De Rossi needs to ‘change his ways’

ITALIAN coach Marcello Lippi expects Daniele De Rossi to receive some harsh punishment for elbowing US forward Brian McBride in the face.

“He’s a fantastic kid, but he’s got to change his ways or he’s going to carry that reputation with him for a long time,” Lippi said yesterday.

De Rossi’s elbow in the 28th minute of Saturday’s 1-1 draw earned him a red card and drew blood by opening a cut under McBride’s left eye. The cut required three stitches to close.

De Rossi also received a yellow card in Italy’s opening win over Ghana.

The midfielder apologised to McBride after the game and the American called him “classy” for the post-match gesture. Lippi has yet to talk to his youngest player, though.

“He’s got to think over things for a while, and not only about last night,” Lippi said. “Then I’ll talk with him. Unfortunately, I think I have plenty of time.”

Giancarlo Abete, the head of Italy’s World Cup delegation, said the team would accept FIFA’s punishment “whatever it may be”.

The incident could further damage the already sullied image of Italian soccer amid a widespread corruption scandal.

“It was a serious incident, but it’s not an episode that can represent all of Italian soccer,” Abete said.

“We have other problems and we will confront them in entirety. Obviously it was a negative incident, but it should be kept in context.”

Abete also pointed out that Italy wasn’t the only team that played dirty; two Americans were also sent off.

Italy now face the Czech Republic with all to play for. The Czechs must win against the Italians to qualify for the second round, while a point would be sufficient for Lippi’s side.

Alberto Gilardino, who scored his first goal of the tournament on Saturday, is confident Italy will return to winning ways against the Czechs.

“We know we have the quality, we just need to show it. I am happy to have been able to score but I wish my goal would have given us three points instead of one.”

ITALY: Buffon, Zaccardo (Del Piero 54), Nesta, Cannavaro, Zambrotta, Perrotta, Pirlo, De Rossi, Totti (Gattuso 35), Toni (Iaquinta 61), Gilardino.

Subs Not Used: Amelia, Barone, Barzagli, Camoranesi, Grosso, Inzaghi, Materazzi, Oddo, Peruzzi.

USA: Keller, Cherundolo, Onyewu, Pope, Bocanegra, Dempsey (Beasley 62), Mastroeni, Reyna, Convey (Conrad 51), McBride, Donovan.

Subs Not Used: Albright, Berhalter, Ching, Hahnemann, Howard, Johnson, Lewis, O’Brien, Olsen, Wolff.

Attendance: 46,000

Referee: Jorge Larrionda (Uruguay).