Antonio Cassano

Antonio Cassano ( born 12 July 1982) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward.

A talented and technically gifted player, he was usually deployed as a supporting forward, but could also play as an attacking midfielder, winger, or as a striker.

Nicknamed Il Gioiello di Bari Vecchia ("the jewel of Old Bari"), and Fantantonio ("fantastic Antonio"), he was known for his short temper as much as his skill and ability on the pitch.

Cassano won an Italian and Spanish league title each throughout his career as major honours.

Cassano began his senior club career with hometown club Bari in 1999; his performances earned him a transfer to Roma two years later, where he won the Supercoppa Italiana and was twice named Serie A Young Footballer of the Year in 2001 and 2003.

Cassano was spotted by a Bari scout and brought up through the team's youth system, and he made his Serie A debut for Bari against local rivals Lecce on 11 December 1999.

During his time with Bari, he soon emerged as one of Serie A's most promising young Italian players, drawing particular attention to himself after scoring a notable, individual, match-winning goal (his first ever Serie A goal) in a 2–1 home win over Italian giants Inter Milan, on 18 December 1999, at the age of 17: in the 88th minute, after controlling a 40-yard lobbed pass on the run with his backheel, he subsequently dribbled past veteran defenders Christian Panucci and Laurent Blanc, wrong-footing goalkeeper Fabrizio Ferron with a dummy, before finishing at the near post.

Cassano's technical skill, precocious talent and impressive performances earned him the nicknames "Fantantonio", due to his flair and creativity, and "El Pibe de Bari" ("The Kid from Bari"), a reference to the legendary Diego Maradona's nickname, "El Pibe de Oro".

During his two seasons with Bari, he scored a total of 6 goals in 48 Serie A matches, scoring 3 goals in 21 appearances during his first season, and 3 goals in 27 league matches during his second season with the club.

In 2001, at the age of 19, Cassano signed with reigning Serie A champions Roma for a transfer fee of 60 billion Italian lire (about €30 million); at the time, this was the most expensive teenage signing ever.

His first season produced five goals, as well as a 2001 Supercoppa Italiana victory, and he attracted media attention after openly clashing with coach Fabio Capello after he was left out of a practice match a few days after his international debut.

During his time with Roma, he won the Serie A Young Footballer of the Year Award in 2001 and in 2003.

Cassano's short temper and disputes with managers and teammates led to birth of the neologism "cassanata" by his former coach, Fabio Capello, in 2002.

The word is now regularly used by Italian sports journalists as a euphemism for any behavior incompatible with team spirit.

Cassano was born in Bari and his father left the family shortly thereafter.

He was raised in poverty by his mother in the San Nicola district of the Bari Vecchia neighbourhood, and began playing football on the streets at an early age.

At international level, Cassano represented the Italy national football team on 39 occasions between 2003 and 2014, scoring 10 goals; he took part at three UEFA European Championships, and one FIFA World Cup, winning a runners-up medal at UEFA Euro 2012.

Along with Mario Balotelli, he is Italy's top-scorer in the UEFA European Championships, with three goals.

In the 2003 Italian Cup final against Milan, Cassano was sent off after protesting an official's decision, and he flashed the sign of the horns at the referee while leaving the pitch.

He was omitted from the squad during Roma's tumultuous 2004–05 campaign while Luigi Delneri, Roma's third coach of the season (after Cesare Prandelli and Rudi Völler), was in charge.

After Delneri himself resigned during the season, his replacement, Bruno Conti, returned Cassano to the starting lineup, with Cassano captaining the team in the absence of incumbent Francesco Totti, who was serving a five-match suspension.

In 2006, he moved to La Liga club Real Madrid, where he won a league title, but was chastised for his poor behaviour, inconsistent performances, and work-rate, and returned to Italy a year later, on loan to Sampdoria.

During the 2005–06 pre-season, Cassano was in constant conflict with club management over the renewal of his contract, which was due to expire on 30 June 2006.

In January 2006, he acrimoniously parted ways with Roma and signed with Real Madrid.

for just €5M.

Cassano became the second ever Italian player to sign for Real Madrid after former Roma teammate Christian Panucci.

His debut came on 18 January 2006 in a Spanish Cup match against Real Betis, and scored his first goal just three minutes after entering the match in the second half.

Just four months into his tenure with the club, however, he began gaining weight due to poor eating habits, which resulted in Madrid fining him for every gram he remained over his playing weight, and earned him the nickname "Gordito".

On 30 October, Real Madrid's official website announced that Cassano had been suspended due to his "disrespect" of Capello, who had joined the club at the beginning of 2006–07 season, following a dressing room argument arising from his omission from the team after a game against Gimnàstic de Tarragona, and was subsequently benched along with David Beckham and Ronaldo.

In an interview with a Roman radio station, Cassano said he would "walk all the way back" to rejoin Roma, and indicated his eagerness to make peace with Totti, with whom Cassano had conflicted with before his departure from Roma.

Despite winning the 2006–07 La Liga title with Real Madrid, Cassano only made seven league appearances, scoring just a single goal.

Cassano, however, remained with Madrid after the January 2007 transfer window had closed, and the rest of his season was cut short by an ankle injury.

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

On 13 August 2007, Sampdoria took Cassano on a one-year loan, agreeing to pay €1.2 million of his €4.2 million salary.

He was presented to approximately 2,500 fans five days later.

In his first press conference, Cassano said that he had chosen to wear the shirt number 99 for several reasons: firstly, as his first-choice, the number 18, was already taken by teammate Vladimir Koman, and because 9 plus 9 equals 18, secondly, because his other teammate Francesco Flachi was already wearing the number 10 shirt, which was his second choice, and thirdly, as he intended the number to be an homage to Brazilian striker Ronaldo, who was wearing the same number at Milan.

There, he refound his form, and was signed by the club on a permanent basis in 2008.

He then spent single seasons with Milan and cross-city rivals Internazionale, winning a Serie A title and his Supercoppa Italiana with the former, before signing for Parma in 2013.

In 2015, he returned to Sampdoria, and in 2017, signed with Verona.

He failed to make an appearance for the club and subsequently retired.