- Paolo Di Canio
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Paolo Di Canio
Di Canio at Upton Park, September 2010Personal information Date of birth 9 July 1968 Place of birth Rome, Italy Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) Playing position Striker Club information Current club Swindon Town (manager) Youth career Lazio Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 1985–1990 Lazio 54 (4) 1986–1987 → Ternana (loan) 27 (2) 1990–1993 Juventus 58 (6) 1993–1994 Napoli 28 (5) 1994–1996 Milan 37 (6) 1996–1997 Celtic 37 (15) 1997–1999 Sheffield Wednesday 41 (23) 1999–2003 West Ham United 118 (48) 2003–2004 Charlton Athletic 31 (4) 2004–2006 Lazio 50 (11) 2006–2008 Cisco Roma 46 (14) Total 527 (138) Teams managed 2011– Swindon Town * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).Paolo Di Canio (born 9 July 1968) is a Italian former professional footballer and current manager of League Two side Swindon Town. Di Canio made over 500 league appearances and scoring over 100 league goals as a player.
As a player Di Canio played in Serie A for Lazio, Juventus, Napoli and AC Milan, before playing in the Scottish Premier League for Celtic and the English Premier League for Sheffield Wednesday, West Ham United and Charlton Athletic.
After his seasons in the Premier League he returned to Italy where he played for Lazio, Ternana and Cisco Roma before retiring in 2008.
Contents
Career
Di Canio was born in Rome, in the district of Quarticciolo. He signed for Lazio, in 1985; here he remained until 1990, moving to another of Italy's biggest clubs, Juventus. He stayed there until 1993 and successive seasons saw him join first Napoli and then A.C. Milan. In 1996 he joined Celtic in Scotland, and his successful season in Glasgow (scoring 15 goals in 37 appearances) saw him make a move to the English Premiership as he joined Sheffield Wednesday for a sum of around £4.2m. Whilst in Sheffield, Di Canio was the club's leading goal scorer for the 1997–98 season with 14 goals and he became a favourite of the fans.
In England, Di Canio is infamous for an incident on the pitch in September 1998 when he pushed referee Paul Alcock to the ground after being sent off while playing for Sheffield Wednesday against Arsenal at Hillsborough, which resulted in an extended ban of 11 matches[1] and him being fined £10,000.[2]
In January 1999, Di Canio signed for West Ham United for £1.7m and helped them to achieve a high league position (5th) and qualify for the UEFA Cup through the Intertoto Cup. He was also the OPTA player of the season 1998–99. He scored the BBC Goal of the Season in March 2000 with a volley against Wimbledon,[3] which is still considered among the best goals in Premiership history[4] and was named as the Premiership's goal of the decade in a December 2009 Sky Sports News viewers' poll, scoring 30% of votes.[5] In this season he was also voted Hammer of the Year by the club's fans.
In 2001, he won the FIFA Fair Play Award. The previous December, in a match against Everton, in a noteworthy display of sportsmanship, Di Canio shunned a goal scoring opportunity and caught the ball from a cross instead as the Everton goalkeeper Paul Gerrard was lying injured on the ground after he twisted his knee attempting a clearance on the edge of the box. FIFA described the act as "a special act of good sportsmanship."[6]
Sir Alex Ferguson tried to sign him for Manchester United halfway through the 2001-02 season, but his attempts were unsuccessful and Di Canio would remain in East London for another season and a half.[7]
He remained a key figure at West Ham until 2003 when, with the Hammers struggling at the bottom of the league, he had a very public row with manager Glenn Roeder and was dropped from the first team. However, he returned at the end of the season (after Roeder, stricken by a brain tumour, was replaced by Trevor Brooking) and scored a winner against Chelsea in the penultimate game of the season that looked to have preserved West Ham's Premiership status.[8] However, it proved to be irrelevant and they were relegated on the final day of the season after a 2–2 draw away to Birmingham City, where he scored an 89th minute equaliser.[9] He was released on a free transfer and after turning down Leeds United[citation needed] he signed a contract with Charlton Athletic for the start of 2003–04. Whilst at The Valley he helped the club secure its highest league finish since the 1950s. However, he only scored four goals for the Addicks, all of them from the penalty spot (one of them scored from a rebound).
