That man is Englishman Roy Hodgson and not Italian Fabio Capello, who could have been leading England against his own nation if he had not quit in February.
Although it is impossible to know whether Capello would have steered England through as group winners, it is intriguing that Hodgson is now responsible for trying to knock Italy out in Sunday's quarter-final in Kiev.
Although he possesses old-fashioned English charm and modesty, an important part of Hodgson's football education was enriched during two spells at Inter Milan in the late 1990s.
England and Italy may be among Europe's most dominant football nations but their footballing paths have crossed relatively infrequently in major competitions since Englishmen formed the first Italian club in Genoa in 1893.
Sunday's meeting will only their third in a major tournament following Italy's 1-0 win in the 1980 European Championship and the Azzurri's 2-1 victory in the third-place playoff at the 1990 World Cup.
So Sunday's match represents a rare coming together of two great rivals who share a great love of defending but have few other similarities.
The rise of Latin rivals Spain and their "tiki taka" has led Italy to lust after a similar style even if the players are not yet capable of achieving it and still have a tendency to drop back when 1-0 up, a bit like the English.
The two nations do share an arrogant view of their own leagues and apart from Manchester City's Mario Balotelli and Paris Saint-Germain duo Salvatore Sirigu and Thiago Motta, the Italian players are all with clubs in their own country.
All of Hodgson's 23-man Euro 2012 squad play in England.
