Leonardo Bonucci is glad his Juventus” data-scaytid=”25″>Juventus teammate Andrea Pirlo postponed international retirement and hailed Empoli’s” data-scaytid=”27″>Empoli’s Daniele Rugani.
Leonardo Bonucci is glad his Juventus teammate Andrea Pirlo postponed international retirement and hailed Empoli’s Daniele Rugani.
The centre-back spoke at a Press conference ahead of Friday’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Azerbaijan in Palermo.
“Pirlo was convinced of his decision to leave the Italy squad, so thankfully he changed his mind,” said Bonucci.
“Conte brought him back in by getting him involved in an enthusiastic project. I already said before that we all know Conte’s knowledge and hunger for victory are added bonuses. They were at Juventus and the same is true in the Nazionale.
“It will take time to reach 100 per cent, but this group wants to improve and listens to the ideas of the Coach. That is a big advantage.”
Bonucci was also asked whether Conte had a written code of ethics like predecessor Cesare Prandelli.
“You don’t need that with Conte… It’s enough to talk things over.”
Italy have a new defender in the squad, as Empoli’s 20-year-old centre-back Rugani earned his debut senior call.
“Rugani is a player of great promise and is such a good professional. We already noted his quality when he was in the Primavera youth team. He doesn’t pull back and is humble, so over these last few years his growth at Empoli has been exponential.”