If ever there's been a figure who seemed more like a badly written character from a footballing sitcom than an actual person, it's Paolo Di Canio. One of the most talented and gifted players of his generation, able to mesmerise opponents and fans with his skill and vision, yet remembered almost entirely for being one of the most unhinged and unpredictable human beings ever to player the game. The feet of a wizard, the temperament of a toddler, and the mouth of a sailor - Di Canio was starting fights at Celtic in 96, pushing referees over at Sheffield Wednesday by 98, scored the best goal in Premier League history for West Ham in 2000, and got banned for a fascist salute at Lazio in 05. Somehow finding the time to play for Milan and Juventus in there as well. It's been nearly two years now since he was handed the seemingly impossible task of keeping Sunderland in the Premier League - A job he somehow managed to complete despite upsetting almost every player in the dressing room and being sacked after only 13 games - and noises of his return to management get steadily louder with every other gaffer who's forcibly removed from their post. "West Ham is my destiny" he even claimed in an interview, much to the delight/dismay of the club's fans (delete as appropriate, Hammers). But if Paolo is ever to get back into the hotseat at a top side, there's a number of things he'll be hoping any would-be future employers will have allowed to slip from their memory during both his playing and managerial career. Some things, like the aforementioned shove that put referee Paul Alcock on his posterior, are too historic to ever be forgotten and the hardman persona he gained from knocking over a 45 year old man is part of his USP to chairmen. However, there's a few less trivial matters that he'll hope are lost in the annals of footballing history for good.
WhatCulture's Managing Editor and Chief Reporter | Previously seen in Vice, Esquire, FourFourTwo, Sabotage Times, Loaded, The Set Pieces, and Mundial Magazine
