The year 2021 is ending and for Italian sport it will remain the most beautiful year in its history. After a beginning without great satisfaction, from July onwards the tricolor flag began to wave all over the world thanks to the amazing victories of the Azzurri in every sport and on every continent.

It all started with the victory of the European Soccer Championships, fifty years after the first and only success of the "Azzurri" in the most important tournament of the old continent. Then the more than one hundred medals won at the Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo by the Italian teams, which particularly dominated in athletics at the Olympics and swimming at the Paralympics.

And again at the World Championships of cycling and artistic and rhythmic gymnastics, which saw Italian athletes lead in almost all the tests.

But these are just some of the many successes that Italian athletes have achieved up to the end of 2021. Other ones have brought all the Italians a lot of joy and pride.

Let's start with volleyball, one of the most popular sports in Italy along with soccer, basketball and motorcycling. At the Olympics, the two national men's and women's teams disappointed the many fans, but a few weeks after the conclusion of the competitions in Tokyo, redemption arrived. Both national teams won the title of European champions, the men against Slovenia and the women against Serbia, reaching a feat never before achieved in the same year by the two Italian teams. And the streak of victories did not stop, because the Under 21 men's national team also added to the number of victories for Italian volleyball by winning the world title against Russia.

As in volleyball, also in horse polo Italy secured it all, winning in a few days the male European title, thanks to the success in the final against Austria, and the female one, with the victory in the final against the English team. Another incredible success arrived in the sport "made in USA", that is American football, with the male national team coached by Davide Giuliano that won the European title beating in the final in Malmö the hosts of Sweden.

The successes of the Italian national teams did not stop here, because in basketball there were two other great satisfactions. The first, with the deaf women's national team, who won the European title by beating Russia in the final, the second with the men's national team with athletes with Down's syndrome who won the European title by beating Turkey.

Among the other countless successes achieved by the Azzurri, there are also the three gold medals won at the World Bocce Championships in Alassio and the thirty-five medals won by Italian swimmers at the European Short Course Championships in Kazan, a record number that saw Italy win the medal table for the first time: no country won more medals than our 35!

Finally, we must remember another excellent feat involving athletics, with the third place obtained by the Italian of Eritrean origin Eyob Faniel at the world queen of marathons, the New York City Marathon.

An extraordinary and unforgettable year, however, that ends with two of the most successful and beloved Italian athletes ever ending their incredible careers at the end of 2021. They are swimming "goddess" Federica Pellegrini and motorcycling legend Valentino "The Doctor" Rossi. Together, for over twenty years, they have given Italians unique emotions thanks to hundreds of successes obtained all around the world. That’s why We the Italians thanks them very, very much.