2023 has been an interim year with some good results in football but no success. The greatest satisfaction in Italian sport came from tennis and motorcycling, thanks to Sinner and Bagnaia.
Italian sport in 2023: football between lights and shadows
Italy and sport in 2023: The greatest achievements
What a year it’s been 2023 for Italian sport? If we look at football alone it was a “good but not great” year, but if we look at other sports we will have to peel the skin off our hands from the applause. First, let’s talk about the performances of Italy, especially Jannik Sinner in tennis and Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia in motorcycling.
However, the first Italian success in 2023 was the football success of Italian club teams, but this was only a near-success. In fact, we managed to place a finalist team in each of UEFA’s main competitions: Champions League, Europa League and Conference League. A historical conclusion with a bitter epilogue: 0 trophies in 3 finals.
The 2023 football season continued with the disappointment of Italy Under-21, who could not stand out in the European Championship, which we once won many times and where success has been lacking since 2004. He achieved his goal in November, buoyed by the disappointment of missing a second consecutive World Cup. Qualification for Euro 2024.
Bagnaia and Sinner are the best Italians of 2023
If 2023 was an unforgettable year for Italian sport, this was thanks to other disciplines, especially tennis and motorcycles. Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia repeats MotoGP successBecame MotoGP champion for the second time in a row 14 years after Valentino Rossi. And he did it by using Ducati for an all-Italian combination.
After “Pecco”, another important signing in Italian sports for 2023 was that of Jannik Sinner. The twenty-two-year-old from South Tyrol was coming off a year full of doubts and injuries, but he showed devastating growth in the 2023 season, which saw him break many personal and national records and lead Italy to first place. Davis Cup victory after 47 years.
If Bagnaia and Sinner were the cover athletes, 2023 was also unforgettable thanks to Gianmarco Tamberi and Federica Brignone. The high jumper added another world gold medal Olympics won in Tokyo in 2021; The skier instead achieved his 23rd success at the World Cup, becoming the most successful Italian ever in alpine skiing.
