Christian Bolanos took a sideswipe at Mario Balotelli after Costa Rica beat Italy. “He’ll know our names now.”
Christian Bolanos took a sideswipe at Mario Balotelli after Costa Rica beat Italy. “He’ll know our names now.”
The Azzurri were beaten 1-0 in Recife and Bolanos proudly wore Balotelli’s jersey after the game.
“It’s a memento,” he told journalists after the final whistle. “Balotelli is a player I admire.”
However, the reference was inevitable to Balotelli’s comment yesterday that he didn’t know any of their players.
“He said he didn’t know our players, but I think he’ll know several of our names now. We beat the World Cup winners and made history. We were never afraid of them.”
Costa Rica have qualified from Group D, which includes previous World Cup winners Italy, Uruguay and England.
“I cannot explain it. I honestly don’t know what is happening. It’s football, it is written in the stars. This squad has been doing great things for a while now and playing in Brazil feels like being at home.
“We have made history and I think we can do even greater things. Nobody knew where Costa Rica was, but now they know.”