Holding the cup on English soil, the pride of the Italians is written on their faces. People have lamented Mancini's courage in taking orders in times of crisis, the tenacity of the 70-year-old "Xuan Ming duo", and also lamented the fact that Italian football has bloomed a bright flower amidst the ruins and sorrow.
But the person who directly killed England's dream of "bringing football home" was Donnarumma.
01 National hero, well-deserved
Donnarumma encountered 44 penalty kicks in his career, and he saved them Among the 15 penalty kicks, he is also the goalkeeper with the highest penalty saving rate in Serie A in the past two seasons. In the 2019-20 season alone, Maroni, Malilovsky, Kuma Barbaka, Chiesa Jr. and Cristiano Ronaldo all received a shutout in the duel with Donnarumma from the 12-yard line. .
If fans remember, Donnarumma's debut was in the Chinese preseason. He came on as a substitute and firmly saved Real Madrid general Kroos' penalty in the penalty shootout.
The gold content of the European Cup is far from comparable to that of the preseason. In the semi-finals against Spain, fans still remember the scene of him saving Morata's penalty kick. But among all the Spanish players who took the penalty, Thiago was the only one who deceived Donnarumma. In the final against England, he jumped in the opposite direction three times, rejecting Sancho and Saka's penalty kicks.
It is worth mentioning that, including three penalty shootouts in which he survived three times while playing for AC Milan, Donnarumma is a blessed general with a big heart at twelve yards. The Italian team's official website called him a "national hero."
If he relied solely on penalty kicks, Donnarumma would not be awarded the title of Most Valuable Player of this European Cup. Throughout this European Cup, he played 7 games (only missing 1 minute when he was replaced by Siligu when qualifying early in the group stage), made 9 saves, had 3 clean sheets, and conceded 4 goals. To be honest, the central defender combination of Bonucci and Chiellini eases the burden on the 22-year-old, but when Donnarumma needs to step forward, he is never ambiguous. Legendary goalkeeper Zenga praised: "A calm leader. Donnarumma gives everyone a sense of security and a more reliable feeling."
02 Young people are still young after all.
Presenting awards. Before the ceremony, UEFA announced the best player of the tournament as usual, but when his name was broadcast, Donnarumma was indifferent. Fortunately, Bernardeschi, who had better English next to him, gave him a friendly reminder by gently patting his head. Donnarumma stepped onto the podium with a shy look.
Looking back at the moment when the penalty shootout ended, Donnarumma felt as if he had just participated in a training match, until all his teammates roared and threw themselves into his arms or back. On the way, he belatedly joined the celebrating team with a red face and red eyes.
Before the start of the European Cup, Donnarumma once wrote on a social platform: "I have two personalities on and off the court. I am more introverted off the court. . ”
Perhaps, Donnarumma has always been a shy child. Being spotted by AC Milan meant glory and dreams, but leaving the arms of his parents at the age of 13 also surprised Donnarumma. Ma needed to be left alone to fend for himself, and he shed tears more than once as he alternated between excitement and frustration.
Even as he matures in Milan, Donnarumma has not always been surrounded by the pride of growth.
In a game against Verona in 2017, extreme fans held banners calling for him to get out of the San Siro and called his brother a "parasite". Donnarumma was in his dressing room He cried like a child, and Bonucci was by his side at the time;
After AC Milan’s humiliating 0-5 loss to Atalanta in 2019, Donaru Ma almost cried and walked out of the field, being comforted by his brother all the way;
In 2019, when talking about former AC Milan coach Mihajlovic who was fighting cancer, Donnarumma again Breaking down in tears, it was under his command that he made his AC Milan debut.
03 How much money?
Even without the gold plating of the European Cup, Donnarumma's future is limitless. At 16 years and 242 days old, he became the youngest starting goalkeeper in Serie A, breaking Buffon’s 20-year record; at 17 years and 6 months old, he became the youngest player to play for the Italian national team.
In addition, he is also the youngest player to play 100 games for Milan and the youngest goalkeeper to complete 200 games in Serie A.
AC Milan has undoubtedly given Donnarumma ample fertile ground during his growth period. When he was 14 years old, AC Milan paid 250,000 euros to get him. At the age of 15, he participated in the European U17 Championship. At the age of 16, he replaced the low-level mistake Diego Lopez and officially became the starting goalkeeper. At the age of 17 In the Italian Super Cup, Donnarumma saved Dybala's shot in the penalty shootout, helping AC Milan win their first championship title in five years. At the age of 18, he faced Juventus in front of his idol Buffon. Completed 9 high to low blocks.
"Perfect Donnarumma, respectable AC Milan" This praise combines the future of Donnarumma and the destiny of AC Milan, kissing the Milan team emblem It has become a daily routine for Donnarumma. This is a way to declare loyalty, but Donnarumma, who was awarded the best goalkeeper in Serie A last season, has become a thing of the past.
Donnarumma’s agent is Mino Raiola. Although the clients he serves have stated more than once that they want to stay in AC Milan, the two parties have not agreed since 2017. Entered into a soap opera-like tug-of-war. Milan once provided Donnarumma with an annual salary of 4.5 million euros after tax. At the time, only De Rossi was the only one to look up to in the Serie A salary list (6.5 million euros after tax).
It is already a ceiling for a fledgling young man, and it also reflects the sincerity of Milan, which trained him. However, under the instigation of Raiola, Donnarumma refused to renew his contract, and in the money Insulted and booed by the fans, he and Milan reached an agreement to renew the contract for 6 million yuan, or it was a temporary compromise.
But Donnarumma, whose value has risen with the tide, has "entered the same river" and even intensified. The new contract that Maldini gave Donnarumma after tax The annual salary reached 7 million euros, but Raiola's conditions were an annual salary of 10 million euros after tax, and he also requested that the clause "should Milan fail to qualify for the Champions League be added to the contract, the new owner's termination fee will only be 10 million euros" .
Instead of saying that Raiola, who is thinking about commissions, is aggressive, it is better to say that the silent Donnarumma acquiesces. There are countless loyal fighters in San Siro, and they are very different. , it will inevitably make AC Milan unhappy.
Costacurta was angry about this: "I am very confused by Donnarumma's behavior. Why did you not renew the contract, but you still kissed the team logo? "We all have agents, but every time I sign a contract with Milan, I don't think twice." No wonder Milan fans changed his last name from "Donnarumma" to "Dollarumma", and no wonder there are always people from the European Youth Championship to the European Cup. Fans mocked him with banknotes in hand.
Conclusion
Before the European Cup, Donnarumma's worth was as high as 60 million euros, and now it has risen with the blessing of champion status. Perhaps his loyalty has been questioned, but he also worked hard to prove in the European Cup that he is worthy of the annual salary of 12 million euros. Paris, who got the Italian national goal for free, is willing to satisfy him.
Now that AC Milan has returned to the Champions League after 7 years, after the polite blessings after parting ways, if the grudges need to be put on the table, maybe they can meet in the Champions League next season. New topics will arise.
But now, Donnarumma is the national hero of the entire Italy. After the summer, it will be another world.