Sebastian Giovinco and Andrea Pirlo will not be a part of the Italian National Team’s Euro 2016 run, and, according to head coach Antonio Conte, their MLS moves may have been the deciding factor in their exclusions.
The Toronto FC forward and NYCFC midfielder were left off of Conte’s 30-man preliminary roster, which was released on Monday. While Conte admitted he scouted the duo extensively, their performances in MLS were not enough for either to make Italy’s final roster for this summer’s tournament
“I spoke to Andrea, I needed to hear from him and we sent people to the U.S.,” Conte said at a press conference. “However, we’ve made other choices and you have to accept them and deal with the consequences. Nothing was left to chance.
“We evaluated him and Giovinco, it’s normal that if you choose to go and play there then you can pay the consequences in footballing terms. We evaluated them technically, we didn’t leave anything to chance. Anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong, we went everywhere to have clear and precise ideas. I picked the 30 who I think will give me the most guarantees.”
Conte, who is set to assume the role of Chelsea manager following this summer’s Euros, worked with both Giovinco and Pirlo extensively while in charge at Juventus. The duo most recently joined the national team in October for a pair of qualifiers.
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