Parma legend Alessandro Lucarelli reveals he had to be physically dragged away from attacking then-teammate Antonio Cassano.
The incident occurred in 2014-15, when Parma were hurtling towards bankruptcy and players went unpaid for months.
Lucarelli stuck with the Ducali even after they went under, playing on through their revival from Serie D back to the top flight with three consecutive promotions.
“We had all agreed to stay quiet on the issue of late payments, including Cassano,” Lucarelli wrote in his autobiography.
Parma legend Alessandro Lucarelli reveals he had to be physically dragged away from attacking then-teammate Antonio Cassano.
The incident occurred in 2014-15, when Parma were hurtling towards bankruptcy and players went unpaid for months.
Lucarelli stuck with the Ducali even after they went under, playing on through their revival from Serie D back to the top flight with three consecutive promotions.
“We had all agreed to stay quiet on the issue of late payments, including Cassano,” Lucarelli wrote in his autobiography.
“However, something went wrong. After training, Antonio realised that he wouldn’t be in the starting XI, so he decided to give an interview in which he told everything about the fact we hadn’t been paid.
“Only a day earlier, he had guaranteed me that he wouldn’t say anything. He told nobody he was doing this, it was just his way of evening the score for a personal vendetta. He wanted to leave and therefore created more chaos.
“That Sunday, there was a total breakdown. I was suspended, so was in the stands. Cassano was on the bench, because (Coach Roberto) Donadoni had made the decision days earlier.
“The fans at the Stadio Tardini saw the tactician’s choice as punishment for Cassano declaring the club situation to the media and they started calling his name.
“What completely made me lose my mind was at the end of the game, when I saw him walk over to the Curva Nord – something he had always refused to do at the end of every other match. This time, though, it was in his interests to make nice with the fans.
“When I saw that scene, I lost it. I sprinted down the steps, flew into the locker room and heard (goalkeeper Antonio) Mirante shout: ‘Don’t act like you’re all that!’
“It was all I needed to definitively lose the plot and I flung myself at that teammate who had betrayed our trust. I just about had time to call him a ‘b*****d’ and then Luca Bucci, our goalkeeping coach, lifted me clear off the ground and threw me into the showers.
“I threw a punch at the wall, but Bucci was man-marking me and I couldn’t get out of there for 15 minutes. It was just enough time to allow Cassano to leave.
“A few days later, he terminated his contract.”