Who do they root for at the European Championship

He gave his soul to the team, watching her with friends through giant TV screens, munching chips and swapping T-shirts. And even if not for long, domestic football was defeated, yet you secretly hope that our team will still write golden pages in history.

In the meantime, the athletes are preparing for further starts at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which will be in many ways fateful for the development of football, we invite you to read how they cheer for their own in other countries. For your attention the notes of the Russian lady, who, by her own example, felt how it would be in Italian.

– Where the hell is she? That’s always the way when you are in a hurry! .. – my husband shook out of the closet neatly folded T-shirts by me in a pile. – The game is about to start, and I still have to drive for pizza.

The final of the Football Champions League was expected this evening. Played “Juventus” – a team for which my husband is rooting from the very cradle.

– And, here, I found it! – he pulled on one of the T-shirts that a couple of minutes ago enjoyed the peace and order of the dark closet. He pulled on and turned pale when he saw his reflection in the mirror.

– What happened? – I was alarmed. – You feel bad?

– T-shirt…

– What with her?

“You see, it says Barcelona. Moreover, it is black and red.

– So what? – I was amazed

– Like what?! Like what?! – Hastily pulling off an unsuccessful T-shirt, my husband was indignant. – Juventus are playing Barcelona today! And you want me to wear a Barcelona jersey ?!

– But this is just a gift from your sister, brought from Spain. What does this have to do with today’s game? ..

– No, you don’t understand, I have to be dressed in the colors of Juventus – black and white … But after all … Somewhere there was a black polo with white stripes …

Clothes flew out of the closet again. And I, in order not to get a heart attack from what was happening, quietly left the room.

To be honest, before I got married, I had heard about the love of Italians for football. But I could not even suspect about its hypertrophied scale.

That evening my husband’s friends, also Juventus fans, came to our house. A Spartan dinner in the form of pizza and beer awaited them on the table. I felt embarrassed that I had not prepared anything for the arrival of the guests.

– We gathered to watch football, – my husband reassured me. – This is not the case when small talk is held at the table and the roast you cooked is butchered with a silver knife from the family service. Pizza today is it!

Good. Agree. But if pizza, beer and football were great friends with each other, then what I saw after me amazed me.

The game began. My husband was already wearing a black and white striped Juventus jersey, and a black and white flag on his shoulders. And I knew for sure that even the boxers he wore were Juventus – specially bought in the brand store of the football club, which was located in the very center of Milan. All this, no doubt, should have brought victory to Juventus. In any case, my husband firmly believed in it. He was clearly unable to sit on the sofa. Standing in front of the TV, every now and then grabbed his head. Waving his arms. And he constantly explained to the players what actions they had to take in order to score a goal into the opponent’s goal, and what had to be done in order not to miss a goal into their own goal. But that’s nothing. The most interesting thing awaited me later. The more heated the atmosphere on the football field, the more often one of my husband’s friends dipped his hand into the pocket of his boiling white shirt and then brought something to his mouth. He closed his eyes, as little children do when they see a wolf on the screen, wanting to devour Little Red Riding Hood, and then sank onto the sofa cushions to take a breath.

– You feel bad? – I caught myself thinking that this is the second time this evening I am asking this question.

– Yes, too nervous game. That is OK. Valerian helps me.

Valerian?! Football with beer – somehow I could understand … But football with valerian with closed eyes – I saw this for the first time.

This time Juventus lost 3: 1. There was no limit to the universal sadness. The boxers clearly didn’t help. However, after the game was over, no one was going to turn off the TV. The time has come for football commentators. They began to heatedly discuss the poignant moments of the game, bawled terribly at the same time, rolled on the floor of the television studio and tore their hair out. And even those commentators who had no trace of hair on their heads did this. On which Russian channel will you see this?

After a heated discussion of the game, the guests dispersed to their homes with downcast heads. Some of them were holding onto their hearts. I couldn’t sleep for a long time that evening – there are too many new emotions in the evening, too much adrenaline …