Italy: Del Piero: "I want to snatch a starting place with my teeth"
The attacker: "The polemics don't bother us that much anymore"

June 12, 2002
Datasport.it

It should be the redeption World Cup. It should be, but so far it hasn't been. Twenty minutes against Ecuador, on the bench against Croatia. This is Del Piero's World Cup. Mexico is just around the corner, and the only hope is that of enjoying a bit of playing time.

Pinturicchio feels well and, above all, ready for an eventual call from Trap. "I am very well on the physical side and even better on the mental side; being left out last match made a great will of revenge grow inside me, right now I want to snatch a starting place with my teeth".

In the eve of a decisive match for Italy, Del Piero chases all the controversy away: "Polemics? Not at all: for the moment we are focused on the most important thing, which is winning the match against Mexico. Obviously, it's not that we manage to stay completely away from reality; even without reading the newspapers you can call someone in Italy and they tell you what people are saying, what is happening. But this is not ruining our concentration".
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