Football Players: Francesco Totti Italy

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Francesco Totti Italy

But the news has not gone down well with the Italy squad, who are in Kaunas preparing for the Euro 2008 qualifier against Lithuania.

Barcelona star Gianluca Zambrotta said: "I'm just looking to forge a group spirit with players who are here - rather than those who are not.

"I don't want to cause any controversy, but if you care about the blue shirt then you must care about it all of the time and not just in the important games."

And Inter Milan defender Marco Materazzi believes the Totti talk is distracting Italy's preparations for their must-win game.

He said: "All this talk of Totti is the wrong way to prepare for the Lithuania game, where we need the three points."

Italy may have won four straight games but the atmosphere in their camp leaves a lot to be desired.

The Azzurri narrowly beat the Faroes on Saturday and Materazzi was forced on to the back foot to defend a team that is quickly losing the backing of their frustrated fans.

"OK, we didn't score six goals, but what counted was the three points," Materazzi said. "We're the world champions and our clubs dominate Europe. We need to do the job properly."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-460251/Italian-anger-Totti-tries-pick-choose.html#ixzz1PkDjz7dl