South Africa 2010 needs Cassano

Italian football has been gripped by Cassano fever. National team coach Marcello Lippi continues to exclude Sampdoria forward Antonio Cassano from his Azzurri squads and the supporters are not happy about it. Neither is Samp president Ricardo Garrone, who issued a now-retracted blast claiming that there was an "ugly story" behind the decision to omit Cassano rather than it simply being a result of Lippi's notorious stubbornness.

Regardless of Lippi's motivation, Cassano's cult figure status has translated into a wave of protest on the peninsular. The man who is looking forward to retiring so have can have sex all day and get fat seems to have a vocal section of the Italy support on his side. The Azzurri faced Holland in a friendly international on Saturday and the stadium was apparently awash with banners urging Lippi to end the stand-off and select Cassano for the team.

In the video above, you'll see one man take his protest to the limits. Sporting a Superman t-shirt emblazoned with the slogan "Cassano in Nazionale!", the man ran the length of the field and eventually surrendered himself into the arms of a steward at the other end.

The seemingly sympathetic reaction of the steward, who put his arm round the invader and escorted him away, perhaps suggests the depth of support for the Brat from Bari. So, too, does the fact that a banner was on display at Italy's rugby international at San Siro asking the national rugby coach "Can YOU at least call up Cassano?"

Dry Italian humour aside, the World Cup - and not just Italy - needs Antonio Cassano. Here's why:

• Quite apart from my Maradona obsession, I suggested before Argentina's qualification flourish that a World Cup with El Diego on the Argentina bench would be...well, hilarious. The same is true of Cassano. Which other player would hug Jose Mourinho while wearing only y-fronts? Cassano is always guaranteed to entertain. Sometimes he even means it
• Cassano is as entertaining with words as he is with a pair of footballer's pants. "In Madrid it was easy because I lived in a hotel. The bell boy’s job was to bring me three pastries after sex. He would hand me the pastries, I would hand him the girl, and he’d return her into the night. Sex plus pastries – could it be any better?" Amazing
• Anyone who's seen Brazil play in the last 18 months will be worried that World Cup 2010 will be robbed of the flair so often provided by the South Americans. Is football losing its flair players? Not in Genoa, where Cassano's brilliant touch, vision and pathological need to show off continues to wow Serie A supporters. What's the cure for Dunga-itis? Cassano!
• In a nutshell, I think we need Cassano in South Africa next summer because of his swagger, wit and entertainment value. The World Cup is made up of magical moments, and Cassano has the ability to provide those in abundance and in a variety of ways

So come on Lippi, do the right thing. You might be a proud old sod but it's not just Italy that needs Cassano, it's the world. Don't rob us of the master entertainer!

What do you think of Antonio Cassano? Would the World Cup be the same without him? Should Lippi take him to South Africa?