As we know by now, last fall Cassano released his autobiography (in collaboration with SKY commentator Pierluigi Pardo) entitled “Dico Tutto“, and it immediately became one of the biggest bestsellers in all of Italy. People everywhere wanted to know what the crazy genius was all about, and they weren’t disappointed because Cassano, as the title “Dico Tutto” (I’ll say everything) indicated, really did say everything. No details left out. Now, again with Pierluigi Pardo, he has released his second book, entitled “Le Mattine non servono a niente: E altre 364 cassanate in forma di aforisma per vivere un anno da fantasista.” (”The Mornings aren’t good for anything: and 364 other cassanate in the form of aphorisms to live like a fantasista for year”). All profits from the book will go towards the Stefano Borgonovo foundation for the fight against the deadly ALS disease (Lou Gehrig Disease). The book is on bookshelves now in bookstores all over Italy, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it. So it’s not another autobiography, but 365 funny, insightful phrases that Cassano has come up with. Here are some phrases extracted from the book:

Aforisma 293
Ok it’s true, I’m the first person ever to write more books than he has actually read.

Aforisma 156
Good will is fundamental. I first made peace with Gigi Del Neri before I tried understanding what the fuck he was saying.

Aforisma 343
Don’t be impulsive. Be like me. Before exploding, always count at least until 1…

Aforisma 115
I can’t wait to play for the Italian National Team again. In the meantime on Playstation I can play with 4 strikers.

Aforisma 262
When I was young playing in Piazza del Ferrarese, with no shirt on, dribbling around everyone, I only had one thought in my mind. It wasn’t money, and it wasn’t nice cars. It wasn’t girls and not even the Golden Ball. The thought I had on my mind was to one day win something with the National Team. And I still haven’t changed my mind.

Aforisma 246
I hope to go to the World Cup in South Africa, I’ll give it my all until the very end. Even if I don’t get called up, I’m still going to South Africa, but to go on a safari with Carolina.

Aforisma 116
However it goes, I’ll always root for the National Team. I was born in July 1982. In my crib I had the Italian flag in my hand.

Aforisma 10
The others play to win Scudetti, I play to be happy.

Aforisma 43
The journalists aren’t supposed to have your telephone number. They should call “12″. (the information telephone number in Italy).

Aforisma 317
In the world of football nobody tells the truth. Only me and a few others. It’s never convenient, but who the hell cares!

Aforisma 194
My mom has become so used to being insulted by opposing fans that now if they don’t do it she feels left out…

Aforisma 319
If you yell, talk with your hands, live in the street and can’t resist kicking any ball that comes your way, maybe you don’t know it, but you were born in Bari Vecchia.

Aforisma 299
To be a terrone (from southern Italy) means being perfect, knowing how to live richly and poorly, talk with good people and delinquents: basically to live many lives, like me.

The Gazzetta dello Sport is arguably the most famous sports newspaper in Italy, selling more copies than rivals Corriere dello Sport and Tuttosport. It is world famous for it’s pink pages and has been printed in pink since 1899. The current head editor of the Gazzetta, Luigi Garlando, has always been a critic of Lippi since his return to the national team, has always been pro-Cassano, and doesn’t understand why Lippi hates to answer questions at press conferences. He feels Italians have a right to know the answers to questions about the team that represents them as a population. So in today’s Gazzetta, he laid out 10 questions that he wants Lippi to absolutely answer and that has been on the mind of Italy fans everywhere. Will Lippi answer these questions? Definitely not. But let’s see what they are after the jump.

1) Would Amauri, Italian passport in hand, be immediately called up?

10) When will you tell us your decision to remain as national team manager or not?

Garlando continues to say that answering these questions would actually make the National Team camp’s atmosphere more serene, as Lippi wouldn’t be constantly asked questions anymore as the reasons would be out, and Lippi wouldn’t have to scold journalists at every press conference.

What are the chances of Lippi answering these questions? As much chance as seeing Cassano wear an Italy kit anytime soon.

I know, the Cassano-National Team debate is getting old and boring. But this was too funny. In the 5th minute of the game yesterday, a fan ran onto the pitch wearing a t-shirt with the Superman logo and with the words “Cassano in Nazionale” (Cassano on the National Team). He jogged around the pitch for a while and then made his way off the pitch and was promptly arrested. When Buffon was asked about it, he said it was funny. When Lippi was asked about it, he said he had “taken his glasses off at that moment and didn’t see anything“. There were also some funny pro-Cassano banners in the stands, like “Lippi, take Cassano to South Africa, I’ll pay for the ticket” and yesterday at the Italian National Rugby Team game, a fan held a banner that was addressed to the Nazionale Rugby coach Mallett: “Can you at least call up Cassano?“. Video after the jump.

