Profile Antonio Cassano

Personal information

Full name : Antonio Cassano
Date of birth : 12 July 1982
Place of birth : Bari, Italy
Height : 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position : Second striker
Current club : Sampdoria
Number : 99
Youth career
Bari
Senior career
1999–2001 Bari
2001–2005 Roma
2006–2008 Real Madrid
2007–2008 → Sampdoria (loan)
2008– Sampdoria
National team
1998 Italy U-15
1998 Italy U-16
1999 Italy U-18
2000 Italy U-20
2000–2002 Italy U-21
2003– Italy

Club career

Early career

Cassano was born within Bari onto the day as soon as Italy hammered Germany within the 1982 FIFA World Cup final, and his husband deserted the relations curtly thereafter. He was elevated within the Bari Vecchia neighbourhood, and began performing football at an morning age. Cassano was dotted via an A.S. Bari scout and bred across the team's youth system, and he made his Serie A debut for Bari against locally rivals U.S. Lecce within 1999.

Roma

At the age of nineteen, Cassano signed with reigning Serie A winners A.S. Roma, for a shift fee of 60billion Italian lire (about €30 million). His former season caused five goals, and he attracted media consideration as soon as truthfully clashing with instructor Fabio Capello as soon as he was deserted out of a tradition match a few days as soon as his international debut. In the 2003 Italian Cup final against A.C. Milan, Cassano was posted off as soon as protesting an official's decision, and he flashed the sign of the horns at the referee whilst deserting the pitch.

He was omitted from the squad during Roma's tumultuous 2004–05 campaign whilst Luigi Delneri, Roma's third instructor of the season (after Cesare Prandelli and Rudi Völler), was within charge. After Delneri himself resigned during the season, his substitute, Bruno Conti, replaced Cassano towards the activating lineup, with Cassano captaining the team within the absence of incumbent Francesco Totti, whom was serving a five-match suspension.

During the 2005–06 preseason, Cassano was within constant fight with club management again the renewal of his contract, which was due towards expire onto June thirty, 2006. In January 2006, he acrimoniously parted passages with Roma and signed with Real Madrid. for just €5M.

Real Madrid

Cassano became the second ever Italian musician towards sign for Real Madrid as soon as former Roma teammate Christian Panucci. His début arrived onto 18 January 2006, within a Spanish Cup match against Real Betis, and scored his former goal just three minutes as soon as entering the match within the second half. However, just four months into his possession with the club, he began gaining weight due towards destitute devouring mannerisms, which resulted within Madrid fining him for every gram he remained again his performing weight.

On thirty October, Madrid's official website informed that Cassano had been discontinued due towards his “disrespect” of Capello, whom had attended the club at former of 2006–07 season, consecutive a dressing room argument emerging from his exception from the team as soon as a toy against Gimnàstic de Tarragona, and was subsequently benched along with David Beckham and Ronaldo. In an interview with a Roman radio station, Cassano remarked he would "walk everybody the distance back" towards rejoin Roma, and indicated his willingness towards earn silence with Totti, with whom Cassano had conflicted with ahead of his exodus from Roma. However, Cassano remained with Madrid as soon as the January 2007 shift window had finished, and the lie down of his season was cut short via an ankle injury.

In an interview with Spanish radio within July 2007, Real Madrid president Ramón Calderón explained Cassano's attitude as "unsustainable within the last pair of months" and indicated that he would be deserting the club.

Sampdoria

On 13 August 2007, Sampdoria took Cassano onto a one-year credit, accepting remunerate €1.2 million of his €4.2 million salary. He was showed towards approximately 2,500 fans five days later.[citation needed] In his former press congress, Cassano remarked that since his first-choice number 18 was already robbed via teammate Vladimir Koman, he had instead picked 99, because 9 plus 9 equals 18.

