http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Antonio-Cassano-c6302 led a tricky road for his selection in the Italy squad for the Euro 2012; and should be thanking his lucky stars for making it in Prandelli’s side.
The 29-year-old was lucky enough to recover in time to be selected by Cesare Prandelli for the European Championship. Prandelli had always been supportive of Cassano during his time of recovery, stating that he will be willing to wait till the last moment
to select the striker. He was out due to his heart surgery.
Cassano suffered a mini stroke on the flight back from Rome, after AC Milan’s match against AS Roma in October. He was rushed to the hospital for treatment and the former Real Madrid attacker was adjudged to have a minor heart condition and was told that
it would not be a speedy recovery.
The striker started light training in February with the Milan reserve team and it was not long before he was able to train with the first team. However, his training regiment was not as strenuous as the rest of his teammates, as the doctors had advised him
to undertake light training for his heart muscles grows stronger. It was not until the last few matches of the season that Cassano was given game time by the Milan head coach, Massimiliano Allegri.
The 29-year-old was only able to feature in 19 matches for the Milan side in this campaign. However, Cassano’s impact was huge and in the 16 Serie A matches, he scored three goals and gave assists on nine occasions. His three games in the Champions League
led to a single goal. The fact that needs to be considered is that his last few games for the Milanello were in his attempt to achieve full match fitness, which distorts the statistics.
The Bari born player was instrumental in Italy’s road to the Euro 2012, which made him a firm favourite under Cesare Prandelli. The Italy boss did not hide the fact that he was always going to pick Cassano when he recovered and the striker has repaid the
faith Prandelli put in him.
He will provide the Azzurri forward line with much needed creativity, especially when they have two similar strikers in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mario-Balotelli-c23937.
Given Cassano’s age, who turns 30 on 12th of July, this would most probably be his last European Championship for the national team. The former AS http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Roma-c31603 striker would be looking to take this opportunity and stamp his authority on the international
stage. He has always been considered as a talented player, but has never been able to dominate games like http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alessandro-Del-Piero-c4726.
His temperament and volatility have hampered his chances of making a name for himself on the international arena, especially after he was overlooked for the same reason by the previous Italian coach, Marcello Lippi, for the World Cup 2010 which was held
in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/South-Africa-c757.
This would be the ideal stage and time for Cassano to lead from the front and prove his doubters wrong once and for all. Given the glimpses of brilliance that he has shown at different intervals though his career, if he can string together and repay the
faith Prandelli holds in him, then he has the chance of entering into Italian folklore.
Italy’s chances at the Euro 2012 have been questioned by many former players and pundits, and even the Italian press doubts La Nazionale’s chances at the tournament. The stage is set for Cassano to take the tournament head on and lead http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Italy-c2926 to glory.
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