Antonio Conte cancelled his scheduled Azzurri training camps after the Lega Calcio exempted players busy with European cups.
The Nazionale's training camps were one of the earliest and most characteristic ideas that the former Juventus Coach had introduced, and they are also the one that met with the greatest resistance, as the clubs were reluctant to give away their players for any more than the minimum time necessary.
Antonio Conte cancelled his scheduled Azzurri training camps after the Lega Calcio exempted players busy with European cups.
The Nazionale's training camps were one of the earliest and most characteristic ideas that the former Juventus Coach had introduced, and they are also the one that met with the greatest resistance, as the clubs were reluctant to give away their players for any more than the minimum time necessary.
A new rift is now being reported by CalcioNews24 as the Italian Lega Calcio decided to exempt from the next training session any Italian players who are involved in the Champions League or the Europa League.
The idea, which is being credited to Milan's joint-CEO Adriano Galliani, is finalised towards defending Italy's UEFA rankings, which depend directly on the results of Italian teams in the European cups.
However, it also has the effect of mutilating Conte's availability, as it makes it impossible for him to call up players from any of the top teams such as Juventus, Roma, Fiorentina, Napoli and Lazio.
As a consequence, the Federcalcio spoke out as a representative of the Azzurri and announced that the training grounds made no sense with such a limited pool of players, and were therefore cancelled.
While no statement has been released by Conte himself, reports suggest that he is absolutely livid with the Lega Calcio. His difficult relationship with the Italian clubs continues, and no doubt this will provide further grounds for speculation that he may leave after Euro 2016.