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Milan and Brazil national team star Adriano asked to be punished and regretted not returning on time to his club after unimportant international matches against Venezuela, causing him to miss preparations for the weekend Serie A match against Livorno in Italy.
Although the player initially missed his planned flight from Rio de Janeiro due to technical issues and another opportunity to return after receiving permission from club owner Massimo Moratti, with Inter winning the match on Sunday with a crushing 5-0 result, the player received criticism from his teammates and coach for his actions.
"I am very angry with Adriano. This is a complete disrespect for the rules and his teammates. We will talk about this in the dressing room," said experienced Argentine defender J. Veron. "Unless we establish strong rules for everyone, we will not be able to achieve anything good at Inter. In my opinion, playing against Livorno is the same as playing against Juventus, but other players don't seem to understand that."
"Representing your country is important for everyone, but at the same time you must respect your club. Sometimes a player could ask the national team coach and stay home to rest, especially when it's just a friendly match," said Inter coach Roberto Mancini. "If Parreira (Brazil national team coach) threatens not to invite players anymore if they make such a request, then he is a dictator. Others were allowed to do it, for example Ronaldo did not play in the Confederations Cup. If a player asks to miss a friendly match because he has been constantly running back and forth for 10 months, I don't see a problem in that."
Adriano himself apologized for his actions: "I regret being late to return, but I am calm. I apologize, and now I hope to help the team play better. I asked the president and coach to punish me because I was wrong. It is true that Moratti allowed me to stay one more day, but I made a mistake by not listening to the coach and president."
