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Antonio Cassano
He was, for many, the Diego Maradona of Bari. And the way he introduced himself to the world, one could understand why he was likened to the legendary Argentine.
The scores were locked at 1-1. The Biancorossi were fighting against relegation. 3 points were an absolute must. Suddenly, a long ball was played to a 17-year-old youth academy product on the left-hand side. The teenager overruns it, but shows mesmerising ball control only moments later.
As the ball was landing behind him; he used his heel to chip the ball over his shoulder and in front of him. He then raged into the box with 2 Inter defenders closing him down. One of them was Laurent Blanc. The teenager, however, humiliated them by cutting inside and then blasting it into the goal, giving Bari very crucial 3 points.
It was the preamble of a star, but a star that soon faded away. And his careless lifestyle of party and over-indulging were the prime reasons for it.
Cassano wrote in his autobiography, “to make up for that (“only” four girlfriends in 11 years), I’ve also had other flings here and there. Let’s say 600-700 women, some twenty of which were from the entertainment world.”
