Capello on Cassano and Totti

By Football Italia staff

Fabio Capello has criticised Antonio Cassano for wasting his talent on the same day he hailed Francesco Totti for being the champion he is.

The now Russia boss worked with the two players at Roma, while he was also Cassano’s Coach during his spell at Real Madrid.

Speaking to Radio RAI after Cassano’s latest bust-up with a Coach, this time Inter’s Andrea Stramaccioni, the former England tactician expressed his frustration.

“It’s a shame,” Capello commented. “He could have done a lot more in his career than he has. I hoped that he would mature after the birth of his son, but, unfortunately, it is the same old story.

“He’s a good kid, generous, but he doesn’t understand that there are limits and when he lets loose there is no stopping him.

“He doesn’t know the boundaries when it comes to respect. This has influenced his career. He only sees football in his own way. That inevitably sees teammates sometimes lose respect for him.

“He needs to understand that, at certain times, he has to accept the decisions of others.”

On the day that Cassano was left at home while his Inter team beat Catania 3-2, Totti smashed home his 225th goal in Serie A. Only Silvio Piola, thanks to 274 strikes, has more.

“Totti is simply a champion and, like all champions, he has unlimited resources,” Capello noted. “He may have lost a bit of pace, but he makes up for that with technique.

“I was the first to use him in a more advanced attacking role because I realised that his success rate was very high every time he shot at goal.

“You have to understand that he can’t play forever, but, for me, he can still play on for a couple more years.

“But he must realise that he can’t always play. He can only continue at these levels if he appears in a certain amount of matches.”

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