Even though he had already signed an extension to his Charlton contract, in August 2004 he returned to his home team of Lazio taking a massive paycut in order to return to the economically stretched Roman team. Lazio fans were happy to have a Rome-bred Lazio supporter in the team again, something missing since the departure of Alessandro Nesta in 2002. He scored in the Rome derby, just as he had in 1989, leading the team to a 3–1 victory over A.S. Roma in January (6 January 2005). However the negative publicity that Di Canio generated for Lazio, including his intimate relationship with club's ultras and their increased influence thanks to his presence in the team, coupled with problems with some teammates and coaches, exasperated club president and majority shareholder, Claudio Lotito, with whom he already had a difficult relationship. As a result, Di Canio's contract was not renewed in the summer of 2006. During several of his games for Lazio, Di Canio made a fascist salute to their right-wing fans. He subsequently signed with Cisco Roma of Serie C2 on a free transfer. In his first season with Cisco Roma, his team failed promotion to playoffs, despite a runners-up position in the regular season. He subsequently agreed to stay with Cisco for another season, in a second attempt to win promotion to Serie C1 with the Roman side.
On March 10, 2008, Di Canio announced his retirement from football, ending his 23-year playing career before the end of the season due to physical issues. It is his intention to begin coaching lessons at Coverciano to gain a coaching position.[10] In an interview he revealed that his dream would be to manage former club West Ham, and applied for the position after the resignation of Alan Curbishley in September 2008.[11] On 5 May 2010, Di Canio played in Tony Carr's testimonial game at Upton Park which featured a West Ham team against West Ham Academy old boys. He played for both sides during the match. The West Ham team won 5-1.[12] In July 2010, in honour of Di Canio, West Ham announced the opening of the 'Paolo Di Canio Lounge', within the West Stand, at their Upton Park ground,[13] which was formally launched by the unveiling of a plaque by Di Canio himself, on 11 September 2010.[14]
Managerial career
Di Canio has a UEFA Pro Licence for coaching. On 20 May 2011 Di Canio was appointed manager of Swindon Town, following the club's relegation to League Two. Di Canio began his career as a manager with a emphatic 3-0 win over Crewe on the 6 August 2011.[15] On 30 August 2011, Di Canio was involved in a pitch-side altercation with Swindon striker Leon Clarke, after their defeat in the League Cup to Southampton.[16]
Fascist politics
Since a very early age Di Canio has been a self-proclaimed fascista and has been photographed and videotaped several times giving the controversial Roman salute to Lazio supporters while playing for Lazio.[17]
He created controversy by twice using the gesture to salute Lazio fans, first in a match against arch rivals A.S. Roma and then against A.S. Livorno Calcio, a club inclined to leftist politics.[18] Di Canio received a one match game ban after the second event and was fined €7,000,[19] after which he was quoted as saying "I will always salute as I did because it gives me a sense of belonging to my people..I saluted my people with what for me is a sign of belonging to a group that holds true values, values of civility against the standardisation that this society imposes upon us."[20] His salute has been featured on unofficial merchandise sold outside Stadio Olimpico after the ban.[18] Di Canio has also expressed admiration for Mussolini.[21][22] On the day of his appointment as manager of Swindon Town, the GMB union terminated their financial backing of around £4,000-per-season of the club due to Di Canio's fascist views.[23]
