Antonio Cassano has retired from football – again – but had time for another typically no-filter interview. “All the players suck nowadays.”
The 36-year-old had only joined Virtus Entella for training a week ago and was yet to sign a contract, but this morning released a statement confirming he had decided to call it a day.
Antonio Cassano has retired from football – again – but had time for another typically no-filter interview. “All the players suck nowadays.”
The 36-year-old had only joined Virtus Entella for training a week ago and was yet to sign a contract, but this morning released a statement confirming he had decided to call it a day.
This is the second time FantAntonio has done this after two weeks of pre-season training at Hellas Verona in 2017, as his last competitive match was for Sampdoria in May 2016.
Before announcing his latest retirement, Cassano spoke to Italian comedy show Le Iene and was his usual forthright self.
“Football was so much better in 1999. All the players suck nowadays. They’re a bunch of nobodies. Take Juventus away from Serie A and Gonzalo Higuain from Milan, now try to find me a champion in this division.”
Is it true that he had a fistfight with former Inter Coach Andrea Stramaccioni?
“He wishes! No, we just pushed each other, that’s all. Fabio Capello is the greatest Coach I ever worked with, while Adriano Galliani is the best director of the last 30 years.
“Francesco Totti is the best Italian player in history, along with Roberto Baggio and Paolo Maldini. The worst Coach I ever met was Stramaccioni. There were so many bad players, I couldn’t list them all. Best not to, poor things.
“Juve are the strongest team in Italy and one of the best in Europe. However, I am really not suited to them. They’d kick me out after three days. First day signature, second day training, third day termination.”
Italy failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, so what did Cassano think watching that unfold?
“It was only right, because that was not even a decent team. It was absolutely the fault of the players. Even Pep Guardiola, the greatest Coach in the world, cannot perform miracles without the right players. It’s always the players who win and the Coaches who lose.
“Roberto Mancini is the right man to lead a great team. Is he right for an average side? I doubt it.”