All you need to know about the Finalissima
Argentina and Italy will meet on Wednesday June 1 at Wembley Stadium
On Wednesday, June 1, a new final will be played between national teams. The tournament is popularly known as "Finalissima" (Grand Final in Italian), but it is actually called the Conmebol-UEFA Champions Cup. The teams that will play are Argentina (Copa America 2021 champion) and Italy (UEFA Euro 2021 champion). In case of a tie in the 90 minutes, the champion will be defined from the penalty spot.
Argentina and Italy, champions in the Copa América 2021 and UEFA Euro 2021
While it seems like a completely new tournament, it is not the first time it has been played. It used to be called the Artemio Franchi Cup, in honor of the man who was president of UEFA between 1972 and 1983, the date on which he died in a traffic accident. He was also vice president of FIFA [1974-1983] and president of the Italian Football Federation in two stages [1967 and 1980].
Artemio Franchi
In total, 5 tournaments were played, of which 2 are official tournaments by FIFA and another 3 only counts as friendlies. The first was in 1985, when France beat Uruguay 2-0, in an official match. Four years later, Brazil would beat the Netherlands 1-0 in a friendly.
In 1993, Argentina tied 1-1 with Denmark but later the Albiceleste won in the penalty shootout. It was the last official edition and the last title won by Diego Armando Maradona with Argentina. The last 2 friendly matches were in 1989 (Brazil 2-1 Germany) and 2013 (Spain 3-1 Uruguay). The reason for which this tournament was officially ended was so that the Confederations Cup, which also brought together teams from other continents, would not lose importance.
The Argentina champions of '93 also arrived without losing games and with a record, which they share today with "La Scaloneta", of 31 games without losing. If Scaloni's team wins at Wembley, they will break that record. Italy, on the other hand, lost the historical record of 37 matches without losing, just against Macedonia in the play-offs to qualify for the World Cup.
It will be a tournament with emotional meaning for Italy and Argentina since, in these two countries, Diego Armando Maradona made history.
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