Antonio Conte has suggested that both Andrea Pirlo and Sebastian Giovinco knew the risks to their international careers that came with their respective moves to MLS.
Pirlo joined New York City FC last summer while Giovinco had previously joined Toronto FC having both decided to leave Juventus for differing reasons.
Given Giovinco’s form since moving to MLS though, there has been some debate over his exclusion as many believed that he deserved to be called up for the Italy squad preparing for Euro 2016 this summer.
While Pirlo will now effectively see it as his international career being over, Conte has revealed that he spoke to the veteran midfielder while aiming a subtle dig at MLS as a whole.
“I spoke to Andrea, I needed to hear from him and we sent people to the US,” Conte told reporters at a press conference at Coverciano today, as reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“However, we’ve made other choices and you have to accept them and deal with the consequences. Nothing was left to chance.
“We evaluated him and Giovinco, it’s normal that if you choose to go and play there then you can pay the consequences in footballing terms.
“We evaluated them technically, we didn’t leave anything to chance. Anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong, we went everywhere to have clear and precise ideas.
“I picked the 30 who I think will give me the most guarantees.”
It remains to be seen how the Azzurri fare in France this summer, with few backing them to go on and win the tournament, particularly in light of being without injured pair Marco Verratti and Claudio Marchisio to leave them with a depleted midfield devoid of creativity.
Nevertheless, it will still be a disappointment for Pirlo and Giovinco to miss out, with Conte ultimately insinuating that their moves Stateside made his decision for him.