Dante: 'No Balotelli excuses!'

By Football Italia staff

Mario Balotelli was criticised by his Nice teammate Dante, who said “it’s up to him to step up and take charge, not blame the team.”

Nice suffered another Ligue 1 defeat to Montpellier this evening and Italy international Balo was in the starting XI after shaking off an injury, but made very little impact.

This riled teammate Dante, who told Canal+ that the time for excuses is over.

“It’s up to him to step up and take charge in attack, to take on some responsibility,” said Dante.

“He’s not in great shape physically, we know that, but it’s up to him to work and train to improve his fitness levels. At some point, he simply has to take control of the situation.

“There’s no point blaming the team and saying we don’t get the best out of his qualities. No! There were times when the team didn’t play so well and I defended them, but we must always be self-critical and question ourselves at every turn to make sure we’re doing our best.”

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