Pressing the self-destruct button once again

On Saturday, Antonio Cassano caught the headlines for the wrong reasons once again after clashing with Real Madrid coach Fabio Capello. The 'rebel' was subsequently suspended by the Spanish club.

Indeed, Cassano, one of Italy's finest young players, is being consumed by his own fiery character. Last weekend's events at Tarragona put the former Bari and Roma player in bad light. He needs to focus more on his play and stay out of trouble.

After a stuttering start to the season, Real continued to show more progress last week with another convincing win away from home.

Now, the Spanish giants are second in the standings, just two points behind La Liga holders Barcelona.

Their quest for the league title is on but whether they will keep Cassano remains another, far less predictable matter.

After his fall-out with Capello, Cassano's future will inevitably become the subject of fevered debate in Spain. If he decides to go, he will attract interest from the continent's top clubs.

On Monday, Real made it clear that until further notice, Cassano will be out of the squad. This is not the first time that he received similar treatment for his unruly behaviour like that of Saturday.

Former Italy U-21 coach Claudio Gentile used to be very strict with Cassano.

Gentile had given him several chances to prove himself, but to no avail. It was the time when Cassano was losing his grip with reality and used to look down on his U-21 team-mates, creating internal rifts inside the dressing room.

In the end, Gentile stuck to his guns and excluded Cassano from his squad once and for all.

Notwithstanding his absence, Italy U-21 went on to win the UEFA Championship in 2004. Definitely, it was a good decision for Gentile to drop Cassano from his group.

The same can be said of Roma last season. For months, they kept proposing a long-term extension to his contract, only for Cassano to turn down all offers.

When Roma and Cassano parted ways in January this year, Luciano Spalletti's side blossomed to the point that they established themselves in the top quarters of the standings after a poor start.

Even Marcello Lippi made a wise decision not to include 'trouble-maker' Cassano in his World Cup squad.

Also, the player added a few extra kilos lately making him less agile and sharp in front of goal. Since his move to Madrid, Cassano has become notoriously popular with the media for being overweight.

To sum it up, he is not the player he could have become. He is not a team member. Far from it.

He has an abundance of talent. But, to become an accomplished player, Cassano has to show more respect and discipline to his coaches, in particular, and follow the rules of the club.

Roma stint

Before, Capello had Cassano under his wings during a five-year stint with Roma.

Their best season was 2003/04. Together with Francesco Totti, Cassano spearheaded the Giallorossi to high places in the standings. After a neck-and-neck tussle with Milan, which lasted almost till the end, Roma had to settle for second place in an otherwise memorable year.

Apart from his ex-coach at Bari, Eugenio Fascetti, many thought Capello was the ideal man to put Cassano's career back on track.

And even the player himself acknowledged that fact. So much so, that when Capello was named Real's new coach last summer, Cassano was among the first to approve his appointment.

But, Capello is a shrewd man. He always wants to have the last word in team matters and believes that no player is irreplaceable.

At Real, he has left players such as David Beckham and Ronaldo on the bench... so far results are proving him right.

Cassano has to be careful at this stage as he is risking to suffer the same fate of other indisciplined players in the history of the game, the likes of Paul Gascoigne, for instance.

Cassano has always contended that he has a huge appetite for the game and is eager to play and work hard for the team.

Perhaps, that's why Capello opted to leave him out of the side for the time being. He knows it is the best way to make him think seriously on his future.

Cassano's fate in now in his own hands. He has to respond as a true professional and regain the confidence of Capello and his Real Madrid team-mates.

Serie A statistics...

0 wins for Atalanta in 12 Serie A visits to Parma's Tardini stadium as the Bergamo outfit were unexpectedly floored 3-1 by Stefano Pioli's team. Parma scored twice inside the last 17 minutes to beat Atalanta for the third time in their last five encounters. Cagliari cruised to their first win of the term after beating Sampdoria at home. Samp's most recent win in Sardegna dates back to May 25, 1997 (4-3).

