Giorgio Chiellini's dramatic Italy career made him the symbol of Azzurri's highs and lows

You have to go back to 2003 to find the last calendar year which didn't include a Giorgio Chiellini appearance for Italy.

It was a year when Christian Panucci wore the captain's armband for the Azzurri. When Nicola Legrottaglie started at centre-back and Fabrizio Miccoli got regular minutes further forward. Simply put, it was a different time.

Now, for the first time in the best part of two decades, Italian football fans have to prepare for a Chiellini-less national team once more. The Juventus veteran has announced this summer's 'Finalissima' against Argentina at Wembley will be his last appearance in that famous blue shirt, and the next chapter will begin whether the country is ready for it or not.

Across 116 appearances, the 37-year-old has been there for some of the highest and lowest moments experienced by Italy's men, giving everything for every single second. So involved was he, it's hard to look at those moments, good and bad, without seeing his face front and centre.

"I'll say goodbye to the national team at Wembley, which is where I experienced the pinnacle of my career winning the Euros," Chiellini told DAZN after helping Juve see off Sassuolo in a Serie A clash on Monday night. "I'd like to say goodbye to the Azzurri with a nice memory. That will certainly be my last game with Italy."

It feels fitting that the farewell will come in an environment which is both hugely important and not important at all. The memories of the dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over England will come rushing back, for sure, but it remains notable that the 2022 World Cup - kicking off 18 years almost to the day after Chiellini's Italy debut - won't involve the European champions thanks to their shock play-off defeat