*shameless plug time
http://3down3up.com/issue/october-2011/article/paolo-di-canio
By Paul Gorst
Long time watchers of the English Premier League will remember Paolo di Canio as a man of sharp contrasts. A supremely talented footballer, who never strayed too far from controversy, Di Canio was capable of the sublime and the scandalous. He was one of the true characters of British football in the late 90’s and early new millennium.
His well-travelled career spanned 527 league games; he had spells in Italy with Juventus, AC Milan, Napoli, Lazio, Ternana and Cisco Roma. In England Di Canio turned out for; Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton Athletic and West Ham United and he also enjoyed time at Celtic in Scotland.
He retired in 2008 and was recently appointed manager of Swindon Town in League Two. His managerial career is in its infancy, but if it matches his playing career, Swindon fans will be in for a rollercoaster-like turn of events.
In September 1998 the Italian reacted with a mix of passion and anger to being sent off for Sheffield Wednesday when playing against Arsenal and pushed referee Paul Alcock to the ground. The contact was minimal and to view it 13-years on, the incident almost looks comical, but it sparked a national debate and widespread outrage and earned Di Canio a hefty 11-match ban and a £10,000 fine.
In the aftermath of the incident, he was quoted as saying: ‘I gave him a shove, but it was hardly done with much force.
‘He took three or four sideways steps before falling over in rather a strange way - like someone diving to win a penalty.’
Di Canio also clashed with his former West Ham manager Glenn Roeder in 2003 after a draw with West Bromwich Albion, accusing him of making excuses and openly criticising his tactics.
‘The manager said he thought I was injured. But that is just an excuse because I wasn't injured at all. I was fit and causing problems for West Brom.'
‘Our second-half tactics were bad and we were very fortunate not to have lost. Intelligent people will look at the result and not be fooled.’
Controversy followed the native Roman back to Italy and he was forced to defend himself against allegations of racism after a straight arm salute to his own fans when playing for Lazio in 2005. ‘The salute is aimed at my people. With the straight arm I don't want to incite violence and certainly not racial hatred,’ he maintained. ‘I am a fascist, not a racist.’ He added.
Despite all the disputes that surrounded the Italian, many fans prefer to remember the skills he brought to the teams he played for. Mention his name and most fans will instantly remember the goal of the season for West Ham at Wimbledon in 1999. It was as ingenious as it was audacious, as outrageous as it was phenomenal. To picture the goal is to envision images that are ingrained in Premier League folklore.
Collecting a long, diagonal pass from Trevor Sinclair, Di Canio, standing on the left side of the penalty area, met the cross with a sensational swipe with the outside of his right foot that fizzed past Wimbledon goalkeeper Neil Sullivan into the far corner. Both feet were off the ground when he made contact with the ball. It was truly spectacular. It was undoubtedly the finest goal of all his 138.
In management, his first few tentative steps have already mirrored his brilliantly colourful playing career. An emphatic opening day win saw Swindon see off Crewe Alexandra 3-0 at home, which was then followed up by three straight defeats. A 2-0 defeat to Burton Albion has been sandwiched in between 3-0 and 4-0 victories over Crawley Town and Barnet respectively since. The team's performance has been inconsistent but it is early days with as many as 13 new signings trying to bed-in to a new look squad.
Proof that the fiery temper still burns in the passionate Italian was found in the 3-1 defeat at Southampton in the League Cup at the beginning of September. A touchline flare-up with Leon Clarke, who had only been at the club 11 days, led to Di Canio to state: ‘Fortunately, he's out now even if he's under contract. He's never going to play with my team, never.'
‘He doesn’t deserve to wear the Swindon Town shirt in front of the fans.’
The very public spat led to Clarke being loaned out to Chesterfield for an unprecedented two years. Less than two weeks later, he was involved in more verbal jousting, this time with Crawley Town manager Steve Evans. As Evans branded Swindon ‘the Di Canio’ circus, the Italian responded in withering fashion.
‘I've played in front of mafia people. People like him make me laugh, I laugh in the face of them. I laughed in the face of 70,000 Man Utd fans when I scored, you could imagine what it would be like if I was worried by the words of him who I've never heard of before.'
'I’ve never heard his name. I am happy for him if he has one line in the national newspaper.’
Paolo di Canio was one of the biggest characters in British football during his playing career. The Football League is a far brighter place with him in it. His mere presence in the dug-out gives a splash of glamour to League Two and we can only hope it is more than just a fleeting visit to these shores.
