Simone Zaza has admitted that his comical penalty miss for Italy in Euro 2016 'traumatised him'.
After attempting to explain the reasons for his failure at West Ham during the first half of the season, the striker went on to talk about that infamous miss.
"It's been a year full of things. 2016 started well for me but has not finished very well," Zaza told Gazzetta dello Sport.
Simone Zaza has admitted that his comical penalty miss for Italy in Euro 2016 'traumatised him'.
After attempting to explain the reasons for his failure at West Ham during the first half of the season, the striker went on to talk about that infamous miss.
"It's been a year full of things. 2016 started well for me but has not finished very well," Zaza told Gazzetta dello Sport.
"The penalty was a problem that has traumatised me a lot. After the European Championships I was really bad, this summer I lost so much weight.
"The videos weren’t the things that did me most harm. Now I laugh about the ‘Zaza dance’.
"Just today with Mario Suarez we were joking about my penalty and I ribbed him for missing with an open net two years ago. The people have made me suffer with an incorrect image of me, as if I were superficial or conceited."
What did the Azzurri forward think about in the immediate aftermath of the semi-final miss against Germany?
"Why Zaza? Why, and perhaps that I fooled everyone, in that month of training Zaza had taken ten penalties and had not missed a single one. "
"Even with [Manuel] Neuer I had done everything right: I had wrong-footed him.
"Then boom, the penalty rocketed towards the fans. And then here is the pain. When I came back my head was elsewhere and so I started to talk with my girlfriend and she helped me a lot: she gave two slaps me to bring me back.
"I am one who reacts and gets back in training I wanted a break from the world. But I was not ready to break from anything, I did not have the mental strength. Then after a while in London I failed even with physical strength. Now I'm finding both."
Does the 25-year-old have any predictions for the weekend's showdown between Juve and Inter?
"In Italy there are no teams that can compete for a whole year with Juve. Inter can win on Sunday but in the long run Juve are too much stronger than the others."
Italy take on Spain in September, is Zaza ready to play?
"I know, but I’m not thinking about it. Because it depends only on me: if I score goals, if I play well I’ll be selected, otherwise I won’t.
This autumn when I was not playing well the Coach was exceptional: he called me to give me confidence.
"Before I was not [Lionel] Messi or [Cristiano] Ronaldo but now I'm not a donkey either. I just have to get back to doing what I do."
Finally, the former Juventus striker went on to describe how he compared notes over his difficulties with Chelsea boss Antonio Conte. Were there similarities between the two situations?
"Yes, because more things are complicated in England and he’s also set in his ways.
"In London he told me of the initial difficulties: he found it so hard to be in a world where the players will eat anything.
"It took a bit to pass his message on and he threatened them. Then he took off.
"We had similar problems, he has managed to reverse the situation, I did not. I want to do it now in Valencia."