“Chiellinigkeit”: in Germany they coined a new word dedicated to Chiellini

“Chiellinigkeit”: in Germany they coined a new word dedicated to Chiellini

Italy’s victory in the European Championships, and the way it arrived, surprised many not only in Italy. Even abroad, the ease and serenity with which the Azzurri, especially in the first matches, managed to overtake their opponents and maintain a relaxed atmosphere inside and outside the locker rooms has won many supporters, even unsuspected ones.

A perfect European championship, with the perfect team and the perfect coach: the summary of the German weekly Die Zeit, which found in Giorgio Chiellini the main representative of that relaxed style that has captured the attention of thousands of fans.

“Not a defender, but a way of life”, writes Claudio Rizzello in a piece of appreciation for the victory of the Azzurri and in particular of his captain, for whom he comes to coin the term “Chiellinigkeit”.

“Chiellinico”, according to Rizzello, means “living things in a lighter way. Be cheerful without losing seriousness, do your job in the best possible way and have as much fun as possible while doing it “. A philosophy that the 36-year-old Tuscan would have embodied to perfection according to the weekly, in the curtain with Jordi Alba before the coin toss for the penalties against Spain, when he reassured Manuel Locatelli, letting him go from the embrace only when Italy won the penalties. “Chiellini, 36, who perhaps played his last match in the national team yesterday, can be happy,” says Zeit.