Antonio Cassano

Bari

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. 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.

Roma…

Cassano made 39 appearances for the Italy national team, scoring ten goals. He made his senior international debut on 12 November 2003, aged 21, in a 3–1 friendly defeat against Poland in Warsaw, in which he also scored his first goal. Cassano was included in Italy's UEFA Euro 2004 squad by manager Giovanni Trapattoni. He was initially thought to serve as a reserve, but after Francesco Totti was suspended following a spitting incident with Christian Poulsen in Italy's opening group match against Denmark, which ended in a 0–0 draw, Cassano was inserted into the starting lineup for a 1–1 draw with Sweden, in which he scored the opening goal. In Italy's final group match, which ended in a 2–1 victory over Bulgaria, he was named man of the match, as he was involved in Simone Perrotta's equaliser, and also netted the last-minute winner, but Italy were eliminated in the group stage on direct encounters after a three-way, five-point tie with Denmark and Sweden. After a poor season with Real Madrid, Cassano was left off coach Marcello Lippi's final roster for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The Azzurri went on to lift the trophy in Berlin, beating France in a penalty shootout. In September 2006, Cassano was called up by new manager Roberto Donadoni for Euro 2008 qualifiers against Lithuania and France. However, he was not selected again until he was surprisingly being included in the Euro 2008 squad. He went scoreless in the tournament as Italy were eliminated in the quarter-finals by…

A creative forward, or fantasista, in Italian, who usually functioned as an assist provider in his teams, due to his ability to create chances for teammates (Cassano himself once stated that he preferred creating goals to scoring them), Cassano was capable of playing anywhere along or behind the front-line, on either flank or through the centre of the pitch; in addition to his usual role as a second striker, he was able to act as an advanced playmaker. He was also deployed in a central role as a main striker, as a false-9, or even as a winger on occasion. Cassano has been described as a player who was "skillful and intelligent on the ball" who possessed "excellent vision and also impresses with his eye for goal". His best technical qualities were his trapping skills, control, dribbling, crossing ability and passing accuracy; although naturally right-footed, he could also strike well with either foot. In addition to his skills, touch and excellent technique, Cassano also possessed considerable upper-body strength and balance, which aided him in defending the ball with his back to goal despite his diminutive stature, and allowed him to retain possession in tight spaces, while his technical ability and acceleration enabled him to beat defenders in one on one situations, or when dribbling at speed. He was also effective from set-pieces and penalties. Despite his flair, ability and talent, throughout his career, Cassano was also criticised for his behaviour and lack of…

Cassano got engaged to water polo player Carolina Marcialis in 2008, then married on 19 June 2010 at a church, Chiesa di San Martino, in Portofino. The couple have two sons. On 30 October 2011, it was reported that Cassano complained of finding it difficult to speak or move on the team plane when the team returned to Milan. Three days later, his club Milan announced and confirmed that he was suffering from ischemic-based cerebral damage, though it was thought to be only temporary. Cassano underwent minor heart surgery soon after.