Gianluigi Donnarumma initially did not realize on Sunday evening that he had single-handedly helped Italy to win the European Championship. The goalkeeper of la Squadra Azzurra reacted ice cold when he chose the same corner as Bukayo Saka in the necessary penalty shootout: he quietly walked away, until he was almost buried under his Italian teammates. Donnarumma, however, reveals that he had lost track.
“I didn’t understand it at all,” Donnarumma said late Monday evening in conversation with Sky Sport Italy. “I lay down on the ground when Jorginho missed his penalty. I thought we lost.” The goalkeeper’s statements are striking, because after Jordan Pickford’s save on Jorginho’s fifth bet it was still 3-2 in favor of Italy. Both countries had missed twice at that point: Andrea Belotti, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Jorginho.
Analizziamo la scena: •Donnarumma para il rigore •Se ne va e non realizza che abbiamo vinto •Si gira indietro, vede i compagni festeggiare e ANCORA NON CAPISCE •Realizza che siamo campioni d’Europa quando gliaddos #ItsComingHome #Euro2020Final #Euro2020 pic.twitter.com/U2lAqwpAqR
— oh putain! ?? (@strudeldimele) July 12, 2021
Donnarumma turned Saka’s eleven-meter kick, England’s fifth overall, and then thought it wasn’t over yet. “After my rescue, I walked away and waited for VAR to approve it. When I looked the other way, I suddenly saw my teammates running towards me. That was the moment I realized we had won.”
Donnarumma did not want to say much about his upcoming transfer to Paris Saint-Germain and his transfer-free departure from AC Milan. The goalkeeper’s move to Paris, until the summer of 2026, is likely to become official this week. He owes the Milan fans an explanation, he emphasized. “I will talk about that in the coming days. All I can say now is that those colors will always be a part of me.”
Donnarumma is even put forward as a candidate for winning the Golden Ball. In any case, he was named Player of the Tournament on Sunday. “I don’t fully realize what we have achieved as a team yet. I do hear stories about the Ballon d’Or, but I really don’t care about that,” emphasized the 22-year-old Italian international, who only conceded four goals during the tournament and was also of great value in the penalty shootout against Spain in the semifinals.