Andrea Barzagli was “disappointed” with a Coppa Italia exit to Roma and reveals Mirko Vucinic’s Juventus locker “is empty.”
Andrea Barzagli was “disappointed” with a Coppa Italia exit to Roma and reveals Mirko Vucinic’s Juventus locker “is empty.”
The defender spoke to RAI Sport after a 1-0 quarter-final defeat at the Stadio Olimpico.
“Of course we’re disappointed to go out of the Coppa Italia, as this was one of our objectives.
“What did we get wrong? The goal. We knew it would be a balanced encounter that would be decided on incidents, which in truth it was at the Juventus Stadium too.
“We had a few chances, but the goal came late and we didn’t have time to turn it around.”
Gervinho scored the winner 11 minutes from time after good work from Miralem Pjanic and Kevin Strootman.
“We hesitated for a moment. When you concede, there are always a series of errors. We could’ve closed up on them earlier in the move, but Roma are so strong on these moves and we tried to prevent them going on the counter-attack.
“Pjanic’s pass looked like it was going out, but Strootman kept it in, and then the cross found Gervinho reacting quickly to get in position.
“We are doing very well this season, as we’re top in Serie A and still in the Europa League. This exit and the Champions League were painful, but will help us grow.”
Antonio Conte was angry at the decision to disallow Federico Peluso’s goal, but Barzagli calmed the situation.
“To be honest, I don’t think a player should comment on refereeing decisions. They look different on the pitch to on television. I didn’t see them, so I won’t comment.”
Today has been chaotic for Barzagli’s teammate Vucinic, who was on the verge of a move to Inter in exchange for Fredy Guarin before Erick Thohir pulled the plug under pressure from fans.
“He had emptied his locker. We said goodbye to Mirko and he was an integral part of two and a half fantastic years. If he returns to Vinovo then we’ll embrace him again.”