In the off chance that you’ve spent your morning under a rock, you might not have seen the news that Italy defeated England to win the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament.
Italy edged out the highly-favoured England to secure the trophy in penalties, marking the end of the Three Lions’ dream run through the tournament.
England had dominated the tournament and looked set to bring it ‘home’. However, the Italians proved too good, with defender Leonardo Bonucci telling the cameras, “it’s coming to Rome”.
And while the final was played out between the two teams, there was plenty of outside noise from both sides.
In the UK, a number of big brands got behind their national team, with a Specsavers’ out-of-home campaign making a big impression.
Brilliant @Specsavers#ItsComingHome pic.twitter.com/qFk0FPZYxj
— Andrew Bloch (@AndrewBloch) June 30, 2021
Italian beermaker Peroni, meanwhile, was more diplomatic in its approach, posting an image about the Italy vs England matchup being ‘the perfect match’ on social media.
Given Peroni’ UK account posted the image, it probably makes sense that the Italian brand avoided any real gloating.
An Italian newspaper, meanwhile, was far more controversial in the leadup to the match.
Following England’s semi-final victory, the Gazzetta Dello Sport extraordinrliy suggested the penalty awarded to England in the dying moments of the match was “about the exchange of favours for Boris Johnson”.
Gazzetta dello Sport piece says the "generous penalty" awarded to England "confirms the suspicions of a return of favour" to Boris Johnson for his role in stopping the Super League threat to UEFA. https://t.co/ej9d2xX70v
— Simon Evans (@sgevans) July 8, 2021
The rainbow wagon
The final might have all been about England and Italy, but Volkswagen did provide a great sideshow in the form of its Tiny Football car, which was used through the tournament to deliver match balls to the players.
Tiny Football Car, which has its own Twitter account, debuted its new ‘kit’ for the final – a rainbow paint job to celebrate ‘pure pride’.
Ready, set, charged! With pure pride. 🏳️🌈
For the final match of the #EURO2020, let us all share nothing but love. Together! #WeDriveDiversity pic.twitter.com/GeKaniM4PP— Volkswagen UK (@UKVolkswagen) July 9, 2021
The official Twitter account even shared a text exchange between the ball car and its ‘Mum’ – which appears to be a full-sized VW.
Just got this from my Mum! She's one of my biggest supporters, aside from you guys of course. 🥰❤️ #Euro2020Final #EURO2020 #ENGITA pic.twitter.com/uf4VZmJGcN
— Tiny Football Car & Tiny Buzz ⚡️ (@TinyFootballCar) July 11, 2021
