Italian Journalist reflects on Chiesa’s clearance: ‘He wasn’t only chasing Isidor’

La Gazzetta dello Sport journalist Luigi Garland reflects on Federico Chiesa’s goal-line clearance in Liverpool’s 1-1 draw against Sunderland: ‘He wasn’t only chasing Isidor…’

Italy winger Chiesa helped Italy salvage one point in a home Premier League game against Sunderland earlier this week with a dramatic 93-minute goal-line clearance, sprinting half the pitch to deny Wilson Isidor.

Chiesa received praise from Liverpool coach Arne Slot and several Reds fans on social media, and his effort caught the attention of Italian media as well.

“That fierce backwards sprint embodies the meaning of his troubled present. He wasn’t only chasing Isidor, but also the Chiesa he once was,” wrote Gazzetta journalist Luigi Garlando.

“The best part of his past. To the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German poet and theologian: Oh, if only I knew the way back, the long way into the land of childhood. This is what we wish for him, not goals, the national team or the World Cup, but the serenity of a man and the joy of children who play.”

Chiesa has not played for the Italy national team since June 2024, when the Azzurri lost 2-0 against Switzerland, facing elimination from the Euro 2024 Round of 16.

The Italian winger has rejected international call-ups under Gennaro Gattuso, aiming to gain full fitness at a club level before making his Azzurri return.

Gattuso’s assistant, Leonardo Bonucci, left the door open for Chiesa’s return in 2026, when the Azzurri will face Northern Ireland in the World Cup play-off semi-final on March 26.