Italy on Monday beat Spain 2-0 in
the Euro 2016 last-16 final match in a brilliant game that
dethroned the reigning champions and set up a quarter-final with
Germany on Saturday.
Defender Giorgio Chiellini scored for Italy in the first
half and striker Graziano Pellè followed up with another goal in
the second half.
The Azzurri piled on to coach Antonio Conte in a delirium
when the game ended.
"I knew this is how it would end," "The lads are
extraordinary, they have something special inside... we proved
ideas can beat talent," Conte told RAI public broadcaster.
"Now we have to recover," Conte went on. "We face another
tough game against Germany but we proved Italy are not just
about Catenaccio."
"We face a titanic feat against Germany on Saturday," said
Conte. World Cup winners Germany beat Italy 4-1 in a friendly a
few months ago.
"This is just the beginning," said Chiellini. "We still
have a long way to go and we'll take it one game at a time".
"We used to say we're the dirty, the bad and the ugly,"
said defender Leonardo Bonucci. "Tonight we were bad, but also
very beautiful. We're a real team".
"We prepared for this game down to the tiniest detail,"
said midfielder Emanuele Giaccherini. "But in order to win today
we had to have a lot of heart".
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