1st win for Roma after one defeat and two successive home draws as the Giallorossi conquered Udinese's Friuli stadium for the third time in their last four league visits. Udinese have not beaten Roma at home since the 2-1 win of February 23, 2003. Against Lazio, Reggina emerged unbeaten from the Olympic Stadium for the third time in their last four visits. Lazio have only two draws to show from their last four outings.

2nd win for Palermo in their last three visits to Fiorentina's Artemio Franchi stadium as the southerners left it late to condemn the Viola to their first defeat after four successive wins. It was definitely the game of the weekend... an action-packed encounter with plenty of scoring chances at both ends. Fiorentina twice came from behind and after Adrian Mutu's equaliser seemed like settling for their first draw with Palermo since December 26, 1949 (0-0). But, the Sicilians wanted more as Carvalho Amauri scored a superb late winner to help Palermo record their third straight win. Inter stayed top with Palermo after beating city neighbours Milan by the odd goal in seven. The Nerazzurri dominated for long stretches and Milan only got back in business after Marco Materazzi's sending-off midway through the second half. This was Milan's second consecutive home upset, after the 0-2 reverse against Palermo.

3rd away win of the season (vs Chievo 2-1, Torino 2-1 and Ascoli 1-0) for in-form Siena, who went on to beat Ascoli at the Del Duca stadium for the first time in two Serie A visits. Mario Beretta's Siena have now extended their unbeaten run to seven games (three wins and four draws). Together with Inter and Milan, Siena are still undefeated in away league fixtures this season. Daniele Arrigoni's Livorno kept their fourth clean sheet from as many home matches as they shared the spoils with Empoli. This was Livorno's third goalless draw at home this term. Gigi Cagni's Empoli have now gone five consecutive games without a win (two defeats and three draws).

8 players - Sulley Muntari (Udinese), Marco Materazzi (Inter), Simone Pesce (Ascoli), Daniele Corvia (Siena), Giuseppe Mascara (Catania), Christian Ledesma (Lazio), Carmine Coppola (Messina) and Simone Loria (Atalanta) - received their marching orders last weekend. Two penalties were awarded. Jonathan Spinesi put Catania ahead from the spot while Vincenzo Grella re-established Parma's lead against Atalanta by converting a second-half penalty. Siena, Torino, Ascoli and Fiorentina have not had a penalty in favour as yet. Messina, with seven points more to their credit, are the team to have improved most with respect to 2005/06. High-flying Palermo have the most prolific attack with 21 goals. Parma, with 18 goals conceded, have the worst defensive record in the division.

24 goals, equally shared between hosts and visitors, were scored on the ninth day of the 2006/07 season. Foreign players contributed with 12 goals while there were nine first-half goals. Total number of goals scored so far amount to 221. No hat-tricks were recorded. Andrea Barzagli committed the only own goal of the day. The mishap saw Fiorentina momentarily equalising against Palermo last Sunday. Brazilian Carvalho Amauri, who has lately expressed his desire to play for Roberto Donadoni's Italy as he seeks to get Italian citizenship, grabbed the only brace of the weekend as he steered Palermo to victory and the summit of the Serie A standings. Muslimovic (Parma), Codrea (Siena) and Gilardino (Milan) came on as substitutes and found the net. Messina's seasoned striker Christian Riganò consolidated his leadership in the goalscorers' list with seven goals (one from penalty).

40 years have passed since Torino's last away victory over Catania. In a lacklustre encounter at the neutral venue of Bari, Torino had to come from a goal down to record their third away draw of the term. Prior to Sunday's Serie A clash, these two sides had last met in the Italian top flight on January 17, 1971 (1-0). Chievo, meanwhile, confirmed their truly dire record against Messina as they went down 1-2 at the San Filippo stadium for the second season running. The team from Verona, who together with struggling Ascoli are still searching for their first victory of the season, are winless in three Serie A visits to Messina.