By Anna Italia
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It’s official. Italy Head Coach Cesare Prandelli announcing his resignation during the press conference after the World Cup Group D game: Italy 0 – 1 Uruguay. Italy were eliminated ending in third place. Costa Rica and Uruguay pass to the Round of 16. Also, the President of the Italian Football Federation Giancarlo Abete resigns.
“Cesare Prandelli ha comunicato in conferenza stampa di essersi dimesso da Commissario Tecnico della Nazionale”
Here are the declarations made by Prandelli, “I assume the responsibility of the technical project, but it is absurd to remain in ten in a match like this one. You can’t condition a match in this way, the referee ruined it”.
These are the first comments made by Cesare Prandelli a few minutes after the elimination of Italy from the World Cup. Bitterness, anger, disappointment, the face of the head coach is a mix of feelings held back by a sense of diplomacy that wants to explode, while forward Mario Balotelli covers his face with his hands and midfielder Andrea Pirlo is in tears.
Prandelli adding that “It was a well-balanced match. They never took a shot on goal until they scored, we tried to put together scoring occasions, we did what we could, it was even a good match, but the referee ruined everything. When you fight for each ball like Uruguay did, there will be fouls. But they were not bad fouls, and the one made by Marchisio was definitely not one to red-card”.
And now? What about the future for Prandelli? “Now we’ll see. After four years of hard work a red-card decides everything. Now we have to reflect, then we’ll see. We are definitely sorry about being eliminated from a World Cup in this way”.
The athletic training is not in question for Prandelli. “It was good and we proved that today. We were, however, the only team to play in the heat of Manaus and twice at lunch time”.
A few words about Balotelli, substituted in the second half: “I consider him important, but he has to give more guarantees as far as tranquility is concerned. You never really understand whether or not he is serene. I took him out at the end of the first half because he had been yellow-carded and I as afraid of remaining with ten players on the field”.
Photo vivoazzurro.it
