"I grabbed him good!" - Chiellini opens up on cynical foul he committed against England in Euro 2020 final
Former Italy captain Giorgio Chiellini has revealed that his cynical tackle on England forward Bukayo Saka in the Euro 2020 final was intentional.
The 37-year-old also stated that it was an error on his part that led to him committing the cynical challenge. Speaking on the incident, Chiellini stated:
"This became the symbol of Euro 2020 as a whole.
"The most heavily used meme of summer 2021. It was probably one of the only mistakes I made during the Euros. It was in the 90th minute and I'd read the flight of the ball, thinking I could shepherd it out of play, when really I could have controlled it.
"But I was convinced I could put my body between Saka and the ball, and let it go out of play. But he wriggled round me. When he wriggled round from behind and had that space to run into, my reaction was to grab him. And I grabbed him good!"
Giorgio Chiellini recently announced his retirement from international football after Italy fell to a debilitating 3-0 defeat to Argentina in the finalissima.
#InghilterraItalia 
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Finisce a reti inviolate la gara di #Wolverhampton, con gli #Azzurri più volte vicini al vantaggio 
𝑁𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝐿𝑒𝑎𝑔𝑢𝑒
🏴🇮🇹 #InghilterraItalia 0️⃣-0️⃣
📋 Finisce a reti inviolate la gara di #Wolverhampton, con gli #Azzurri più volte vicini al vantaggio
#IngIta #Nazionale #VivoAzzurro https://t.co/7wAT47A6Nv
This was far from the swansong farewell his illustrious career deserved, but Chiellini retired as a bonafide Italian legend. The Juventus man is regarded as one of the greatest defenders of all-time and has made 117 appearances for the Azurri.
The high-point of his international career came when he won the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He also captained his country to continental glory at Euro 2020 after five decades of disappointment.
England will have another shot at ending their trophy drought in Qatar
England have been blessed with multiple talented generations throughout the years but have constantly fallen short in their quest for glory. Their only trophy to date at senior level is the World Cup they won on home turf in 1966 and have struggled to meet expectations since then.
The golden generation at the turn of the millennium massively underperformed, culminating in their shock Euro 2016 ouster by Iceland.
Since then, Gareth Southgate has gotten fans believing again and has forged a close-knit team capable of pushing the very best all the way.
Attention turns to our final #NationsLeague fixture of June.
Next up: Hungary at @Wolves! https://t.co/OQQYuByAsT
England have been closer than ever before to breaking their trophy drought in the last few years.
They fell to Croatia in the semifinals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup and finished third in the maiden edition of the UEFA Nations League. They were also losing finalists at Euro 2020 last year and will have another shot at glory at the World Cup later this year.
England have been far from their best in recent weeks and have started the UEFA Nations League poorly. However, their recent experience has given the young players an edge and they can build on this to attain global glory.