With the World Cup in Brazil fast approaching discussions, debate’s and arguments will be on-going for the next six months about who should be in final 23-man squad and who deserves to be there.
One man, who is no stranger to international football, is currently playing out of his skin once again and just at the right time in order to make possibly his last bow on the international stage.
That man is Antonio Cassano. Now 31 and at modest mid-table outfit Parma he has recaptured the form which helped push Sampdoria all the way into the Champions League Qualifying Round back in 2010.
Cassano was heavily involved for Italy in Euro 2012 where they reached the final of course. That 4-0 demolition at the hands of Spain proved to be his last involvement with the national team as Cesare Prandelli has looked to bring younger players to the fold. But how long can the Azzurri boss ignore the form from his elder statesman? He admitted not long ago that on the form shown up until his injury Francesco Totti would be considered and there has even been murmurs from some that Luca Toni deserves a place at the ripe old age of 36 however his inclusion seems a touch unlikely.
So if those two stalwarts are in the reckoning then Cassano has to be considered. The heart problem which plagued his time at Milan and to a lesser extent Inter seems to be a thing of the past and the fiery ‘jewel of Old Bari’ is relishing being the main man for Roberto Donadoni’s Parma.
Cassano – Parma
Prandelli has tinkered with a few formations during his time with the national side but finally seems settled with a 4-3-1-2 formation. This being so he is likely to need to take at least five forward players to Brazil, possibly six. Mario Balotelli will be there as long as he isn’t injured and the same will probably apply for Giuseppe Rossi who is in sparkling form and looked a good foil for Balotelli in the last international friendly. The rest however is up for grabs as they say.
And here is why Cassano deserves to be on the plane…
With six goals and three assists in 14 starts he is already outscoring his opposition, with the exception of Alberto Gilardino who also has six goals for Genoa. But delve deeper into the stat cave and Cassano’s performances seem even more impressive.
At both Milan clubs in the past two seasons he was regularly replaced before the 70th minute and struggled to finish a game. This season he has completed 90 minutes on eight occasions and two of his substitutions have been after the 80th minute. Further more three of his goals have arrived after the 75th minute squashing any notion of him fading towards the end of games. If anything he now looks stronger as the game goes on looking to take advantage of tiring defenders with his excellent movement off the ball.
His instincts in front of goal seem as strong as ever as well. Upon watching his six goals in Serie A this season you will see calmness personified in his strikes against Milan, Hellas Verona and Sassuolo. Add to that his stunning first time volley against Bologna and his header against Udinese and you have a striker capable of punishing the opposition with a multitude of finishes.
Another big part of Cassano’s game is assists and creating chances for the team. He averages three key passes per game- more than Alessandro Diamanti (2.9), Gilardino (0.5), Lorenzo Insigne (1.7), Dani Osvaldo (0.4), Antonio Di Natale (1.1) and Manolo Gabbiadini (1.1).
He also draws fouls in key areas of the pitch (2.6 per game) which again eclipses the opposition with the exception of Diamanti (4.2).
As mentioned Cassano is often considered to be the assist king and part of this reputation relates to his accurate crossing which is best demonstrated by his two assists against Sassuolo this season. Averaging 2.4 accurate crosses per match he consistently finds his teammates in the box, again more so than the aforementioned Diamanti, et al.
The most impressive statistic though, when you consider he has netted six times already, is the fact that he has done so from an average of only 1.8 shots per game. Only Gilardino can top that effort (1.4) proving his accuracy and chance conversion is almost unrivalled amongst his biggest threats to a World Cup place.
There are of course players to return from injury. Francesco Totti was outstanding prior to his but there is a doubt whether he would return to international football after so long in retirement. There is also Stephan El Shaarawy, whom everyone has high hopes for to return from injury and if he can capture the form which he started the 2012/13 campaign in he would likely make the final squad.
Time and form will tell come May as to who is selected but I have thrown my two-penneth into the debate for Cassano’s selection and at the moment I have the statistics to back up my argument.
Follow Michael Clarkson on Twitter: @M_Clarkson
