Cassano almost quit football to be a salami salesman

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Tue Sep 07 01:12am EDT

Cassano almost quit football to be a salami salesman

Antonio Cassano has had a very entertaining career. From enjoying women and pastries while with Real Madrid to the feud with Marcello Lippi that kept him out of the Italian national team for years, Cassano has manically yo-yoed between highs and lows. And according to him, those lows almost caused him to change professions.

From Football Italia:

Interviewed in La Stampa, Cassano said: “Three years ago I said to myself that it was time to do this job seriously otherwise I should go home and sell salami."

Unfortunately for the world of salami sales, Cassano did buckle down and his loan move from Real to Sampdoria became a permanent move that has done wonders for his career. Cassano, however, credits that resurgence to his new 19-year-old water polo-playing wife, Carolina Marcialis, and the revelation that it's not all about him on the pitch.

“Being in Genoa changed me. Carolina changed my life and will always thank her for that. I get emotional just talking about it. [...]
“In my head football was a succession of tricks and touches. I thought about being the best of all-time and that I didn’t need to care about the team.
“Instead there was only one player who could win everything playing on his own: Maradona.
“Anyway, I have learnt to think together with the team and I feel much stronger than before because I have another 10 people who play with me.”

So only Maradona could get away with being a selfish player and Cassano has finally realized that he has teammates. Glad we have that cleared up.

Photo: Getty Images