Sturaro, rubentus player, a very humble guy...
OLOMOUC, June 19, 2015 - Stefano Sturaro came within minutes today of compounding the blunder he committed in being sent off against Sweden in Italy's opening defeat at UEFA U21 Euro.
With the score 1-1 in the closing stages on Thursday Sturaro retaliated to a foul with a punch and was sent off. Minutes later Sweden, having had a player of their own dismissed earlier, grabbed the winning goal.
Sturaro, as he accepted today, had thus been crucially responsible for a defeat which ramps up the pressure on the Azzurrini ahead of Sunday's Group B clash with England. He will not have the chance to make amends; he will be suspended.
In stepping up to take responsibility, however, the 22-year-old Juventus midfielder lost the verbal plot just as he had lost his temper out on the pitch. He did proffer an apology but it was only a qualified version.
Sturaro said: [It's an apology] only to my team-mates and to my coaching staff: maybe I don't deserve to wear the Italian shirt and to work with them. But I don't want to apologise to the journalists and to people who are not part of our team. They don't know how we feel during a match.
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I have to accept all the criticism in the newspapers because I know I am an important player for this team and I have more experience than other players. But some reporters have written a lot of bad things about me and I don't need to apologise to them."
Sturaro then went on to review the defeat.
He said: "We missed a good chance because we started well, took the lead, had an extra man and then we have lost it. Maybe the new competition for almost all of us had an emotional impact. Everything took a wrong turn and we collapsed. We lost concetration. I lost the plot. It's my fault."
Sturaro then left the press conference. But not for long. Perhaps someone else offered him some significant advice. Perhaps he had second thoughts of his own.
Minutes later he returned to save himself from his own latest mistake, saying: ?When I said that I don't deserve this shirt, I meant to apologise to everyone who supports Italy.
"I know how important this shirt is for Italian people and I want to say sorry to them.''