Italy hero Leonardo Bonucci has had his say on the events of Euro 2020, with the veteran defender extremely critical of the England team, especially midfielder Declan Rice.
In an interview with The Athletic, the 34 year old said he believes The Three Lions were too confident heading into the final, a problem exacerbated by the nation's obsession with the iconic 'It's Coming Home' chant.
"We didn't pay much attention to it until the Spain game," the Juventus centre back replied when asked about how his team viewed the song. "Then the anger inside of us began to mount. We wanted to show that the final hadn't already been decided. That they hadn't already won."
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Bonucci also said remarks made by Rice about how England were 'ten times more motivated' than Italy for the match also spurred the latter on.
"Hearing that song on repeat and the comment from Declan Rice saying England were 10 times more motivated to win than us... well, they're the kind of mistakes young players make," he continued.
"You don't say that. You should never say you want something more than somebody else or you're better than somebody else."
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Bonucci scored Italy's equaliser in July's final and also netted a crucial penalty in the shootout.
He and his teammates brilliantly mocked the hymn of the tournament after they lifted the trophy, repeatedly singing 'It's Coming Rome'.
The win secured Bonucci's first piece of silverware on the international stage and bolsters an already outstanding CV. In 16 years as a professional, the centre back has won 9 Serie A titles and four Coppa Italias with Inter Milan and Juventus respectively.
He is still an integral part of The Old Lady's defence and has made a good start to the new season, scoring in the opening day win against Sampdoria at the Allianz Stadium.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Euro 2020, England, Declan Rice, Italy