An Italian amateur football club is hoping to entice Antonio Cassano out of retirement AGAIN and play for them next season by offering to pay him in food.
Cassano announced his retirement from the game last week after growing homesick during Hellas Verona's preseason training camp. He then reversed that decision, then made another U-turn this week and now says his priority is now on being a family man with his wife and children at their home near Genoa, although his local club Legino believe they can still change his mind by putting one of their local Ligurian delicacies under his nose.
Farinata is a pizza-like local speciality made out of chickpeas and Legino coach Fabio Tobia says it is no surprise that Cassano was missing such Ligurian delights while in distant Verona.
"Of course we have only a limited budget and we could not afford a champion of his calibre, but what we could guarantee Antonio Cassano is our hospitality and the warmth of the city, and he could have our white Farinata as often as he desires it," Tobia told Corriere dello Sport.
"We've followed the news about Cassano recently and we can fully understand the nostalgia you feel when you are far from our region. That is why we're inviting him to come to Savona and play for Legino. Our pitch is right next to the motorway exit and Savona is easily reached from Genoa, so Cassano could come and go in no time, each time he feels nostalgic about his home."