Mattia Cassani (; born 26 August 1983) is an Italian
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who last played as a
defender for
Bari.
Club career
Juventus
Cassani started his career at
Juventus during the
2002–03 Serie A season, and then left for
Sampdoria
Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa.
The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...
on loan in January 2003.
Verona
In June 2003 he left for
Hellas Verona
Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as Hellas Verona or simply Verona, is a professional Italian football club based in Verona, Italy, that currently plays in Serie A. The team won the Serie A Championship in 1984–85.
His ...
on loan with an option to buy him outright for €800,000, Cassani was awarded the number 83 shirt. The loan was extended for one more year in the same month. In June 2005, Verona bought him in a
co-ownership deal for €400,000. With Juventus facing the
2006 Italian football scandal
''Calciopoli'' () was a sports scandal in Italy's top professional association football league Serie A and to a lesser extent Serie B. Involving various clubs and numerous executives, both from the same clubs and from the main Italian footbal ...
they terminated all co-ownership deals, either selling or buying back, Verona bought Cassani outright in June 2006 for an undisclosed fee, thought to be around €1.43M.
Palermo
Cassani, who had made a name for himself as a versatile fullback, capable of playing on either flank, joined
Palermo on 1 July 2006,
for €2.5 million
[US Città di Palermo Report and Accounts on 30 June 2007 ] on a five-year contract
[ along with teammate ]Gianni Munari
Gianni Munari (born 24 June 1983) is an Italian football official and a former player who played as a midfielder. He works as a scout for Parma.
Career From Sassuolo to Palermo
Munari started his career with hometown club Sassuolo, after bein ...
(who joined the club in a co-ownership deal[ for €1 million][ on a four-year contract][). That season Palermo also sold Fabio Grosso.
On 6 April 2008, Cassani scored his first professional goal, a late 28 yard shot which gave Palermo a 3–2 home win against his former club Juventus ending a string of four consecutive defeats.
In October 2008, his contract was renewed until 30 June 2013. Cassani extended his contract again during the ]2010–11
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...
season, until 30 June 2015. Cassani also served as team captain during the first period of the 2010–11 season due to the absence of both Fabrizio Miccoli
Fabrizio Miccoli (; born on 27 June 1979) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a striker.
He scored 103 goals in 259 matches in Serie A across nine seasons, representing Perugia, Juventus, Fiorentina and Palermo, also spen ...
and Fabio Liverani.
On 2 February 2011, Cassani made his 151st appearance with Palermo, thus becoming the most capped player in Serie A history for the ''rosanero''.
Fiorentina
On 24 August 2011 he moved to Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fol ...
on loan, for €2 million,[US Città di Palermo SpA Report and Accounts on 30 June 2012 ] with an option to make the move permanent at the end of the season, for another €2.75 million. On 2 July 2012 he moved permanently to Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fol ...
for the pre-agreed price on a three-year contract.[
On 30 January 2013 he moved to ]Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
in a temporary deal with the option to purchase, rejoining Rubén Olivera. In June 2013 Genoa did not excise their option to buy Cassani and sold Nenad Tomović
Nenad Tomović (; born 30 August 1987) is a Serbian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Cypriot First Division club AEK Larnaca.
A former Serbian Olympian and U21 international, Tomović made 22 appearances for Serbia at full l ...
to Fiorentina in a forced auction, as both clubs failed to form an agreement before the deadline. On 7 July 2013, Cassani and Olivera were included in ''La Viola's'' pre-season friendly. Both players were not in the starting line-up.
Parma
On 8 August 2013, Cassani was signed by Parma
Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...
on a temporary deal with the option to buy. In July 2014 he was signed outright.
Return to Sampdoria
On 2 July 2015, Cassani joined Sampdoria on a free transfer, having been recently released by Parma.
International career
Cassani was capped at U20 level, a development squad to fill the gap between U19 team and the U21.
He also played for the U21 B team consisting of Serie B
The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...
players, against Belgium U21 on 30 March 2004. On the same day Italy U21 team also scheduled a match against Portugal U21.
In May 2009, Cassani got his first senior national call-up to play for Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
against Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
, but did not make his debut on that occasion. After receiving his second call-up for Italy's friendlies against the Netherlands
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and Sweden in November later that year, he made his international debut on 18 November 2009, coming on as a substitute for Christian Maggio
Christian Maggio (; born 11 February 1982) is an Italian former footballer who played as a right-back, as a wing-back, or as a right winger.
A dynamic and hard-working offensive full-back, prior to joining Napoli in 2008, Maggio played for It ...
in a 1–0 friendly win against Sweden, earning praise for his performance.
Although he was initially named to Lippi's 30 and 28-men provisional 2010 FIFA World Cup
, image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
, size = 200px
, caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
squads, he was not included in the 23-men final squad for the tournament, as Italy suffered a first round elimination.
On 6 August 2010, he received his first call-up under new Italy manager Cesare Prandelli for a friendly match against the Ivory Coast, making a substitute appearance in a 1–0 defeat, coming on for Marco Motta
Marco Motta (; born 14 May 1986) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a right back.
Motta is a former Italy international and made his senior international appearance in 2010; at youth level, he participated in the 2008 Summer ...
in the 70th minute of the match. Cassani was subsequently also called up for Italy's UEFA Euro 2012 qualifiers against Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
and the Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
, making his first competitive appearance for Italy, and his first international appearance as a starter in a 2–1 away win over Estonia on 3 September 2010; in total he made 4 appearances in the European qualifiers.[
]
Style of play
A quick, energetic and versatile right-footed full-back, although he is usually deployed on the right, Cassani is capable of playing along either flank, and is effective both offensively and defensively, due to his good defensive skills, consistency and work-rate, as well as his crossing accuracy, technique, and ability to make attacking runs; he has also occasionally been deployed as a centre-back, due to his tenacity and physique.
Career statistics
Club
International
[
]
References
External links
Lega Serie A profile
FIGC profile
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cassani, Mattia
Italian footballers
Italy international footballers
Italy youth international footballers
Juventus F.C. players
U.C. Sampdoria players
Hellas Verona F.C. players
Palermo F.C. players
ACF Fiorentina players
Genoa C.F.C. players
Parma Calcio 1913 players
S.S.C. Bari players
Serie A players
Serie B players
Association football fullbacks
Sportspeople from the Province of Novara
Footballers from Piedmont
1983 births
Living people