Large swathes of Malta will take on a blue hue this evening, as thousands of local football fanatics temporarily swap Dun Karm’s national anthem for that of Italian poet Goffredo Mameli.

My Maltese ‘English’ friends... go ballistic about me wanting Italy to win

And while an Italian victory in tonight’s European Championship final is likely to leave fans’ car horns burnt out, an Azzurri defeat promises an altogether different set of toots belonging to local England fans.

Local football fans take Malta’s unique England-versus-Italy football rivalry as a given. But the keen sense of schadenfreude is lost on the English themselves.

“I’ll be supporting Italy,” said English tourist Anthony Mallors, 57. “They’ve played some lovely football and they just seem more exciting than the Spanish side,” he said.

Mr Mallors’ Italian fever was evidently contagious: some metres away, Frank Lee, 49, and his wife Hillary, 45, both said they would also be rooting for Italy.

“I was gutted when they knocked us out, though I suppose we should be used to it by now,” Mr Lee sighed.

“But I could hardly support Germany in the semi-finals, and they did such a good job there that I’m sticking with them for the final.”

Manchester-born David Atkins came to Malta almost 20 years ago, but the England-Italy rivalry has yet to rub off on him.

“Spain are boring and Italy deserve to win – I’ve been impressed by their defence and [Andrea] Pirlo has been excellent. But my Maltese ‘English’ friends are going ballistic about me wanting Italy to win!” Mr Atkins confessed.

But as anticipation grows for tonight’s big final, not everyone was overly enthused.

“Our husbands are both football-crazy, so we thought coming to Malta would be a good compromise. They could watch the games while we could enjoy the Mediterranean life,” said Margaret Miller, 39.

“But we’ve been here since the England-Italy game, and – my Lord....” her friend Amanda Tippett, 37, tailed off. “You lot are crazier about the football than the English! We can hardly sleep after every game because of the noise.”

Both ladies had their feet planted firmly within the Spanish camp. “They’ve got some handsome players,” chuckled Mrs Miller.

Italian flags have been hoisted on hundreds of rooftops in Malta ever since the national team booked a place in the Euro 2012 quarter finals.

The number of flags multiplied as Cesare Prandelli’s side unexpectedly marched into today’s final, beating England in the process.

Italy’s extended run in the tournament gave bar owners plenty to smile about as thousands of football fans watched the matches on big screens erected specifically for Euro 2012.

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