On July 10 2017, Antonio Cassano was back in the big time. The 35-year-old former Italian international, now entering the twilight of his career, had found a Serie A lifeline at Verona, promoted back to the top-flight after a season back in Serie B and all looked rosy for a footballer who has never been short of causing controversy wherever he has played.
 

The boy from Bari, who became a star at AS Roma, had lost his way in the game after a very public spat with Sampdoria chiefs saw him isolated from the first-team and training with the Primavera squad. After a season out of the game, the player nicknamed “Fantantonio” was back and ready to help his new club cement their place at Italy’s top table.
 

Eight days after his unveiling however, reports began to surface that Cassano had decided to call it a day before a ball of the new season had even been kicked. So this was the end of a turbulent career then? As headline writers began to construct their tributes, that same afternoon, Cassano declared that he’d had a change of heart and was now not going to retire, citing that he had just been joking earlier in the day.
 

So time to scrub the front pages of the daily sports newspapers in the peninsula and begin writing about “Fantantonio’s” dramatic change of heart as pre-season continues. Six days later and the headline writers are called upon again after the official (yes, official) announcement this morning that Cassano has now left Verona. So now it’s time to write those tributes about his retirement, right? Wrong; the old stager is not actually bidding farewell to the game, only taking time to consider his next move declaring that playing for Verona did not stimulate him enough. To be continued…..


Steve Mitchell