Tattoos
Di Canio has several tattoos including, on his right biceps, the Latin word "DUX", meaning "leader", or Il Duce in Italian, an antonomasia for Benito Mussolini.[24] He also has a West Ham United tattoo on his left upper arm.[25]
Club honours
- Lazio
- Serie B: Promotion 1987–88
- Supercoppa Italiana: runner-up 2004
- Serie A: runner-up 1991–92
- Coppa Italia: runner-up 1992
- UEFA Cup: Winner 1993
- Milan
- Serie A: Champion 1995–96
- UEFA Champions League: runner-up 1995
- UEFA Super Cup: Winner: 1994
- Intercontinental Cup: runner-up 1994
- Scottish Premier Division: runner-up 1996–97
- UEFA Intertoto Cup: Winner 1999
Career statistics
Club
Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Italy League Coppa Italia League Cup Europe Total 1985–86 Lazio Serie B 0 0 1986–87 Ternana Serie C2 27 2 1987–88 Lazio Serie B 0 0 1988–89 Serie A 30 1 1989–90 24 3 1990–91 Juventus Serie A 23 3 1991–92 24 0 1992–93 31 3 1993–94 Napoli Serie A 26 5 1994–95 Milan Serie A 15 1 1995–96 22 5 Scotland League Scottish Cup League Cup Europe Total 1996–97 Celtic Premier Division 24 12 6 3 1 0 – 31 15 England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total 1997–98 Sheffield Wednesday Premier League 35 12 3 0 2 2 – 40 14 1998–99 6 3 0 0 2 0 – 8 3 1998–99 West Ham United Premier League 13 5 0 0 0 0 – 13 5 1999-00 30 16 1 0 4 1 10 1 45 18 2000–01 31 9 3 1 3 1 – 37 11 2001–02 26 9 1 0 0 0 – 27 9 2002–03 18 9 0 0 1 0 – 19 9 2003–04 Charlton Athletic Premier League 31 4 1 0 1 1 – 33 5 Italy League Coppa Italia League Cup Europe Total 2004–05 Lazio Serie A 23 6 2005–06 27 5 2006–07 Cisco Roma Serie C2 28 7 2007–08 18 7 Total Italy 318 48 Scotland 24 12 6 3 1 0 – 31 15 England 190 67 9 1 13 5 10 1 222 74 Career total 532 127 Manager
Team From To Record G W D L Win % Swindon Town 11 May 2011 Present 20 11 2 7 55.00 Total 20 11 2 7 55.00 Notes and references
- ^ "Di Canio gets 11-match ban for push on ref". BBC Sport. 23 October 1998. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/199792.stm.
- ^ "Di Canio ban too short, say referees". BBC Sport. 24 October 1998. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/football/fa_carling_premiership/199527.stm.
- ^ "West Ham 2 Wimbledon 1". Sportinglife.com. http://www.sportinglife.com/football/premiership/westham/reports/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/00/03/26/SOCCER_West_Ham.html&TEAMHD=westham&DIV=prem&TEAM=WEST--HAM&RH=West--Ham&PREV_SEASON=1998. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
- ^ Raynor, Dominic (2009-10-23). "Paolo Di Canio: Explosive Italian". Soccernet.espn.go.com. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=688402&cc=5739. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
- ^ Football Tonight. BSkyB. Sky Sports News. 18:00, 31 December 2009 (UTC). 50 (approx) minutes in.
- ^ "Di Canio wins Fair Play award". BBC News. 2001-12-17. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/1682501.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Di Canio grabs West Ham lifeline". BBC News. 2003-05-03. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/2968013.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
- ^ "Birmingham 2 West Ham 2". Sportinglife.com. http://www.sportinglife.com/football/cc_championship/westham/reports/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/03/05/11/SOCCER_Birmingham.html&TEAMHD=westham&DIV=nat1&TEAM=WEST--HAM&RH=West--Ham&PREV_SEASON=2001. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
- ^ "Di Canio Smette di giocare, addio alla Cisco Roma". Yahoo! Eurosport Italia. March 10, 2008. http://it.eurosport.yahoo.com/10032008/44/canio-smette-giocare-addio-cisco-roma-86.html.
- ^ "Di Canio wants to be Hammers boss". BBC Sport. 4 September 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/west_ham_utd/7598744.stm.
