Italy – Bonucci on Balotelli: “He Controls His Destiny”
Mario Balotelli remains a hot topic in Italian football, and this time it’s his national teammate, Leonardo Bonucci, who is weighing in. The Juventus defender, who captained Italy in their 1-0 friendly win over Albania on Tuesday, shared his views on Balotelli’s situation and future with the Squadra Azzurra.
“Nobody is blaming Balotelli or anyone else. It was the fault of all 23 players who went to the World Cup and all the mistakes we made during the adventure,” Bonucci told Rai Sport, addressing Italy’s disappointing early exit from the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Still, the defender believes that Balotelli’s future is in his own hands.
“I’ve always said that Mario controls his destiny. If he’s smart enough to understand that he needs to have the mentality of a workaholic, to be part of a team and fight for it, then he can become important for this group. It all depends on him.”
The Liverpool striker left Italy’s training camp early last week due to a reported injury, sparking further discussion about his commitment and place in Antonio Conte’s plans.
“I only arrived on Friday and he left on Saturday, so I don’t know if anything happened this week,” Bonucci added.
With the Euro 2016 qualifiers on the horizon, the Italian squad remains under construction, and the door is still open for Balotelli—if he chooses to walk through it the right way.
