Giorgio Chiellini laughed off rumours linking Italy Coach
Cesare Prandelli to Juventus and defended Mario Balotelli.
The defender spoke at a Press conference at the
Coverciano training ground after last night’s 2-2 World Cup qualifier in
Denmark.
“The next game with Armenia will not be pointless, as we
want to end the campaign unbeaten,” said Chiellini.
“Balotelli’s absence from the stadium is not such a big
deal, as he wasn’t feeling well. We hope he can be ready for Tuesday. Mario has
been unlucky during this international get-together, because he picked up an
injury in the first training session and then had a fever.
“This is and always will be Balotelli’s Italy, even if it
is possible to play without him. Nobody is indispensable. Some people might not
like Mario, but that’s the story of his career. The Nazionale helped him to
calm some of the antipathy towards him.”
This week the papers also speculated that Prandelli will
leave the Italy bench after the World Cup in order to take over at Juventus.
“I think all this is premature, as we are so tied to
Antonio Conte at Juventus and Prandelli for Italy. We are doing well and cannot
help but speak highly of Prandelli, but these rumours of him joining Juventus
are just fantasy football.
“Roma surprised everyone, as I did not expect them to
start with seven consecutive victories. They are also playing great football
and at times remind me of the Juventus we saw two years ago, especially in
their enthusiasm to overcome difficult situations.
“They have such energy that it allows them to do
anything. It is exciting to watch them play. They can be stopped, just as all
teams can be stopped, but I hope they are not too consistent like this.
“Considering the fixture list Juventus have had a good
start and we must continue taking it one game at a time.”
Culled from Football italia
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