Euro 2020: Jorginho provides the brains and beating heart of Italy team

Midfield fulcrum will be vital to Mancini's gameplan going into Wembley final against England

He is “the brains of Italy”, says Fabio Capello, the distinguished Italian manager who was once in charge of England. Not so long ago, he became a source of frustration to fans of Chelsea, his club. Yet in May he was key to their success in the Champions League. Another winning final on Sunday and Jorginho will make a case for being on the podium for this year’s Ballon D’Or.

The “brains of Italy” was born in Brazil, though that lineage is scarcely remarked on any longer, so essential, so committed are Jorginho’s performances in the blue jersey of the country that became his home at the age of 15. Roberto Mancini, the Italy manager, would scarcely conceive of picking a side without a fit Jorginho, now 29.

Without him, Italy might very well not be preparing to take on England at Wembley for the title of European champions. Besides his winning penalty in the shoot-out that resolved the semi-final against Spain five days ago, Jorginho kept order in what had been tiring, pressured 120 minutes against the Spaniards.

He emerged from it to be informed of a startling statistic: No player in any European championship tournament match in this or the previous competition had made as many interceptions as Jorginho, Italy’s deepest-lying midfielder, against a Spain who dominated the ball. That’s quite a stat given that it takes in 100 games’ worth of football.

Jorginho the protector is vital to Italy’s game plan. Only Spain’s Pedri, a tireless teenager, has covered more ground in the course of the tournament so far. But Jorginho the passer is as important as Jorginho the shield. Another stat: of the finalists, only John Stones, the England defender, has issued more completed passes at Euro 2020.

Jorginho is the heart, soul and the bookend of Italy’s stunning unbeaten run going into today. Rewind back to September 2018, when the Azzurri were still shell-shocked from having missed out on even qualifying for that summer’s World Cup. Mancini had taken over after that failure, intent on rejuvenating the squad, speeding up Italy’s style of play. Jorginho would have been entitled to feel vulnerable.

Mancini trusted him, calling him “one of the best midfielders in Europe.” He was certainly grateful to Jorginho’s reliable technique from the penalty spot for saving Italy from a defeat in their first competitive game under the new head coach. They were at home to Poland in the Uefa Nations League and 1-0 down with 11 minutes to go. Federico Chiesa, 20 years-old, had just come on as a substitute.

Italy and England's road to Euro 2020 final

Group A, June 11: Turkey 0 Italy 3 (Demiral og 53', Immobile 66', Insigne 79'). Italy kick-off the tournament with an impressive victory in Rome. An own goal by Merih Demiral put Roberto Mancini's side on their way while Ciro Immobile and Lorenzo Insigne's second-half finishes seal a one-sided encounter.

Group A, June 16: Italy 3 (Locatelli 26' & 52', Immobile 89') Switzerland 0. The Italians become the first first team to reach the knockout stage with back-to-back 3-0 wins in Rome. Midfielder Manuel Locatelli scored twice before attacker Ciro Immobile's long-range strike squirmed under goalkeeper Yann Sommer.

Group A, June 20: Italy 1 (Pessina 39') Wales 0. With their place in knockout stages already secure, Italy made eight changes to their starting XI in Rome and still dominated the game against a Wales team that had Ethan Ampadu sent-off for a challenge on on Federico Bernardeschi. Matteo Pessina's first-half goal sealed top spot for Italy.

Last 16, June 26: Italy 2 (Chiesa 95', Pessina 105') Austria 1 (Kalajdzic 114'). After a flying start to the tournament, Italy need extra-time to force their way past Austria in London. Goals from substitutes Federico Chiesa and Matteo Pessina sent them through, although Sasa Kalajdzic's header gave Austria late hope.

Quarter-final, July 2: Belgium 1 (Lukaku pen 24'+2') Italy 2 (Barella 31', Insigne 44'). Two of the tournament favourites met in Munich with all the goals coming in the first half. Nicolo Barella fired home the opener, while Lorenzo Insigne curled in one of the goals of the tournament. Romelu Lukaku's pulled Belgium back into the match but the Azzurri held on.

Group D, June 13: England 1 (Sterling 57') Croatia 0. Attacker Raheem Sterling repaid manager Gareth Southgate's faith by scoring a deserved winner at Wembley against a Croatia that barely threatened England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

Group D, June 18. England 0 Scotland 0. A frustrating night for England at Wembley as Scotland battled their way to a deserved point that left some home fans jeering at the final whistle.

Group D, June 22: Czech Republic 0 England 1 (Sterling 21'). That man Raheem Sterling on target again at Wembley as England secured top spot in the group, without conceding a goal. The Manchester City forward got on the end of a Jack Grealish cross after another solid, if unspectacular, performance from the Three Lions.

Last 16, June 29: England 2 (Sterling 75', Kane 86') Germany 0. A tense night in London saw Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane end a 55-year wait for a knockout tie victory over Germany. Captain Kane broke his tournament duck to seal the win.

Quarter-final, July 3: Ukraine 0 England 4 ( Kane 4' & 50', Maguire 46', Henderson 63'). A sensational night for England in Rome as they played their first match away from Wembley in the tournament. Three goals in 13 second-half minutes sealed a very impressive performance, with Kane now well and truly back in business.

Semi-final, July 7: England 2 (Kjaer og 39', Kane 104') Denmark 1 (Damsgaard 30') AET. England recovered from Mikkel Damsgaard's brilliant free-kick opener - the first goal they had conceded in the finals - to progress to their first major final in 55 years. Denmark captain Simon Kjaer put into his own net, while Kane scored the winner in extra-time, finishing the rebound after Kasper Schmeichel saved his penalty at Wembley.

Chiesa was fouled in the Poland penalty area. Jorginho converted the spot-kick. Although Italy would lose narrowly in Lisbon to Portugal a few days later, a plan was coming together. Mancini’s Italy would not finish on the losing side for the next 33 matches.

The closest that record came to fraying was on Tuesday at Wembley, when 120 minutes of a draining contest with Spain went down to the duels from the penalty spot. Jorginho secured the Azzurri’s right to play in today’s final with a cool, rolled finish past a barely moving Unai Simon. Chiesa, with a super finish, had scored the goal that put Italy 1-0 up ahead of Spain’s equaliser within the 90 minutes.

Chiesa, used off the bench when the Euro 2020 kicked off, has worked his way into Mancini’s preferred starting XI since, the dashing Juventus winger contributing two goals in the knockout phase. It is Chiesa’s blessing to have grown up in a famous footballing family, his father a former Italy striker and club teammate of Mancini’s at Sampdoria in the 1990s. It is his burden to keep being compared with his father, Enrico, who also scored for Italy at a European championship staged in England, in 1996.

It has sometimes been Jorginho’s burden that he is deemed to be the footballing heir to a single manager, Maurizio Sarri and seen as the arch-loyalist towards that coach’s tactical idiosyncrasies. Sarri developed Jorginho’s game at Napoli; Sarri signed him for Chelsea, where, when the football was not fluent, Jorginho came under harsh criticism.

Sarri left Chelsea two summers ago. His replacement, Frank Lampard, seemed to go to cool on Jorginho in the weeks ahead of Lampard’s being sacked at the beginning of this year. But under Thomas Tuchel, next into the Chelsea hot seat, Jorginho has thrived. He is 90 minutes from being a double European champion this season — for his club and for the country that made him one of their own.