The Italy U-21’s continued their very disappointing qualifying campaign with another loss, this time away to Hungary. The Azzurrini needed a win to get back on track, but now qualification is getting more and more difficult. The Hungarians won 2-0, with goals coming from Nemeth and Koman (both players played on the Hungarian side that knocked the Italy U-20’s out of the U-20 World Cup last month). Now, with only 4 games remaining and the maximum amount of points available 12 (assuming Italy win these remaining remaining 4 games), Italy would only reach 16 points, and with Wales already at 13 and Hungary now at 9, a second place finish for a play-off spot even looks a little difficult. Italy has a game in Luxembourg on Tuesday, and if they fail to pick up the three points, we will most probably not see Italy compete in the 2011 European Championship (and that would mean not at the 2012 Summer Olympics either, as the final tournament in 2011 serves as the qualification process). This is looking more and more likely as Pierlugi Casiraghi’s last months as Azzurrini boss and this is definitely the worst U-21 team of all time.

The last time an Italy Under-21 side didn’t qualify for a major tournament was the 1996-1998 cycle. Otherwise, the Azzurrini have always been a force on this level, winning 5 times. The Under-21 side has always been filled with so many promising players that went on to be protagonists on the senior team as well, but this side lacks that overall talent. Besides Mario Balotelli, Andrea Ranocchia, Andrea Poli, and Alberto Paloschi, the rest of the squad doesn’t seem to have much promise and therefore the squad isn’t as strong as other years. Then again you could also blame the inexperience of Casiraghi, who had arguably one of the most talented Italy U-21 sides of all time the past 2 cycles and failed to win anything. His tactics have been questionable a lot of times and he isn’t good at reading games. So, it will be difficult for this side, and it doesn’t look good, even with a win in Luxembourg on Tuesday. We will probably see the resignation or termination of Casiraghi after this cycle is finished and the side will start anew after qualifying.

Since Lippi has taken over the national team for a second time, the big question has always been, “Why aren’t you calling up Antonio Cassano?” Cassano has widely been recognized as the best Italian player at the moment and there is no other talent in Italy that can even reach his level at the moment (maybe an in-form Totti). Lippi has given us a variety of answers: “A manager doesn’t have to explain his choices“, “Let’s focus on the players that are here, not the ones that aren’t“, “All players aged 18-40 can dream of playing for the national team“, “Cassano is a great player and a nice guy, but I make the choices“, and the list goes on and on. There isn’t one press conference that goes by without the name Cassano being mentioned. Fans everywhere are wondering why Cassano isn’t being called up as he clearly deserves it. Well, Italian satirical news program Striscia la Notizia has claimed to have found the answer.

There was always a rumor floating around that Cassano and Lippi’s son, Davide Lippi, had gotten into a fight some time ago. When Davide Lippi was asked about this he laughed it off, saying it never happened and that he actually likes Cassano and whenever they see each they joke around. However, Striscia la Notizia confirms that this story may be the real reason and the “ugly story” that Sampdoria president Riccardo Garrone talked about last week. They actually have an interview from “somebody that works in the football world” but he remained to be anonymous, so his face is blurred out and his voice has been changed. Here is the interview:

For the non-Italian speakers, basically he describes the story, saying that months ago Davide Lippi and Cassano were both at a club in Versilia, a popular beach destination in Tuscany (close to Lippi’s hometown of Viareggio) for celebrities and filled with tons of famous nightclubs, and that they got into a little argument which led to a fist fight, and Cassano kicked Davide Lippi’s ass.

So Marcello Lippi apparently holds a grudge against Cassano for this whole fight and refuses to call up Italy’s most talented fantasista. Is this the real reason? I’m sure we’ll see tons of the stories relating to this in the coming days, weeks, months, and probably even minutes before the kick-off of the first World Cup match.

What do you think? Do you believe this is the reason? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

After the international break, the man of the moment is undoubtedly Alberto Gilardino. The Fiorentina striker scored 4 goals in 2 matches with the Azzurri, including the impressive hat trick in 14 minutes vs. Cyprus. He now has 16 goals in 38 appearances (now level with Gianluca Vialli and Luca Toni) for the Azzurri and looks to be the headline striker heading into South Africa this June. His time at Milan may have hurt his reputation, with many fans saying he was just a one hit wonder, he could only score for small clubs, he couldn’t handle the pressure of a big team, he can’t score in Europe, he was a diving cheat, etc. However now at Fiorentina he is pretty much silencing all those critics, as he is one of the top goalscorers in Serie A and scores in the Champions League as well. Scoring goals for Fiorentina isn’t easy, and Gila is showing that he truly is one of Italy’s greatest goalscorers. Let’s hope he continues to shine, because the Nazionale needs a reliable striker. Gila video after the jump.

