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Thirsty work: Balotelli and Daniele De Rossi

However, Prandelli, who dropped Balotelli from his squad in March because of his indiscipline at City, took the risk and now receives the rewards. On Friday he grinned as Italian journalists applauded him into a press conference and now his job is to puncture excessive expectations.

He cautions against defining Balotelli as the symbol of a multi-racial Italy. 'I don't think we can solve racial problems just through one game, just because Mario Balotelli scored,' he said. 'He's not so much the symbol of the team, the shirt is the symbol of the team. And he is Italian. Full stop.'

But at times Balotelli still seems something of an outsider. After the win against Germany he sought out his adopted mother, Silvia, who wept as she embraced him. It was the most moving image of the tournament but while that was happening most of his team-mates had walked over to the Italian fans and were dancing an excited jig together in the middle of the pitch - without Balotelli.

It may be more realistic, however, to measure what Balotelli and Prandelli represent in football terms. Last Sunday, having beaten England at Kiev's Olympic Stadium, Prandelli spelt out his footballing philosophy. And it felt like a challenge to Roy Hodgson's England.

'A lot of Italian coaches want to start playing football now, not just playing for the result,' said Prandelli. 'We have this mentality - we want to play. This is the way football's going in the future and I think Italian sides will want to play as we are.'

And of England? 'We tried to bring them out of their defence, but they didn't want to come out,' he said. It is the ultimate irony. Just as the English finally learn how to defend, thanks to former AC Milan and Inter coaches, the rest of the world embraces attacking football.

The makeover Prandelli has given the Italian game is similar to that which Jürgen
Klinsmann achieved for Germany at the 2006 World Cup, foundations on which Joachim Low's team have built impressively, notwithstanding their defeat on Thursday night.

The task is greater though for Prandelli, the former Fiorentina and Parma coach. The caricature of Italian football would have it that cynicism abides on the pitch - this is the nation that invented catenaccio and revered Claudio Gentile - and off it.

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