The former striker’s words on the 2010 Roma-Samp match that cost the Giallorossi the Scudetto: “Francesco spoke to me before the game and made a joke… I left the stadium in my underwear.” And Roma fans call him ungrateful.
“I made Totti and the Roma fans cry. And I enjoyed it like crazy.” Cassano’s latest outburst has infuriated the Giallorossi fans, who are currently flooding social media and radio with harsh comments about the former Bari Vecchia talent. Cassano’s comments, made during the Viva El Futbol broadcast, refer to a match that is well remembered in the capital. It was Roma vs. Sampdoria, which ended 1-2 (with a brace from Pazzini) for the Ligurians on April 25, 2010. That defeat dashed Roma’s hopes of winning their fourth Scudetto after an incredible comeback against Mourinho’s Inter. Cassano was Sampdoria’s star player and had played for Roma for five seasons, with ups and downs.

“Before that game, my friend Vito Scala told me that Totti wanted to talk to me,” Cassano recounts, specifying that the tone of that conversation was purely joking, teasing and nothing more. “I went to Pupone, who started telling me that we were having a great season, asking me about my family and things like that. I said to him, ‘Get to the point, what do you want to tell me? Come on, don’t mess with me.’ The second part of the story is even more dramatic: ‘And he said to me, ‘Ah… you know… if we win today’s game, you can be sure that you’ll win the other three. You’ll go to the Champions League anyway.’ A joke that Antonio did not take well. “I replied,” Cassano continues, “I understand… Today I’m telling you that I’m going to win the last four games. Today I’m going to make you lose the Scudetto and make you cry, and above all, I’m going to make the people who insulted me like a dog when I left here cry. The game went the way I wanted it to. It ended 2-1 for us.”

FURIOUS FANS—   Adani and Ventola then intervened, pointing out that “Francesco was clearly joking.” Cassano confirms this but gets something else off his chest. “Yes, Francesco’s was a joke, he made it seem like he was saying: come on, you’ll win the last three. I say no, you don’t understand, I need them… I’m going to the Champions League and I’ll win the last four, but even if I don’t need them, I’ll win anyway because today I’m going to make you cry, and that’s what happened. I left the stadium in my underwear, enjoying myself like crazy.” An exaggerated description, as is typical of Cassano’s character. This has infuriated Roma fans in recent hours. The lesser accusation is that he is “ungrateful” considering what Totti did for Cassano during his years in Rome. Obviously, the statements also reached the ears of the former captain, who certainly did not appreciate them, but he made it known that he did not want to respond to the provocation. After all, Francesco knows Cassano’s antics all too well.