Simone Zaza has found his form at Valencia, but is “upset” at being snubbed by Italy and regrets his West Ham move, said his father.
The 26-year-old has scored six goals in seven Liga games, including five in the last three, but still isn’t called up for World Cup qualifiers against Macedonia and Albania.
“We are very happy with this magic moment. Simone is in great shape and feels at home with Valencia,” Antonio Zaza told Calciomercato.com.
Simone Zaza has found his form at Valencia, but is “upset” at being snubbed by Italy and regrets his West Ham move, said his father.
The 26-year-old has scored six goals in seven Liga games, including five in the last three, but still isn’t called up for World Cup qualifiers against Macedonia and Albania.
“We are very happy with this magic moment. Simone is in great shape and feels at home with Valencia,” Antonio Zaza told Calciomercato.com.
“He didn’t have an argument with Marcelino, it was just the usual exaggeration from the media. Quite simply, inside the locker room there can be animated discussions, that is all.”
Even though Andrea Belotti pulled out through a knee injury, Giampiero Ventura still didn’t call Zaza for Italy, instead opting for Chievo striker Roberto Inglese.
“Having said that we respect the decisions of the Coach, who made these choices based on his ideas, naturally Simone was upset. Things are going very well at Valencia and he could’ve been taken into consideration.
“I prefer not to judge other players, but I will just repeat that my son is happy at his club and wants to continue scoring many goals.”
Zaza’s career took a downturn when he missed a penalty in the Euro 2016 quarter-final shoot-out against Germany.
“The only players who miss penalties are the ones with the courage to take them. Anyone who takes responsibility can make a mistake, but he had many good games for the Azzurri too.”
There were reports this summer that Zaza was in talks with Torino, Cagliari and Sassuolo, among others.
“Simone is not thinking about coming back to Italy at all. He does not miss Serie A. There was nothing concrete, I can assure you. I don’t think it’d be easy to take Simone away from Valencia, as the club is very happy with him and is very ambitious.
“We have no regrets. If those links with Napoli and Milan didn’t materialise into a move, there must’ve been good reasons. Not even Juventus represent a regret, as there were positive memories from that experience. Coming to La Liga was the right choice.
“However, he does regret going to West Ham and wouldn’t make that decision again. Simone’s confidence was hit by that missed penalty, plus he just wasn’t happy in London with the climate, nor the tactics of his ex-Coach.”