by Samuel Petrequin
The jubilant scenes were reminiscent of Italy's triumph at the 2006 World Cup after the final whistle in Lyon on Monday night. Ten years after its last World Cup success, the Squadra Azzurra had just beaten Belgium 2-0 in its first match at the European Championship. And there was plenty to celebrate for an aging team that was written off by its critics before the game and described as one of the worst ever by Italian media.
Italy's substitutes surged onto the pitch to celebrate, while veteran keeper Gianluigi Buffon ran the length of the field shouting as the song "Seven Nation Army" — the team's unofficial anthem since the 2006 World Cup — blared out of the stadium's speakers. "We did really well to prepare this game so well and prove all the critics wrong, because the critics were all against us," said Italy coach Antonio Conte, who got a bloody nose in the celebrations that followed Emanuele Giaccherini's first-half opener.
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/
