- Former doctor reveals Cassano had a heart scare
- Silva informed the doctors just in time
- Timely intervention saw him escape serious damage
以前的 義大利 attacker Cassano, who featured for Milan between 2011 and 2012 under Massimiliano Allegri, once experienced a serious heart scare. Ex-Milan doctor Rudy Tavana revealed that Brazilian centre-back Silva raised the alarm after Cassano returned from a match, with swift intervention from Tavana and Dr. Mazzoni ensuring he was taken to hospital in time for surgery, avoiding severe consequences.
“After landing at Malpensa, returning from a trip to Rome, Thiago Silva came to me: ‘Doctor, Cassano isn’t well, he’s confused’. Dr. Mazzoni and I tracked him down in the parking lot,” he said in an interview with Gazetta dello Sport. “He wanted to drive home. We ran some basic neurological tests; something wasn’t right. I told him,:’Go ahead, but Dr. Mazzoni will drive your car, and he’ll take you to the hospital.’ We didn’t know what it was, it could have been ischemia, we had to speed things up to minimize any damage. Mazzoni stayed in his room to sleep with him; it must not have been an easy night. The tests determined it was a neurological problem originating in the heart. Cassano underwent surgery, and the problem was resolved.
“Cassano thanked me in his own way: ‘In the parking lot, your authority forced me to obey’.”
Cassano began his career at 巴里 and his dazzling performances led to a move to 羅馬 and eventually to 皇家馬德里 in 2006, but Cassano’s time in 西班牙 was troubled as frequent clashes with coach 法比奧 Capello over discipline and behaviour led to a complete breakdown in their relationship. He eventually left Madrid for Sampdoria, where he rediscovered his form over a three-year period to convince Milan to sign him as Ronaldinho‘s replacement. Cassano won the Scudetto with Milan and struck up a strong partnership with Zlatan Ibrahimovic. But in 2012, he was included in a swap deal with 國際米蘭 that saw Giampaolo Pazzini move the other way. From then on, his career never truly recovered, and he retired in 2017.
Cassano now works as a pundit on various television shows and is a regular feature on Bobo TV, a show hosted by fellow Italian team-mate Christian Vieri. Having completed his sporting director course at Coverciano, he now hopes to make his return to football in a director’s role.
