Cesare Prandelli is keeping his options open.
“I still haven’t decided anything,” the Italy manager recently told Rai Sport, adding that beyond goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon the starting places in his World Cup squad remained very much up for grabs.
“All of the other players are under observation,” he added, “including [Mario] Balotelli.”
Prandelli has often clashed with the enigmatic AC Milan striker since succeeding Marcello Lippi as Azzurri boss in 2010. Just last month he remarked that the 23-year-old lacked “seriousness” and “balance,” and in an interview with FIFA.com com he opined that Balotelli had yet to realize his potential.
“In recent years he has wasted lots of energy on trivial things,” he said. “The great champions don’t do that. For them the only thing that matters is winning.”
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It is curious, then, that Prandelli seemed to hint at the recall of Antonio Cassano when asked about the forward—a troublemaker in his own right.
Hailing the Parma marksman as a “great talent,” the manager stated that the door for Cassano had “never been closed” despite a 20-month absence from the national setup.
One has to wonder if his thoughts would have turned to a player whose most recent act as an Italy international was paying a UEFA fine for a homophobic comment if his side had looked at all convincing in a recent friendly against Spain. With Balotelli absent through injury, Prandelli opted for a three-pronged attack versus Spain that featured Alessio Cerci, Pablo Osvaldo and Antonio Candreva.
The trio never looked like scoring, and after his introduction with 21 minutes still to play Torino’s Ciro Immobile—the top Serie A scorer available to Prandelli—failed to manage a single attempt at goal.
When the final whistle blew at Madrid’s Vicente Calderon stadium the Azzurri had tested the opposition goalkeepers (Iker Casillas and Victor Valdes played 45 minutes apiece) just once and missed the target on two other occasions.
Granted, Italy’s buildup play had been next to non-existent, and no matter the tweaks Prandelli made to his attack the forwards continued to go un-serviced.
But it was the lack of energy, of a spark, that was most unsettling about a team that had easily won its World Cup qualification group after making the final of the European Championship. And in the days following the 1-0 defeat a single name was touted in the Italian press: Cassano.
The same Cassano who in 2012 said he hoped there were no homosexual players in the Italian squad; the same Cassano who barely a year ago initiated a physical confrontation with former Inter Milan manager Andrea Stramaccioni.
And yet, a player bursting with energy—a forward with the sort of vigour his country so lacked against Spain and that his club manager has praised throughout the season.
“Regarding the World Cup,” mused Roberto Donadoni in an October interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, “I can only say that if Antonio continues to hand in good performances it will be difficult not to consider him.”
The Parma supremo also revealed that Cassano had shown up for training camp nearly eight kilograms lighter and was keen to prove what a “champion” he still was. A month later, in his post-match remarks following Cassano’s heroics in a 1-0 win away to Napoli, Donadoni was even more bullish about his striker’s national team chances.
“It’s impossible not to notice what he is doing at Parma,” he said before adding: “He is the icing on the cake and the player who can make the difference.”
Against Hellas Verona two weeks ago Cassano put in exactly the sort of performance Prandelli so craves for Italy. He didn’t find the back of the net, but he took three shots at goal, created multiple scoring opportunities for his teammates and then made a vital dispossession in second-half stoppage time that allowed Ezequiel Schelotto to put the finishing touches on a 2-0 win.
It was the sort of lively, inspired display the Azzurri have been lacking over the course of their current five-match winless streak. And given Balotelli’s persistent volatility it may well be that Cassano becomes a safer option to Prandelli than the troubled Rossoneri man.
“Safe,” “champion,” “difference-maker.” These are the buzzwords being used to describe a player who was once anything but.
“Antonio behaves with his teammates and with me in a perfect manner,” said Donadoni. “But his return to the national team will depend on his will to rediscover himself and continue to offer great performances.”
Jerrad Peters is a Winnipeg-based writer. Follow him on Twitter.