Antonio Conte has released a statement after he “was astounded to read” Antonio Cassano’s suggestion the Juventus” data-scaytid=”3″>Juventus Coach could not “lecture on morality.”
Antonio Conte has released a statement after he “was astounded to read” Antonio Cassano’s suggestion the Juventus Coach could not “lecture on morality.”
Cassano told Sport Mediaset that “if Conte starts talking to me about morality then it’s the end of the world” after a ban for failing to report match-fixing.
“I was astounded to read the statements from Mr Cassano, following which I am forced to make certain clarifying points,” started Conte’s reply on the official Juventus website.
“First of all, I never used the term ‘morality,’ despite the fact I have it in spades. I have already expressed my opinion on the ban for failing to report match-fixing in the past.”
Conte has always denied the accusations and insisted he did not know about any alleged match-fixing.
“When asked how I choose players for Juventus, I said we look to the man, by which I meant how he interprets the role of footballer in a professional manner.
“That means effort, commitment, respecting the rules and the roles of others, plus caring about the common good of the team.
“I think that Mr Cassano has already shown many times over his career both on and off the field – such as his impressions of Fabio Capello at Real Madrid or insulting gestures at referee Roberto Rosetti and other incidents – that he does not have the requisite characteristics I am looking for.
“He told other anecdotes in his own autobiography, such as on page 109. I therefore feel that I need add nothing more, pointing out that when I use certain terms I fully evaluate their literal significance.”
The passage on page 109 was on Cassano's time at Madrid, where he was very overweight and continued to eat all the wrong foods.