page_title: Antonio Cassano
section_title: Sampdoria
hierarchical_section_title: Antonio Cassano / Club career / Sampdoria
caption_attribution_description: English: Antonio Cassano
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: 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.
  He made his Sampdoria début that season in the Derby della Lanterna against Genoa on 23 September, in which he was substituted by former Roma teammate Vincenzo Montella in the final minutes of the match. Cassano scored his first league goal upon his return against Atalanta a week later, in a 3–0 victory. He scored in three consecutive games in January, and helped end league leaders Inter's winning league run with a goal in a 1–1 draw. Cassano, however, was sent off in a 2–2 draw with Torino on 2 March 2008, which he compounded by hurling his shirt at the referee as he left the pitch, and was punished with a five-match ban. Sampdoria ended the season with an UEFA Cup berth, while Cassano was acquired on a permanent basis by the club on free transfer (plus bonus) from Madrid.
  In his second season, Cassano confirmed to have temperamentally improved, also becoming vice-captain for the team behind Angelo Palombo. After the January signing of Giampaolo Pazzini from Fiorentina, Cassano managed to form a fruitful striking partnership with the former Viola forward, that was praised by both media and Sampdoria supporters, and led club chairman Riccardo Garrone to compare it with striking duo of Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini that led Sampdoria to win their only Scudetto to date, an opinion that was later shared also by both Vialli and Mancini. Cassano scored 12 goals in Serie A and helped Sampdoria to reach the Coppa Italia final that season, scoring a goal in the semi-final against the Serie A Champions, Inter. In the final, Sampdoria were defeated by Lazio in a penalty shoot-out, with Cassano missing the first penalty.
  His third season with Sampdoria again began very well, as he continued his prolific partnership with Pazzini, and was instrumental in the club's impressive seasonal start, that led them up to first place after a 1–0 home win to Inter. However, a result crisis, including a 3–0 defeat in the local derby against crosstown rivals Genoa, left Sampdoria down to mid-table on January, leading head coach Luigi Delneri to put Cassano off the team for "technical and tactical reasons", casting doubts about the player's future at the club.
  In the final days of the January transfer window, he was linked with a move on loan to Fiorentina, that was however denied with an official statement from the club, but was described by the media as Cassano's own refusal to leave Sampdoria. This was confirmed by Cassano himself through an official statement published on Sampdoria's website, citing his relationship with club chairman Riccardo Garrone, his teammates and the team supporters as the main reason for his choice. He soon came back into the starting line-up, and eventually helped Sampdoria to a fourth-place finish UEFA Champions League qualifying spot in Serie A. Sampdoria were defeated by Werder Bremen in the play-off round, however, and were to enter into the Europa League that season. Del Neri left Sampdoria at the end of the season.
  Cassano's final season with the club was more difficult. In October 2010, Cassano was excluded from the first team squad with immediate effect after he had a heated row with chairman Riccardo Garrone following the player's refusal to attend an award ceremony. Following such events, Sampdoria formally applied for a contract termination to a league arbitration panel, a position that was confirmed even after Cassano apologised to Garrone and the
caption: Cassano as Sampdoria captain
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