As everyone knows by now, Roberto Donadoni was relieved of his duties as Napoli manager and was replaced by former Sampdoria boss Walter Mazzarri. We can’t deny that Donadoni was one of the greatest wingers Italian football has ever produced. But his managerial career so far? Not great. We really don’t know where Donadoni is at as a manager or if he will ever improve. It’s rather confusing. Is Donadoni a good manager who just hasn’t found the right place to explode? Or is he a raccomandato, someone that just got ahead because of his name? The answer is really up in the air.

Lecco, Livorno, Genoa, Livorno, Italy, Napoli. No, I didn’t just name any random Italian cities, that’s what Roberto Donadoni’s coaching resume reads at the moment. The only disastrous experience he had was at Genoa, where he was sacked after 3 losses in the first 3 games in 2003. At Lecco he was just starting out, in his first Livorno experience he led the team to a respectable 10th place in Serie B and in his second experience in 2005-2006 had the squad at 6th place in February, but then resigned after constant criticism from owner Aldo Spinelli and his yellow raincoat. Then the World Cup came and went, Italy were champions, Lippi had resigned, and the post-Calciopoli FIGC were looking for a replacement.

Granted, it was pretty much slim-pickings when you narrowed down the candidates up for selection. The coaches available and up for consideration were Alberto Zaccheroni, Claudio Ranieri, Nevio Scala, Gianluca Vialli, along with U-21 boss Claudio Gentile and Roberto Donadoni. None of the options seemed particularly appetizing, but Donadoni had former teammate and good friend Demetrio Albertini handling the duty of selecting a manager and therefore by late July the new manager of the nazionale was Roberto Donadoni.

And so, those 2 years of Donadoni’s Italy came and went with the highs and lows that we all experienced. Donadoni was pretty close to still being on the Italy bench after Euro 2008, but not reaching the semi-final put an end to his tenure.

Then in March, with Edy Reja gone at Napoli, Donadoni was brought back into the club football world by Aurelio De Laurentiis. Donadoni didn’t change much, as Napoli still pretty much struggled from March to May. However people blamed it on the whole mid-season shake-up and how players were demoralized and just waiting for the season to be over and Donadoni would do better after having a summer to prepare the squad and mold them into his ideas.

Well the summer came and went, Napoli bought new players, and De Laurentiis was expecting a super Napoli for the coming season. And here we are 7 games in, and Donadoni has been sacked and replaced. Now, we can say that De Laurentiis may have been a little bit hasty in parting ways with the former Milan star, but we can also say that Napoli did not play very well in these 7 games. Bringing in Walter Mazzarri, who is a 3-5-2 specialist, is a pretty good idea.

But now we are left with Roberto Donadoni (who said today De Laurentiis knows about as much about calcio as he knows about the film industry, which is nothing), who is without a job. What will his future be. Most certainly big teams won’t hire him, and his only job offers are probably going to be from mid-level clubs and below. Donadoni basically still has to prove himself as a manager, and he’s going to have to start from scratch at a small club and do very well and impress people. If not, he will probably wind up either with a very mediocre coaching career, or quitting coaching altogether, becoming an analyst on a tv station or program (but his personality doesn’t seem to fit that).

What do you think? Is Donadoni a good manager waiting to explode or is he simply a raccomandato? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

I always like to watch videos of bloopers, and this time I’ve found a Serie A blooper video from the early 2000’s. Always entertaining, and it includes a mistake from Buffon!! (how often do you see those?)

Video after the jump.

And since we’re on the topic of Buffon mistakes, here’s another one I remember from a couple of years ago:

Despite having a strong U-21 side, Italy’s other youth national teams don’t really have a glorious history. All of Italy’s youth focus is directed to the U-21 team, and you never hear anything about the other sides. In addition, besides the U-21 team Italy’s youth sides have never really won anything, despite participating at many tournaments. The Italy U-20 side has never won anything, the Italy U-19’s won the European Championship once in 2003 and then reached the final in 2008, and the Italy U-18’s and U-17’s last won a trophy in the 1980’s. Since the U-19 team surprisingly reached the European Championship final in 2008 (losing to Germany 3-1), they qualified for this edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, being held in Egypt. As I said, the Italy U-20’s do not have a glorious past, and haven’t participated at many U-20 World Cups.

