ALWAYS CONTROVERSIAL AND never dull, whilst we may miss Paulo di Canio on the pitch we can now be safe in the knowledge that he will be appearing on the sidelines next season as Swindon Town’s new manager.
The newly-relegated club have announced that the controversial former West Ham striker has agreed terms to become their new manager and will fly in to the town on Monday, pitching up at the League Two side’s County Ground to complete the formalities of the deal, BBC reports.
Di Canio had been on the shortlist of candidates that included former Liverpool and Germany midfielder Dietmar Hamann and ex-Scotland manager George Burley to replace the beleaguered and recently departed Paul Hart.
A statement on the club’s website this afternoon confirmed the appointment of di Canio who will fulfill media commitments in Italy this weekend before taking the reigns at Town.
Formerly of Lazio, Juventus, Napoli and AC Milan, di Canio first arrived in Britain back in 1996 when he joined Celtic.
A two-year spell at Sheffield Wednesday followed in which he infamously pushed referee Paul Alcock to the floor after he was red-carded against Arsenal:
There then followed a successful spell at West Ham United where he scored this famous goal of the season against Wimbledon. Beautiful…
His time at the Hammers was also notable for this incredibly sporting moment when instead of tapping into an open goal after Everton’s goalkeeper had been injured, he grabbed the ball and stopped play, earning the applause of the Goodison Park faithful:
After West Ham were relegated in 2003 he left for greener pastures at Charlton Athletic but spent only a brief and uneventful time with the Addicks.
Returning to Rome for spells with Lazio and Cisco Roma, his time there was most notable for this infamous fascist salute following an eventful Rome derby:
In what may seem like a strange choice, the Daily Mail points out that Swindon have not been afraid to take gambles in the past offering platforms to inexperienced managers such as Glenn Hoddle, Steve McMahon and Dennis Wise.
Unsurprisingly given his eventful spell at West Ham, di Canio was one of those considered for the vacant role at Upton Park but was ruled out by co-owner David Sullivan because of his lack of experience.
Sullivan said that the failure rate for first-season managers is “enormous”.
Swindon will be hoping that’s not the case.
