Mourinho drops Balotelli, Quaresma and Mancini

Misfiring forwards Mario Balotelli, Ricardo Quaresma and Mancini have all been dropped from Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan squad to face Atalanta on Sunday.

Teenage star Balotelli has recently fallen foul of strict disciplinarian Mourinho’s standards and earlier this week the former Chelsea boss said the 18-year-old would have to wait until February before fighting his way back into the first team picture.

Wide men Quaresma and Mancini were Mourinho’s two major summer signings as the Portuguese coach looked to bring in players that would suit his favoured 4-3-3 formation.

But both his compatriot Quaresma and Brazilian Mancini have flattered to deceive and Mourinho was even forced to change his formation to 4-4-2 due to their poor form, a switch that has seen both face limited playing time.

And despite injury to midfielder Patrick Vieira and a suspension to Sulley Muntari, none of the three have been able to force their way into the squad for the trip to Bergamo.

Balotelli had been pushing for a move out on loan in search of more regular football but Mourinho refused his request and said he needed to stay and learn how to train properly.

The Italian has at least shown a marked improvement in his training and attitude, two things Mourinho previously criticised.

“Right now I’m satisfied with what Balotelli has done over the last few days, he told me he wants to stay and that’s an important step for him.

“But it seems only right to stay faithful to the team that played so well against Genoa, in particular (forwards) Adriano, (Hernan) Crespo and (Victor) Obinna.

“I’m sorry for Mario and also Mancini and Quaresma but the life of a coach isn’t easy. You have to make decisions, sometimes because you don’t have enough players and sometimes because you have too many.”