MY ACCOUNT
Roberto Mancini has revealed the decision to release several senior Italy faces such as Jorginho is to help repay the efforts made between club and country.
The Chelsea midfielder, along with a clutch of other key players such as Marco Verratti, Ciro Immobile and Lorenzo Insigne, have left the Azzurri camp ahead of Tuesday’s clash with Turkey.
Defeat against North Macedonia last week left the Euro 2020 hopes’ of reaching Qatar 2022 in tatters, ensuring they will miss a second successive World Cup.
With that in mind, Mancini looks set to field a more experimental side for a dead rubber against Turkey, who were also eliminated from the play-offs.
Speaking ahead of the match at Torku Arena, Mancini explained that it was on his orders that Jorginho and others departed early, stating that it was intended as a favour to their respective clubs.
“I forced them to leave,” the manager sought to clarify in his pre-match press conference. “If I can do something for them and for the clubs, we do it.
“They would not have played. Some were not physically at their best. Some of them, I forced them to go.
“Chelsea sent us Jorginho three days earlier [and] did not let him play in the FA Cup. I sent [him] back home because [he] would not have played.”
Jorginho has endured a tough few months in the Azzurri fold, with his crucial missed penalties against Switzerland in the group stage qualifiers effectively costing his side a straight passage to Qatar.
While Mancini added that neither Napoli forward Insigne or Lazio striker Immobile would have featured against Turkey, but still paid tribute to their contributions.
“Lorenzo had physical problems [and] Immobile would have gone to the stands,” he stated.
“The boys in recent years have deserved a lot. There are special players here, a special group has been created.”
