Leonardo Bonucci says Jorginho is the designated penalty taker for the Italian national team, but it wouldn’t have been a problem if they asked him to take the decisive penalty against Switzerland.
Italy could have qualified for the next World Cup if Jorginho hadn’t blazed his spot-kick against the Swiss over the bar in that qualifying match.
The Azzurri team undoubtedly has several great penalty takers, and Bonucci showed at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome yesterday that he has what it takes to score them.
After scoring two against Lazio, reporters asked him after the match why he didn’t take the important spot-kick for his nation, he said as quoted by Football Italia:
“A week ago, Jorginho was the penalty specialist and it was only right that he take it. If I had been asked to take the penalty, it would not have been a problem.”
Juve FC Says
Sadly, Jorginho fluffed his penalty, but the Chelsea man is a specialist and has nearly always converted them.
His miss shows how unpredictable spot-kicks are and there is no guarantee that Bonucci would have converted it either.
Now isn’t the time to discuss who should have taken the spot-kick, rather fans need to gather around the nation and ensure the Azzurri can win their playoff matches to reach the competition next year.
