Italy coach Marcello Lippi was unmoved Tuesday by suggestions he should have called up mercurial Sampdoria forward Antonio Cassano for Italy's upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
''I don't owe anyone any explanations, I have my own thinking and I go on with that,'' the World Cup winning coach replied to questions about an outcry against Cassano's omission.
Asked if he was ''annoyed'' by reading Tuesday's papers where Cassano's absence was decried, Lippi replied: ''No bother''.
A poll in Tuesday's Gazzetta dello Sport found 80% of readers in favour of recalling the 26-year-old ex-bad boy of Italian soccer, who played his last international game when Roberto Donadoni's Italy were knocked out of Euro 2008 by Spain.
Despite once calling Cassano ''a genius,'' Lippi did not call up Cassano during his World Cup-winning spell, nor since he took back the reins of the national squad from Donadoni.
Critics of the choice have claimed Lippi, a disciplinarian, may have a problem with Cassano's past record for temperamental behaviour which has led the Italian media to coin the phrase 'Cassanata' for his tantrums.
They also point out that the former Roma and Real Madrid forward's last such outburst came more than a year ago, on March 2, 2008, when he threatened the referee in a match between Sampdoria and Torino.
Samp CEO Giuseppe Marotta said the club had been ''very disappointed'' that Cassano's recent run of excellent form and improved disciplinary record had not been rewarded with an international recall.
He pointed out that Cassano had only picked up one yellow card this season.
''Antonio is doing great, he's a plus for us and, I think, one for Italy too,'' said Marotta.
''He's a grown man, now, he's 26 years old, and we think he should have been called up along with (Samp striker Giampiero) Pazzini,'' Marotta told reporters.
The Italian media have stressed Cassano's hometown Bari, venue for next Wednesday's game against Giovanni Trapattoni's Ireland, would have been a ''perfect'' place for 'el pibe de Bari,' one of Cassano's nicknames, to make his return.
Bari supporters repeatedly invoked their old favourite in Saturday's Serie B game against Cittadella, shouting ''Cassano for Italy, Cassano for Italy''.
In December 1999, at the age of 17, Cassano exploded onto the Italian soccer scene with a wonder goal against Inter Milan.
In recent matches for Samp his rare skills have helped Pazzini score several goals, including the equaliser at Torino Sunday.
Torino coach Walter Novellino added his voice to the pro-Cassano chorus, saying ''our team suffered the great play of a world-class player like Cassano''.
Before Wednesday's showdown against Group Eight co-leaders Ireland and Trapattoni, the man who placed his faith in the Bari hothead at Euro 2004, Italy travel to Montenegro Saturday.
