There were already a number of beer bottles standing around the silver EM trophy - much more was hardly to be seen on the cheering images from the Italian European championship booth.

The Azzurri danced so exuberantly late on Sunday evening in London, splashing champagne and roaring out their joy that the camera images reached the public badly shaky.

At home, thousands of Tifosi celebrated happily on the streets.

“Italy, we love you like crazy,” wrote the Gazzetta dello Sport.

"We have heard since Wednesday evening that the trophy was returning home," said Leonardo Bonucci, referring to the British "Football's coming home", which the Italians simply rephrased as "It's coming Rome". "I'm sorry for her, but tonight he's taking a nice flight to Rome," said Bonucci, who scored to equalize 1-1 (67th). This triumph by the 3-2 in the penalty drama against England is "for all Italians. We believed in it, for us and for them. ”On the way to the airport that night, Bonucci's congenial defensive partner Giorgio Chiellini put the trophy on the place next to him.

For coach Roberto Mancini, the triumph was particularly emotional: he shed tears of joy on the pitch. "I just shed tears when I saw the boys," said the 56-year-old, who took over the team after the missed World Cup in 2018 and led it to a great triumph. “I couldn't really believe that we had made it.” He dedicates the victory to “all Italians. We gave you a wonderful month of joy. We are very happy about that. "

The festivities will continue on Monday in an official setting at home.

The new European champion will be received in Rome by Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

The government announced that the head of government would like to personally thank the team and the coaching team.

The Squadra Azzurra have shown "in addition to great individuality, an extraordinary game and a special team spirit", it said in a short message from the Italian government late on Sunday evening.

President Sergio Mattarella, who had followed the game in the stadium, also praised the team for their performance.

"Great gratitude to Roberto Mancini and our players, who represented Italy well and did honor to the sport," Mattarella was quoted as saying on Twitter.

As in the semi-final against Spain, goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was decisive with two saved penalties.

"It's an unbelievable thing, we are a fantastic team and we all deserve it," said the 22-year-old goalkeeper, who was clearly struggling for words after the award ceremony.

"We have been extraordinary, we are super-happy," he added with a grin.

The goalkeeper, whose contract with AC Milan has expired, received a special honor: he was named player of the tournament.

“I was sure that he would save a penalty.

He's the best goalkeeper in the world, ”Mancini praised his goalkeeper.

"We are lucky to have Donnarumma."