Italy boss Cesare Prandelli has revealed the he had previously told Giuseppe Rossi that he wouldn’t be included in the Azzurri’s final squad for the World Cup in Brazil and admits that he’s shocked by the player’s reaction after the 23-man team was released.
The 27-year-old, who had already been in doubt for this summer’s tournament due to a knee injury he suffered back in January, was named in the tactician’s 30-man provisional team and appeared in Italy’s recent friendly with the Republic of Ireland, but failed to impress Prandelli, as the coach felt he had spent too much of the season on the bench to be prepared for Brazil.
Prandelli spoke during a press conference on the eve of the Azzurri’s friendly against Luxembourg on Wednesday about Rossi’s situation, while also commenting on the condition of his other players and why Mattia Destro was also left out of the final 23.
“Rossi’s exclusion and his reaction? I didn’t expect such a reaction,” said the 56-year-old. “Without giving any type of judgement, I have to clarify what happened.
“I met with Giuseppe Rossi at Coverciano before naming the 30-man provisional squad. I wanted to speak with him, I wanted to inform him that he hadn’t played enough, the time for recovery had not been implemented on the field, and in the Coppa Italia final he had only played a few minutes.
“I went to meet him with this in mind to tell him that he wasn’t in the 30. Then I realised that calling him up could send a strong message, so I decided to name him in the 30, though I specified that he would not be in the 23.
“I also said that it was a difficult decision because he’s an amazing guy. I repeated to him several times: ‘Beppe, you’re not in the 23.’
“He has always worked well, with enthusiasm and the desire to do his best. Everyone knew their own role, so I’m astonished by this reaction.
“Prior to the match against Ireland, I had said that from a physical point of view that his values were good, but I wanted to see something more on the field, I wanted a striker who was going to be playing as a striker.
“I had also removed [Ciro] Immobile, I have put him forward, but I have not seen what I wanted to see.
“It was a risk so great that I didn’t feel it would be easy to call him up, though all would have been happy. It’s clearly astonishing to see these types of reactions though.
“Destro? The championship had given the verdicts and I wouldn’t have wanted to bring three players of the same position, and in sight of the Rossi situation I had wondered if he would be available to be a back up, which he said he thought he could be.
“Afterwards, [assistant coach Gabriele] Pin and I had a talk with Mattia telling he was and would have been important, but certain choices must be made.
“I preferred [Lorenzo] Insigne. I asked him if he had anything to add and he said no. I don’t want to make any judgements, it was right to clarify the situation.
“From the moment we had made the choice, I’ve went forward. The choice I made already had him out of the 23. When I had asked the players of their availability and if they could be used as reserves they said yes, and three of them are in the final 23.
“When I called Destro sphinx? He’s a very introverted guy.
“The use of social networks? The internet is wonderful for humanity. However, if everyone only used the internet, there would be much loneliness.
“The starting 11 for the friendly with Luxembourg? I still have to see about [Andrea] Barzagli. But we will have [Gianluigi] Buffon, [Ignazio] Abate, eventually Barzagli, [Giorgio] Chiellini, [Mattia] De Sciglio, [Daniele] De Rossi, [Andrea] Pirlo, [Marco] Verratti, [Antonio] Candreva, [Claudio] Marchisio and [Mario] Balotelli.
“How is training going? Balotelli is doing fine. He’s fatigued, but from work. He has never worked so hard and he has never been this good. [Antonio] Cassano has always been said to be a player who has the ability to speed up the action.
“Preparation for debut against England? We’re forced to cover roads where we must value our players. We will think next to England the week before the match. Until the 8th we will try to disguise ourselves. We’ll play our cards right in the official game.
“[Riccardo] Monotlivo? He leaves a big absence, he has reached an incredible tactical maturity.
“Romulo? We had looked at ourselves and thought about what was happening. The results weren’t brilliant and I had told him that.
“He started crying and said that he couldn’t take the place of one of his team-mates.”
