Leonardo Bonucci confirms he won’t quit international football and reveals the ‘toughest part’ of Italy’s World Cup elimination.
The veteran defender briefly joined Roberto Mancini for a press conference ahead of tomorrow’s third-place play-off between the Azzurri and Turkey. Bonucci is expected to become Italy’s captain after Chiellini’s international retirement. The 37-year-old will likely play his last two games with his national team before passing the captain’s armband to Bonucci.
“I don’t know what Giorgio will do. On my end, I want to continue to be an example and guide the many youths wearing this shirt,” said Bonucci.
“The hours after the eliminations have been thought. We remained quiet during our moments together, like team lunches or dinners. That was the most challenging part.
“We tried to play down the disappointment by saying that young players will have other opportunities, while the older ones like myself only had one last chance.
“After the coach spoke to us, we put the past behind our shoulders and we re-connected with the future. The future is now so we must start again to rebuild and get what we didn’t achieve. We have a solid base to come back.
“What the coach has given us in these three years is something unique. There is an empathy that is rare to see at Coverciano.
“His ideas and his human value are not under question. Anything can happen in a game and opinions can change, but only who has lived this every day wants to continue it.”
Brilliant decision Leonardo. A good veteran that will be very helpful for the up and coming defenders.
Eat more pasta clown!
One of the greatest defenders in the world deserves more respect than that, smh.
He did this to himself – he needs to keep his mouth shot and not call out others. Karma.
Isn’t there a Football England website that you could comment on instead, smh? Take my comment and Mats as Karma.
@SMh- Bonucci’s trolling of England was “karma” for the arrogant nonsense from the English fans and media during the run-up to the final
Troll Italy when you win something
Britbong clowns reveling in the misery of others. The last time England won anything, humanity had not set foot on the moon, and The Beatles were still alive and together. Let that sink in. It amazes me how butthurt England fans are always the first to gloat. What are you gloating about? Your country has been an irrelevant footnote, a skid mark as pertains to global impact on the “beautiful game.” I’d understand a fan of Germany, Brazil, France, or even Spain making such comments and remarks, but it seems these teams do their talking on the pitch.