Giorgio Chiellini admits it was “a dream” just to be in the semi-final after his injury and now Italy “want to lift that trophy.”
The Azzurri defender went off during the Republic of Ireland game with a thigh problem and many thought his tournament was over, but he played the whole 90 minutes of this 2-1 semi-final win over Germany.
Giorgio Chiellini admits it was “a dream” just to be in the semi-final after his injury and now Italy “want to lift that trophy.”
The Azzurri defender went off during the Republic of Ireland game with a thigh problem and many thought his tournament was over, but he played the whole 90 minutes of this 2-1 semi-final win over Germany.
“To be honest, 10 days ago it was just a dream to be here and I must thank the medical staff for getting me back so quickly.
“We are certainly living a dream and with us millions of Italians. We want to keep dreaming and make it come true on Sunday. We will enjoy this victory for a few more minutes, but then our thoughts go to the Final.”
Germany had won their last 15 competitive matches in a row, but confirmed their tradition of never beating Italy in a major tournament.
“Tradition or not, the present is what counts and we believed from the start. I don’t know about others, but we were convinced we could win this game and had everything to trouble Germany.
“It’s natural they have great players and were dangerous, but we defended well and in all honesty 3-0 would’ve been a fitting result,” said Chiellini.
The Azzurri now face Spain in the Final on Sunday in Kiev, a repeat of their opening group game that ended 1-1.
“This was a stepping stone and now we have the final peak to conquer. We believed in this dream from the start to the 95th and now we want to lift that trophy.”