- ^ "Paolo's pride". Whufc.com. http://www.whufc.com/articles/20100506/paolos-pride_2236884_2044685. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
- ^ "Take your seat in the Di Canio Lounge | News | Latest News | News | West Ham United". Whufc.com. http://www.whufc.com/articles/20100716/take-your-seat-in-the-di-canio-lounge_2236884_2093957. Retrieved 2010-07-17.
- ^ "Di Canio Lounge a hit | News | Latest News | News | West Ham United". Whufc.com. http://www.whufc.com/articles/20100913/di-canio-lounge-a-hit_2236884_2152448. Retrieved 2010-09-13.
- ^ "BBC Sport - Swindon Town confirm Paolo di Canio as new manager". BBC News. 2011-05-20. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/13466915.stm. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
- ^ "Time called on Clarke". www.swindoadvertiser.co.uk. 2011-09-01. http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/sport/sportlatest/9226141.Time_called_on_Clarke/. Retrieved 2011-09-01.
- ^ Fenton, Ben (2005-12-24). "I'm a fascist, not a racist, says Paolo di Canio". Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1506262/Im-a-fascist-not-a-racist-says-Paolo-di-Canio.html. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
- ^ a b Kassimeris, Christos (2008). European football in black and white: tackling racism in football. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 70. ISBN 0739119605, 9780739119600.
- ^ Bar-On, Tamir (2007). Where have all the fascists gone?. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.,. p. 1. ISBN 0754671542, 9780754671541.
- ^ Nursey, James (Dec 19, 2005). "Football: ll Di Canio new salute row". The Daily Mirror; London (UK),. http://findarticles.com/p/news-articles/daily-mirror-the-london-uk/mi_8006/is_20051219/football-ll-di-canio-salute/ai_n40766979/. Retrieved 28 February 2010.[dead link]
- ^ Duff, Mark (9 January 2005). "Footballer's 'fascist salute' row". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4158591.stm. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
- ^ Fenton, Ben (24 Dec 2005). "I'm a fascist, not a racist, says Paolo di Canio". Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1506262/Im-a-fascist-not-a-racist-says-Paolo-di-Canio.html. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
- ^ Mokbel, Sami (21 May 2011). "Sponsors cut ties with Swindon over Paolo di Canio's fascist views". Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1389305/Sponsors-cut-ties-Swindon-Paolo-di-Canios-fascist-views.html. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
- ^ "Political Football: Paolo Di Canio". www.channel4.com. 26 April 2008. http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/sports/political%2Bfootball%2Bpaolo%2Bdi%2Bcanio/1643547.html. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
- ^ "I'm on my way to England! Di Canio throws his hat into the ring for West Ham hotseat". www.dailymail.co.uk. 18 May 2011. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1388312/Paolo-Di-Canio-wants-West-Ham-job.html. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
External links
- Di Canio's playing profile (from CelticTalk.org The Ultimate Celtic Forum)
- FootballDatabase provides Paolo Di Canio's profile and stats
- Di Canio's playing profile (from Cisco Roma official website)
Awards Preceded by
Lucas RadebeFIFA Fair Play Award Winner
2001Succeeded by
Football communities of
Japan and Korea RepublicPreceded by
Paul GascoigneSPFA Players' Player of the Year
1996 - 97 seasonSucceeded by
