Emanuele Giaccherini has advised Mario Balotelli to ‘show a little more hunger’ in order to break into Antonio Conte’s Italy squad.
The Liverpool striker has missed the new CT’s first two squad calls amid continued scrutiny over his ability to fit into the Azzurri set-up following the fall-out from the summer World Cup.
Emanuele Giaccherini has advised Mario Balotelli to ‘show a little more hunger’ in order to break into Antonio Conte’s Italy squad.
The Liverpool striker has missed the new CT’s first two squad calls amid continued scrutiny over his ability to fit into the Azzurri set-up following the fall-out from the summer World Cup.
For one of Conte’s regular squad men when at Juventus, who returned to the international fold for his September Italy selection, the advice is to give a bit more.
“The Coach wants players who sacrifice themselves,” Giaccherini has told Tuttomercatoweb this week.
“He loves not the individual but the collective. He appreciates the spirit of those who work hard every day to make winning a possibility.
“Mario is a great player, but must have a little more hunger.
“The same hunger as Graziano Pelle? Exactly. He has been years scoring so many goals and now he has been rewarded for all the sacrifices.”
Giaccherini was talking having visited his Italy teammates at Coverciano this week, as he continues to recover from an ankle injury.
“I was pleased to see everyone, because living in England I do not see them often.
“I’ll be back in the field in November. Next week I will return to Newcastle to begin rehabilitation again. A little on the bike, in the pool and then we will see how things proceed.
“It is a pity, I was returning well to form. After a year of adaptation in the Premier League, though, I am ready to do well with Sunderland.”