He made his Sampdoria début within the Derby della Lanterna against Genoa onto 23 September, within which he was substituted via former Roma teammate Vincenzo Montella within the final minutes of the match. Cassano scored his former league goal upon his replace against Atalanta a week afterwards, within a 3–0 victory. He scored within three serial toys within January, and assisted end league leaders Inter Milan's successful league operate with a goal within a 1–1 draw. However, Cassano was posted off within a 2–2 draw with Torino FC onto two March 2008, which he compounded via hurling his shirt at the referee as he deserted the pitch,[9] and was punished with a five-match ban. Sampdoria ended the season with a UEFA Cup berth, whilst Cassano was acquired onto a permanent cornerstone via the club onto a undisclosed fees from Madrid.

In his second season, Cassano proved towards possess temperamentally sweetened, also becoming vice-captain for the team rear Angelo Palombo. After the January signing of Giampaolo Pazzini from ACF Fiorentina, Cassano managed towards form a productive dramatic partnership with the former viola forward, that was praised via both media and Sampdoria supporters, and ruled club chiefs Riccardo Garrone towards compare it with dramatic duo of Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini that ruled Sampdoria towards victory their alone scudetto towards date, an feedback that was afterwards shared also via both Vialli and Mancini.

His third season with Sampdoria again began very well for Cassano, whom affirmed himself as a valid assist-man for Pazzini, and being instrumental within the club's impressive seasonal activate, that ruled them up towards former site as soon as a 1-0 house victory towards Inter. However, a outcome crisis, incorporating a 3-0 defeat within the locally derby against crosstown rivals Genoa, deserted Sampdoria down towards mid-table onto January, leading brain instructor Luigi Delneri towards put Cassano off the team for "technical and tactical reasons", casting doubts approximately the player's future at the club.

In the final days of the shift window, he was associated with a move onto credit towards Fiorentina, that was however denied with an official announcement from the club, but was explained via the media as Cassano's own refusal towards flee Sampdoria. This was proved via Cassano himself across an official announcement published onto Sampdoria's website, referring his correlation with club chiefs Riccardo Garrone, his teammates and the team supporters as the primary reason for his choice.

On October 2010 Cassano was barred from the former team squad with immediate influence as soon as he had a heated queue with chiefs Riccardo Garrone consecutive the player's refusal towards attend an honor ceremony. Following such events, Sampdoria formally applied for a contract termination towards a league arbitration panel, a grading that was proved even as soon as Cassano apologised towards Garrone and the club. On December 16, the arbitration panel commissioned Sampdoria towards reinclude Cassano into the former team from 1 January 2011, objecting the blucerchiati's appeal for a contract termination, but also concluding Cassano shall be remunerated alone 50% of his salary for the remainder of his contract.

International career

Cassano with the Italian team

Cassano has sixteen caps and four goals with Italy. His début arrived within November 2003 against Poland, within which he scored his former goal. He was portion of Italy's UEFA Euro 2004 squad as a reserve, but as soon as Totti was discontinued consecutive a spitting incident with Christian Poulsen within a category match against Denmark, Cassano was inserted into the activating lineup for a 1–1 draw with Sweden within which he scored. He also netted a last-minute winner within a 2–1 victory again Bulgaria, but Italy were abolished within the category level onto goal difference.

Cassano was deserted off the final roster for the 2006 World Cup, but was branded up for two Euro 2008 qualifying fits within September 2006. He was portion of the finals roster and went scoreless within the tournament as Italy were abolished within the quarter-finals via Spain as soon as a disadvantage shootout.

After a two-year absence from the Azzurri team, and consecutive prevalent criticism from the media towards Marcello Lippi approximately his exclusion from the 2010 FIFA World Cup squad, Cassano was readmitted into the Italian team onto August six, 2010 via novel brain instructor Cesare Prandelli for his former toy within price of the team, a friendly match against Côte d'Ivoire towards performed onto August ten at Upton Park, London. Almost a month afterwards, within Italy's UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier performed within Estonia Cassano scored the tying goal within a 1-2 away victory and also assisted Leonardo Bonucci's second goal with a back-heel. Cassano scored a magnificent goal from just outside the container within Italy's 5-0 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier victory again the Faroe Islands.