The Gazzetta dello Sport lead with the claim that the Italy squad was at odds with Mario Balotelli and Antonio Cassano for the entire World Cup.
The Azzurri crashed out of the tournament at the group stage after losing to Uruguay in a controversial 1-0 loss.
The Gazzetta dello Sport lead with the claim that the Italy squad was at odds with Mario Balotelli and Antonio Cassano for the entire World Cup.
The Azzurri crashed out of the tournament at the group stage after losing to Uruguay in a controversial 1-0 loss.
Claudio Marchisio was sent off, whilst Luis Suarez was seen allegedly biting Giorgio Chiellini in the second half.
But despite these disputes, the sports daily indicates that the national team were, in fact, doomed from the start.
The pink paper believes that Balotelli and Cassano, two of the squad’s more colourful characters, were jettisoned early on by the remainder of the group for their behaviour.
Gazzetta does not go into detail, but believes that the senior members of the group were not impressed by the pair from their training camp at Coverciano, through to the defeat in Natal on Tuesday.
Daniele De Rossi was fuming after the final whistle, supposedly referencing Balotelli in his statements, insisting that Italy needed “men, not Panini stickers of players”.
It now looks difficult for Cassano to carry on in the famous blue shirt, whilst Corriere dello Sport reported that the Milan forward is set to take a ‘back seat’ with the national team – with Giuseppe Rossi promoted to leading the line.