Cesare Prandelli on Tuesday
reaffirmed the code of conduct that will force him to drop
players who get red cards or who are involved in off-field
antics, even shoo-ins for this summer's World Cup in Brazil.
"This morning I talked to the players and I reminded them
that the ethical code counts in the last month too: anyone who
messes up stays home, because it means they won't cope with the
pressure of a World Cup," the Italy coach told reporters after
meeting the 23 hopefuls who completed physicals Tuesday.
"I'm fed up of seeing certain behaviour. The national-team
players must have the strength not to fall for provocations,"
said the Tuscan coach, who is looking to improve on Italy's
second-place finish at Euro 2012.
But the Azzurri manager said he was "convinced that no one
will make a mistake".
Surprise call-ups Giuseppe Rossi and Antonio Cassano
were among the big group of players who took part in Italy's
pre-World Cup fitness tests.
Prandelli said the tests would give him important input
for his final selections for this summer's tournament, as the
players' physical condition will be especially important given
the hot conditions they will face in Brazil.
Rossi was called up even though he has not yet returned to
action for Fiorentina after a knee injury.
Prandelli said he would wait as long as possible for the
forward to regain fitness when he suffered the injury in
January.
The 27-year-old was Serie A's top scorer at the time with
14 goals and remains in joint-fifth place in this season's
striker standings even though he has been sidelined for three
months.
Parma's Cassano, meanwhile, returned to an Azzurri camp
for the first time since the 31-year-old helped Italy come
second to world champions Spain at Euro 2012.
Prandelli said he wanted to focus on younger players after
that tournament, but Cassano's form of late has been too good to
ignore and he is in the running for a place in the World Cup
squad.
The tests ended Tuesday after players from AC Milan, who
beat Catania 1-0 in Sunday's late match, and from Serie A
leaders Juventus, who won 2-0 at Udinese on Monday, were put
through their paces.
The Milan contingent included star striker Mario Balotelli
and fellow forward Stephan El Shaarawy, who is close to coming
back after a lengthy layoff with a foot problem.
As expected Prandelli did not call up 37-year-old AS Roma
captain Francesco Totti or his club mate Mattia Destro.
However, this does not mean the duo have no chance of
making the final squad, especially in Destro's case.
The in-form 23-year-old has been excluded in accordance
with the code of conduct after being given a four-match ban by
Serie A's sporting judge.
Destro was banned for three matches for hitting an
opponent during Roma's 3-1 win at Cagliari eight days ago, when
he scored all of his team's goals.
The other match is an automatic ban incurred from a yellow
card he picked up in the game.
Prandelli does not call up players who are serving
suspensions, but the code of conduct only applies for the
duration of the ban.
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