Cassano finds a new lease of life at Sampdoria

MILAN (Reuters) - Unpredictable Italian forward Antonio Cassano has found a new lease of life with Sampdoria, just as he was being written off at the age of 33. The former Real Madrid player was in typically buoyant mood after inspiring his side to Tuesday’s derby win over Genoa, slamming former boss Walter Zenga and critics who said he was finished. "The ones who said I was finished don't understand anything about football," he said. "At the age of 33, I still make a difference." Cassano credited his current coach Vincenzo Montella, and a rigid regime over Christmas, for his resurgence after he laid on all three Sampdoria goals in a 3-2 win with a vintage performance. "Montella has given me back my enthusiasm, he has made it fun again and it wasn't like that before," he said. "I arrived here for no particular reason as far as Zenga was concerned, but with Montella those who deserve to play are picked." "I've got back into the game, I'm happy and I'm getting back into shape." Former Italy goalkeeper Zenga was appointed before the start of the season but fired in November after only 14 games in charge. Cassano, born in the southern Italian city of Bari, has had a colourful career which has taken him to AS Roma, Real Madrid, AC Milan, their rivals Inter and Parma and has been marked by tantrums and personality clashes. Cassano's indiscipline held him back and he failed to achieve the results most experts predicted after breaking on the scene as a 17-year-old by helping Bari defeat Inter with a brilliant goal in the closing minutes of a Serie A game. When he was at Real Madrid, coach Fabio Capello coined the term "Cassanata" (literally Cassanoism) for any act of indiscipline. He has boasted about his sexual exploits and embarrassed Italy during 2012 when he said he hoped there were no homosexuals in the squad. Cassano later apologised for the remark. Cassano was dropped by then Inter coach Andrea Stramaccioni after a dressing room row and left Parma last January by mutual agreement with the club mired in financial problems. He returned for a second stint at Sampdoria during the close season. His love of food, especially pastries, and women were documented in his autobiography and he has been dogged by weight problems throughout his career. Over Christmas and the New Year, however, he managed to stay off the Panettone cake. "During the holidays, I did a lot of running and I lost a kilo," he told reporters. "If you want to reach your targets, you have to make sacrifices. I've understood that at the age of 33...although at the age of 20 would have been better." (Reporting by Brian Homewood in Berne, editing by Alan Baldwin)