The Lost Italian Jewel

No, this post is not about some unsolved caper that's in the news. Trust me, it's about Italian soccer. But before you read the rest of the post, you MUST watch this first:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgH6ffGgXzw

That was Antonio Cassano. For those of you that don't know about Antonio Cassano, here's the story: Cassano was born in the old, poor section of the Southern Italian city of Bari. He was very poor and only lived with his mom. He played soccer in the streets every day and one day a Bari scout took notice of his talent and he signed for the Bari youth team. His talent was so great that in 1999 Bari manager Eugenio Fascetti decided to give him his first appearance in Serie A at the age of 17 against rivals Lecce. Fascetti said of Cassano, "He's one of the players that only comes around every 30 years or so." Fascetti had a lot of faith in the young talent and the next week gave him a run out against powerhouse Inter. That video that I linked is the great goal he scored in that game to make all of Italy notice the little talent. The next day the Italian newspapers raved, the most famous Gazzetta dello Sport printing the headline - "Tutti Pazzi per il Genio!" (Everyone's crazy for the Genious). He was tracked by all the big clubs in Italy- Milan, Inter, Juventus, and Roma. He stayed on for the 2000-2001 season and still impressed everyone, showing immense talent for an 18 year old. In the summer of 2001 Juventus and Roma decided to fight it out for him. Roma ultimately won the battle, spending 60 million of the old lira for Cassano. Juventus officials said he was a great talent but not for that price. At Roma he realized one of his dreams: To play alongside Francesco Totti. Him and Totti had this telekenetic connection on the field. They knew exactly where they were on the pitch and could find each other with one flick of the ball- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzkVS64uggA - He was nicknamed Il Gioello di Bari Vecchia (the jewel of Old Bari), Fantantonio, El Pibe di Bari (Bari's Maradona), and Peter Pan (because he could work magic).
The problem was Cassano had a bit of a temper problem. He always wanted to play no matter what, and in the early years when he was subbed off he would curse out coach Fabio Capello as he walked off the pitch and would go into the locker room. Capello would usually ignore him and let him be. There were also stories of how Cassano would get mad at training and just leave. But Capello knew how to handle him, and he turned Cassano into a great player. The 2003/2004 season was his breakout year as a 22 year old. He dazzled Italian fans and he earned a call-up to the National team. He was then called into the squad for Euro 2004, and he was easily Italy's best player at the tournament. After Capello left he had problems with all the coaches that were brought in, and he refused to renew his contract. In January of 2006 Roma had enough and sold him to Real Madrid for a cut down price of 4.5 million euro. At Real he arrived overwieght and really didn't play much of a role. He worked all summer to get back into shape and try to get back into form, and the arrival of Capello at Madrid motivated him even more. He showed flashes of his old self in the beginning of the season, even earning a re-call to the Italian National Team. But then Capello benched him, and he hasn't figured all season, only playing recently in a Copa Del Rey match. He finally has become frustrated and blasted Capello in the media, earning him a suspension from the squad, so now he will train alone and rumors are Real want to sell him as soon as possible. Cassano can be a great player, but his career is going nowhere. He may just end up another immensely talented player that does nothing with his career (example Domenico Morfeo of Parma). He needs to come back to Italy and get back on track. The Italian fans need their jewel back, but right now it may be difficult...