page_title: Antonio Cassano
section_title: International career
hierarchical_section_title: Antonio Cassano / International career
caption_attribution_description: English: Antonio Cassano and Scott Parker at Euro 2012 match England-Italy
context_page_description: Antonio Cassano 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, and Fantantonio, he was known for his short temper as much as his skill and ability on the pitch.
  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. 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. 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.
context_section_description: Cassano has 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 surprisingly being included in the Euro 2008 squad. He went scoreless in the tournament as Italy were eliminated in the quarter-finals by eventual champions Spain after a penalty shootout.
  Lippi returned as coach for the 2010 World Cup qualification campaign and did not select Cassano during the qualifying matches or the 2010 World Cup finals. After a two-year absence from the Azzurri, and following widespread criticism from the media towards Lippi about his exclusion from the World Cup squad, Cassano was readmitted into the squad on 6 August 2010 by new head coach Cesare Prandelli for his first game in charge of the team, a friendly match against the Ivory Coast played on 10 August at Upton Park, London. Almost a month later, in Italy's Euro 2012 qualifier played in Estonia, Cassano scored the tying goal in a 1–2 away victory and also assisted Leonardo Bonucci's second goal with a back-heel. Cassano scored a long-range goal from just outside the box in Italy's 5–0 qualifying win over the Faroe Islands. He scored again against Estonia helping Italy secure a 3–0 win.
  Cassano played in all six of Italy's matches and scored one goal against the Republic of Ireland during Euro 2012, where the Italians reached the final, losing 4–0 against Spain. In the semi-final against Germany, Cassano set up Mario Balotelli's first goal of the match. Cassano wore the number 10 shirt for Italy throughout the tournament. In July 2012, he was fined by UEFA for making a homophobic comment at a press conference during Euro 2012. At the conference, when asked if he thought there were any homosexual players in the Italian team, he replied, "I hope there are none." He later issued a statement saying he had been misinterpreted.
  Despite not featuring during the qualification campaign, Cassano was selected in Italy's squad for the 2014 World Cup. On 20 June 2014, at the age of 31, Cassano made his World Cup debut as a substitute in a 1–0 loss to Costa Rica. He also appeared as a substitute in Italy's 1–0 defeat to Uruguay, in their final group match on 24 June, which resulted in Italy's elimination in the first round of the tournament for the second consecutive time. Cassano was criticised by the press for his poor performances and lack of fitness, as he failed to improve his team's results and did not provide pace and creativity to the team's attacking plays. This would be his final appearance for Italy, as he was no longer called up by Italy's new manager, Antonio Conte, after the tournament.
caption: Cassano (left) at UEFA Euro 2012.
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