Jackie McNamaraWest Ham United F.C. – Player of the Year 1958: Malcolm • 1959: Brown • 1960: Musgrove • 1961: Moore • 1962: Leslie • 1963: Moore • 1964: Byrne • 1965: Peters • 1966: Hurst • 1967: Hurst • 1968: Moore • 1969: Hurst • 1970: Moore • 1971: Bonds • 1972: Brooking • 1973: Robson • 1974: Bonds • 1975: Bonds • 1976: Brooking • 1977: Brooking • 1978: Brooking • 1979: Devonshire • 1980: Martin • 1981: Parkes • 1982: Martin • 1983: Martin • 1984: Brooking • 1985: Allen • 1986: Cottee • 1987: Bonds • 1988: Robson • 1989: Ince • 1990: Dicks • 1991: Mikloško • 1992: Dicks • 1993: Potts • 1994: Morley • 1995: Potts • 1996: Dicks • 1997: Dicks • 1998: Ferdinand • 1999: Hislop • 2000: Di Canio • 2001: Pearce • 2002: Schemmel • 2003: Cole • 2004: Etherington • 2005: Sheringham • 2006: Gabbidon • 2007: Tévez • 2008: Green • 2009: Parker • 2010: Parker • 2011: Parker •
SPFA Players' Player of the Year 1978: Johnstone | 1979: Hegarty | 1980: Provan | 1981: McGhee | 1982: Clark | 1983: Nicholas | 1984: Miller | 1985: Duffy | 1986: Gough | 1987: McClair | 1988: McStay | 1989: Snelders | 1990: Bett | 1991: Elliott | 1992: McCoist | 1993: Goram | 1994: Hateley | 1995: Laudrup | 1996: Gascoigne | 1997: Di Canio | 1998: McNamara | 1999: Larsson | 2000: Viduka | 2001: Larsson | 2002: Amoruso | 2003: Ferguson | 2004: Sutton | 2005: Hartson / Ricksen | 2006: Maloney | 2007: Nakamura | 2008: McGeady | 2009: Brown | 2010: Davis | 2011: IzaguirreSwindon Town F.C. – managers S. Allen (1902–1933) · Vizard (1933–1939) · Harris (1939–1940) · Page (1945–1953) · Lindley (1953–1955) · Head (1956–1965) · D. Williams (1965–1969) · Ford (1969–1971) · Mackay (1971–1972) · L. Allen (1972–1974) · D. Williams (1974–1978) · Smith (1978–1980) · Trollope (1980–1983) · Beamish (1983–1984) · Macari (1984–1989) · Ardiles (1989–1991) · Hoddle (player) (1991–1993) · Gorman (1993–1994) · McMahon (1994–1998) · Quinn (1998–2000) · Todd (2000) · King (2000–2001) · Evans (2001) · King (2001–2005) · Onuora (2005–2006) · Wise (2006) · A. Williams (caretaker) (2006) · Sturrock (2006–07) · Byrne (caretaker) (2007–2008) · Malpas (2008) · Byrne (caretaker) (2008) · Wilson (2008–11) · Hart (2011) · Bodin (caretaker) (2011) · Di Canio (2011–)
Swindon Town F.C. – current squad 1 Lanzano · 3 Kennedy · 4 Flint · 5 Devera · 6 Comazzi · 7 Caddis · 8 Ferry · 10 Ritchie · 11 Esajas · 12 McCormack · 13 Risser · 14 Pavett · 15 Thompson · 16 Atiku · 17 Connell · 18 Scott · 19 Clark · 20 Said · 21 Gabilondo · 23 De Vita · 24 J. Smith · 26 P. Smith · 27 Cibocchi · 28 Storey · 29 Magera · 30 Bedwell · 32 Abdulla · 33 Jervis · 34 Montano · 35 Foderingham · 36 Ridehalgh · 39 Kerrouche · Manager: Di Canio
Football League Two managers Categories:- 1968 births
- Living people
- People from Rome (city)
- Italian footballers
- A.C. Milan players
- Celtic F.C. players
- Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players
- S.S.C. Napoli players
- West Ham United F.C. players
- Charlton Athletic F.C. players
- S.S. Lazio players
- Juventus F.C. players
- Atletico Roma F.C. players
- Premier League players
- Scottish Premier League players
- Serie A footballers
- Italian expatriate footballers
- Expatriate footballers in England
- Expatriate footballers in Scotland
- Italian neo-fascists
- Ternana Calcio players
- Italian expatriate sportspeople in the United Kingdom
- Expatriate football managers in England
- Italian football managers
- UEFA Pro Licence holders
- The Football League managers
- Swindon Town F.C. managers
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