Antonio Conte admits there are “too many injuries” in the Italy squad and shot down Mario Balotelli questions.
Antonio Conte admits there are “too many injuries” in the Italy squad and shot down Mario Balotelli questions.
The Azzurri face Croatia in a Euro 2016 qualifier this evening. It’s due to kick off at 19.45 GMT at San Siro, where fortunately the torrential rain has now stopped.
“What did I think of Balotelli? I will keep that evaluation to myself and the same goes for Alessio Cerci. Really, enough now,” snapped the Coach on Rai Sport.
Balotelli received his first call-up under Conte, but was sent home along with Angelo Ogbonna and Marco Verratti due to injury.
“The issue of the injuries does exist and effectively there are too many of them. I spoke to Professor Castellacci about it and next time we will be more careful, avoiding certain call-ups.”
Meanwhile, newspaper Il Tempo today claims Balotelli was sent home to Liverpool because he did not want to sit on the bench against Croatia.
Conte has preferred Sassuolo forward Simone Zaza and Borussia Dortmund’s Ciro Immobile to SuperMario so far.
“Balotelli had this inflammation in the groin area and could not train. Therefore it was pointless keeping him with us,” the Coach had said in a Press conference on Saturday.
“Did I like the way he trained? Yes, like Rugani, Soriano and many others.”