From the Azzurri’s training camp in preparation for Wednesday’s friendly against England, Cesare Prandelli has been holding court and talking about his team and the hot topics in Serie A. Here are some of Prandeli’s comments:
On Conte’s Suspension
“I do not see why the Juve coach should not train the team. A 10-month ban is already a severe punishment”.
On the Match-Fixing Scandal:
“Lets wait and see what the final outcome is. Sports justice must be swift and this may sometimes result in decisions that might not appear to be very even-handed. But these decisions must be respected. Criscito and Bonucci? I have been repeating this since May, but it seems to be a waste of time. The former received official notification that he was under investigation and the matter has still not been completely resolved. The latter received no such notification, but everyone still thought that he was guilty. As far as I know things turned out rather differently”
On the omission of Cassano and Balotelli from the squad to play England he said:
“I want to assess players with different characteristics, thinking also of the future, but I have not closed the door on Antonio or anyone else. Look what happened in the case of Di Natale”. Mario is out because he is suffering from an eye infection. “I had hoped that he would recover in time, but he hasn’t. I want to give him an important all-round role and he must learn to cope with this type of responsibility”.
On looking towards Brazil in 2014
“We must now raise the bar by improving on what we have already achieved. I expect us to continue playing good football, but to start winning more by being sharper and more decisive in front of goal. That is why I will be focusing my attention above all on the attack”. An attack that is made up completely of players aged 22 and under, including Fabbrini, who was called up to replace the injured Balotelli“.
