Simone Zaza’s father says being “slaughtered” by the Italian media affected his son’s confidence at West Ham United.
The striker was brought on at the end of the Euro 2016 quarter final against Germany, so that he could take a penalty in the shoot-out.
Zaza delayed his run-up, appearing to wait for Manuel Neuer to move, and when the goalkeeper stayed on his feet the Azzurri forward thrashed the ball over the bar.
Simone Zaza’s father says being “slaughtered” by the Italian media affected his son’s confidence at West Ham United.
The striker was brought on at the end of the Euro 2016 quarter final against Germany, so that he could take a penalty in the shoot-out.
Zaza delayed his run-up, appearing to wait for Manuel Neuer to move, and when the goalkeeper stayed on his feet the Azzurri forward thrashed the ball over the bar.
A move from Juventus to West Ham followed, but the 25-year-old failed to score a goal and was sent back as the Hammers didn’t want to pay his buyout clause
Zaza is now at Valencia in Spain, and his father and agent believes his confidence was affected by that penalty miss and the subsequent reaction.
“Of course, that affected him a lot,” Antonio Zaza told JuveNews.
“He carried that missed penalty with him for several months, and his mother and I could see how much Simone was suffering because of it.
“Then the press slaughtered him excessively and he was crushed by that. Now it’s in the past though, and Simone wants to establish himself at Valencia.”