This Saturday (18:00), Italy and Switzerland face off in the round of 16 of the European Championship. A special duel in many respects. Especially for my family.
I've been with my wife Alessia for almost 15 years and we've been married for four. We never really argue, and normally we always agree.
But there is one exception. When it comes to football. Or rather: when Italy plays Switzerland. My wife is Italian, I'm Swiss.
When the two nations met in the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, the question arose as to which team our daughter should cheer for. Should she wear the red or the blue jersey? A rare discussion broke out in our household. But it was only about a football match.
"Forza Italia"
In the end, we let the girl decide. And - how could it be otherwise - "Forza Italia" quickly and loudly echoed through the living room. The mother-daughter relationship won out. Of course.
Not right, I thought. So I couldn't resist making fun of the Italians when Switzerland finished first in their qualifying group and the Azzurri ultimately missed out on the World Cup.
I was probably just a bit offended that my wife was able to get her way, even though she knows nothing about football. Recently, during Italy's second group game, she asked me whether there would be a penalty shoot-out if the score remained 0-0.
But my wife knows differently. She asked me if Zaccagni wasn't playing. "Is he even playing?" I asked her - and asked myself at the same time. But I was even more surprised: Why does my wife know a Lazio Roma footballer who I have to google to spell his name correctly?
The answer is simple. "I follow his wife on Instagram. She's 36 weeks pregnant." Look, even a self-proclaimed football expert can still learn something.
The next dispute is imminent
I was secretly hoping that Switzerland would meet Croatia in the round of 16. To avoid the next tedious discussion about whether the four-year-old should wear red or blue. But it came as it had to: Italy made the duel with the Nati perfect thanks to a goal in the 98th minute. The scorer was Mattia Zaccagni.
So now it's that time again. Switzerland will make another attempt to beat Italy for the first time since 1993. And I'll do everything I can to make sure my daughter shouts "Hopp Schwiiz" instead of "Forza Italia" this time. But so be it, may the better team win. After all, it's only football.