The last time Italy was at a U-20 World Cup was back in 2005, held in the Netherlands. The Italy squad had some names you might recognize today, including Bologna goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano, Cagliari defenders Michele Canini and Lino Marzoratti, Palermo midfielder Antonio Nocerino, Parma midfielder Daniele Galloppa, AZ Alkmaar striker Graziano Pelle, and Chievo midfielder Simone Bentivoglio. So basically, the team was nothing special. Italy didn’t do too well, losing their opening match to Colombia, then losing to Syria, and then defeating Canada, but only qualifying for the knockout phase as one of the best third place teams. In the Round of 16, Italy had to overcome the USA, led by Freddy “The Next Pele” Adu, and woke up, winning 3-1. However in the quarter-finals, they drew Morocco 2-2 in regulation and then lost on penalties. Italy didn’t even qualify for the 2007 edition in Canada, but now they are back for the 2009 World Cup.

Here is the squad Italy has brought to the World Cup:

Goalkeepers: Fiorillo (Sampdoria), Gasparri (Giulianova), Piccolo (Juventus);
Defenders: Albertazzi (Milan), Bini (Piacenza), Bruscagin (Gubbio), Calderoni (Piacenza), Crescenzi (Grosseto), Gentili (Varese), Mazzotta (Lecce), Regini (Sampdoria);
Midfielders: Bonaventura (Atalanta), Della Penna (Roma), Mazzarani (Crotone), Mustacchio (Ancona), Raggio Garibaldi (Genoa), Romizi (Reggiana), Sciacca (Catania);
Strikers: Eusepi (Reggiana), Maritato (Gallipoli), Misuraca (Vicenza).

Don’t recognize many of the names? It’s ok, this isn’t exactly Italy’s best squad. The problem with this U-20 World Cup is that it’s taking place now in September, and many clubs were unwilling to let go of their top youngsters who are first team players. So players like Mario Balotelli, Davide Santon, Andrea Poli, Alberto Paloschi, Stefano Okaka, Fernando Forestieri, Federico Macheda and Guido Marilungo were all eligible for selection, but their clubs didn’t want to let them go. (Balotelli and Santon probably wouldn’t have even been called even if they were allowed to go, but I’m just saying that they were eligible.)

Most of these players are Primavera players, while some are first-teamers. By now we all know who Vincenzo Fiorillo is, the one who has been heralded as the “Next Buffon” but in the games he played for Sampdoria last season made some terrible blunders.

Michele Albertazzi has long been considered one of Italy’s top upcoming defense prospects, yet he still has not made his first-team debut with Milan. He should be the one to look for in defense, along with Roma-owned Alessandro Crescenzi (on loan at Grosseto) and Sampdoria’s Vasco Regini.

The midfield has some talented players. The interesting story is that of Roma’s Claudio Della Penna. The youngster returned from loan this summer and wasn’t sent out on loan again before the transfer window ended, and he’s too old to play for the Primavera, so he just trains with the Giallorossi and sits in the stands on the weekend. Genoa’s Silvano Raggio Garibaldi was part of the 2008 U-19 side and has drawn comparisons to Massimo Ambrosini, while Mattia Mustacchio already made his U-21 debut and provides some talent. The star is Fabio Sciacca of Catania, who made an excellent impression last season when he debuted in Serie A and should be the leader for this side.

Up front, coach Francesco Rocca only called up 3 strikers: Umberto Eusepi, who is owned by Genoa and is a big physical striker; Piergiuseppe Maritato, a Juve-owned player on loan at Gallipoli; and Gianvito Misuraca, a creative seconda punta who led Palermo to the Primavera scudetto last season and has drawn comparisons to Fabrizio Miccoli.

The Azzurrini are in a group with Paraguay, Trinidad & Tobago, and hosts Egypt. They open with Paraguay tomorrow, then take on T&T on Monday, and finish the group on Thursday vs. Egypt. The games will be shown on www.espn360.com in the USA.

Overall, not much is expected of this U-20 side and it probably won’t even get big media coverage in Italy. Just getting out of the group may be considered an excellent achievement.

International week is boring. There’s really no news from Serie A, and we get a week of Lippi dodging questions about Mourinho and Cassano. Here’s the highlights from today’s game. Italy won 2-0, finally a decent performance. Pirlo excelled as a trequartista, Zambrotta actually ran up and down the wing, De Rossi is the most important part of our midfield, Iaquinta and Gila actually had pretty good chemistry, Grosso is still awesome, Buffon is back to being Buffon, Marchisio put in a good performance, and Simone Pepe still manages to fall over his own two feet. Highlights after the jump.