Italy and Juvents striker Simone Zaza has apologized for “letting
Italians down” after he missed a penalty in Saturday’s Euro 2016 quarterfinal
shootout defeat to Germany, but insists that he will not change his method of taking
penalty kicks as he faces ridicule and heaps of criticism.
The forward missed from the spot in Italy’s 6-5
shootout loss in Bordeaux has been met with scorn on social media, but Zaza and
those who have seen him training insists the way he lined up to beat Manuel
Neuer was nothing out of the ordinary — only the outcome of the ball clearing
the crossbar, was.
“I’m sorry for letting Italians down,” Zaza said after
Italy returned home on Sunday. “I’ve missed the most important penalty of my
life and I’m never going to live it down.
“I’ve always taken penalties that way and I was convinced
I would score. I did send Neuer the wrong way, but the ball just went away as
it did. It’s tough but I’ll try to lift myself up again.”
Zaza was sent on by Italy coach Antonio Conte in the
final minute of extra-time with the sole aim of taking one of Italy’s
penalties. He hopes he will not only be remembered for that miss, however.
“I want the Italians to remember what we achieved,” he
said. “It’s not fair for a single episode to cancel all that we gave with our
hearts. There’s nothing we can do about it now. It’s just a pity because we
were doing something extraordinary.”
Awful penalty frm takeoff till finish
ReplyDelete