Antonio Cassano took part in Mediaset’s show Confessione Reporter where he was asked questions by former Inter-manager Marco Tardelli.
Why do you think that you are seen as someone which is difficult to handle?
“Maybe because of my history, because I have created a lot of chaos. But if someone is correct towards me then I won’t make any mistakes.”
Surely even you can make mistakes?
“I rely on my instincts and that’s when I make 99% of my mistakes.”
Your career started with a goal against Inter. Have you done everything you can to become a leader?
“No, I could have done more. If I had trained 100% then I could have done more, I trained at 50% and a star wasn’t born because of that. To become one of the greatest you have to be on top for 10 years. Capello always believed in me he said that you have to be on top for 10-15 years to be regarded as a great player. I always thought I’d get by thanks to my talent but I don’t regret anything.”
Has your wife helped you alot?
“Yes very much. She is a waterpolo player, a sport that not many people watch.”
Your famous gesture against the referee when you played for Roma?
“It was just an instict. I have never had any other option or alternative than football, but this world tires me because there are far too many false people and buttlickers. I don’t get along too well with this world. Many times in my career I’ve been on the right side, but because of my character I’ve had to take the blame.”
Your mother has given you much advice…
“Yes a lot of advice which have always turned out to be correct but I never listened to any of them, I’m hard as a rock. I have never stolen anything and I have never done anything like that despite coming from a very special background. I have made many sacrifices to go on the right path and then I have made my mistakes in football, but I’ve done it all on my own. I never missed not having a father, the only person that has existed for me is my mother who has always taken care of me. I have never had a father figure so I don’t know what that means. It’s easy to turn up once I became a football player.”
How did people in Bari look at you after your career took off?
“Some people stopped talking to me but I had three friends back then and they are still my friends. The others are still jealous.”
Who inspired Antonio Cassano?
“I have always watched Totti. I was in the youth team and he played in the Serie A, he made the difference and I chose Roma ahead of Juventus because I wanted to play with him.”
How did you find school?
“I went there but reluctantly. It was like going to jail. I couldn’t wait to have gym class so I could play football.”
Then there was the heart-issues at Milan…
“Yeah, we were coming back from Rome. I felt my head start to spin, the doctor asked me to follow his finger with my eyes, I was sure I was doing it but he told me to go to the hospital. In the end he forced me to go and when I was on my way to the hospital I couldn’t talk anymore. I thought of things, but I couldn’t talk. I just wanted to go home and see my child again. When we got there the doctor told me that he was forced to perform an operation on my heart. I wasn’t afraid to die, but I changed the way I thought about life. All the little things in life became much more important.”