Italy manager Ventura wary of Balotelli, omits Giovinco because he plays in MLS
ROME (AP) — Despite two months of solid play with Nice, Mario Balotelli remains excluded from Italy's national team because of his past history as a divisive personality both on and off the field.
"It's not due to technical reasons that Balotelli isn't on the national team," Italy coach Gian Piero Ventura said Monday. "He has great skills. Nobody is debating his technical abilities. Rather it's a thousand other factors."
Since transferring to Nice on deadline day, Balotelli has scored six goals in six French league appearances, helping his new club to first place.
"He's been back in form for two months now but you can't think that in two months somebody has changed who they are," Ventura added.
After scoring only one league goal in each of the past two seasons with Liverpool and AC Milan, respectively, Balotelli never played for Italy under coach Antonio Conte.
His last appearance for Italy came when the Azzurri were eliminated in the first round of the 2014 World Cup—where he was considered a distraction by several teammates.
At 26, though, Balotelli potentially has many more years as a top player.
Ventura said he will have a discussion with Balotelli "to see if he has the desire to be a leader within the team."
"There are another 2 1/2 months to evaluate," the coach added, looking ahead to a possible return in 2017.
Meanwhile, forward Graziano Pelle also remains excluded after refusing to shake Ventura's hand following a substitution during a 1-1 draw with Spain last month.
"I thought it would be useful for him to have a pause to reflect," Ventura said of Pelle, who transferred from Southampton to Chinese club Shandong Luneng in July.
As for Sebastian Giovinco, Ventura said the high-scoring forward for MLS club Toronto FC has been left out because he "plays in a league that doesn't count for much."
Italy is training for a World Cup qualifier at Liechtenstein on Saturday and a friendly with Germany three days later in Milan.
Ventura plans to rely on the forward tandem of Andrea Belotti and Ciro Immobile—both of whom played under him at Torino.
"They're two players I don't need to get to know. I know them perfectly well since I coached them," Ventura said. "They have a chance to take over the national team."
Immobile has scored nine goals in 12 matches for Lazio this season, while Belotti has eight in 10 for Torino.
Meanwhile, midfielder Claudio Marchisio was sent home Monday with an injured left leg, two days after being called back to the national team after six months out with a torn cruciate ligament, which forced him to miss the European Championship.
Atalanta midfielder Roberto Gagliardini and Genoa defender Armando Izzo were called up as replacements for Marchisio.
Defenders Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli are also out injured.
Italy is level on points with Group G leader Spain, one point ahead of Albania and Israel, while Macedonia and Liechtenstein are last with zero points.
Ventura wasn't taking Liechtenstein lightly after the small nation held Spain to only one goal in the first half of an 8-0 defeat in September.
"It's a match to prepare very carefully in order to avoid surprises," Ventura said.
Then Italy will attempt to seek some revenge against World Cup champion Germany, which eliminated the Azzurri in the quarterfinals of Euro 2016 in a penalty shootout.
"To be honest I would have preferred a different type of friendly," Ventura said. "We need to get our younger players in condition step by step. Germany is the strongest and best organized team around, so it will be like a graduation exam."
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