Revealed: How Antonio Cassano almost died in AC Milan car park as Thiago Silva rushed to doctor amid heart scare

Former Italy 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 Bari and his dazzling performances led to a move to Roma and eventually to Real Madrid in 2006, but Cassano’s time in Spain was troubled as frequent clashes with coach Fabio 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 Inter 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.