the Azzurri leans on when the nation needed fearsome soldiers.
Nonetheless, this could be Italy’s time to return the favor and present Max Allegri with a solid core of winners to build upon.
