Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci leapt into defense of Juventus teammate and faced Spanish striker Alvaro Morata before the Euro 2020 semi-final showdown.
Spaniard Morata has been on the wrong side of criticism for his performances at Euro 2020, while he has reportedly received death threats amid online abuse directed at his family.
Club-level teammates for Juve in Serie A, Bonucci and Morata will face off when Italy face Spain in Tuesday’s Euro 2020 semi-final at Wembley and the former praised the 28-year-old Spaniard.
“I was really impressed with what happened to him and what we all have to go through,” Bonucci said of the death threats directed at Morata. “I’ve also had to deal with what he’s been through, and I know what it’s like to read certain things and also feel certain things.
“I’ve always been behind him, he always had my support. Alvaro is a wonderful person, he’s a great guy, a wonderful father and a fantastic footballer.
He is a complete striker, because he can run into the space high up on the pitch, makes late laps, holds the ball well. He is one of the best strikers in world football, luckily in club football he has been a teammate of mine throughout the season.
“We need to make sure we’re on tomorrow [Tuesday], not just to keep an eye on Morata but the whole team ”.
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Spain is the highest-scoring team at Euro 2020, with 12 goals in five games, including two by Morata.
Bonucci was pressured on the comparisons between Morata and Inter star Romelu Lukaku, whom Italy faced in the quarter-finals with Belgium.
“They are two great strikers,” said the 34-year-old Bonucci. “When you get to this level, at this stage of the competition, all the countries you meet and all the strikers you face are fantastic.
“Alvaro has some very specific qualities that are different attributes than what Lukaku is about. We have to be very active in terms of fine margins and small details, to make sure we can really get a great result ”.
Italy, with a national record of 32 straight wins without a defeat, have beaten Spain only twice in their last 14 matches in all competitions (D7 L5), a friendly 2-1 in 2011 and, most recently, a 2-0 victory at Euro 2016 in the round of 16, with goals from Giorgio Chiellini and Graziano Pelle.
The Azzurri participate in their 12 semi-finals in an important tournament (Euro and World Cup), with only Germany (20) participating more often in the final phase of four of all European teams.
Italy have passed nine of the previous 11 semi-finals, including each of the last four – the last in this competition in 2012 when they ultimately lost in the final to Spain (4-0).
Roberto Mancini’s Italy won all five matches at Euro 2020, the only one of the remaining four finalists with a 100% record to date. Only at the World Cup (1990) did they win more games in a single major tournament (six), while the only European team to win each of their first six games in a major tournament was the Netherlands at the 2010 World Cup, when they suffered the defeat against Spain in the final in South Africa.
But Bonucci downplayed the favorites tag, telling reporters: “I think when it’s Italy against Spain in a European semi-final, there’s nothing like a favorite. Yes, so far we have had an impeccable run, but even if Spain have had to face some problems, it doesn’t matter, we have to put them aside.
“We really need to focus on what we need to do, where we can improve. We simply have to be motivated by the fact that we are facing such a great and prestigious team in a wonderful arena like Wembley, knowing that we can reach the final in a few days ”.