Whether members of the Claret & Blue refer to him as a cult hero or a West Ham United club legend, Italian striker Paolo Di Canio was certainly one of the more memorable stars to turn out at the Boleyn Ground, doing so between the years of 1999 and 2003 and scoring nearly 50 goals in the process.
But, who did the charismatic former captain come to be so loved by the Hammers faithful? Why did his West Ham career end in tears in 2003? And more importantly, where is he now?
Paolo Di Canio
The future free-scoring forward was born in Rome in July 1968 and grew up dreaming of becoming a professional footballer and dreaming of playing for his hometown club Lazio, turning out for their Academy after recovering from obesity and joint problems as a child.
His first five years of club football, split in half by a loan spell at Ternana Calcio, was a resounding success in which Di Canio helped the Rome side to promotion back up to the Serie A.
However, his attacking flair and age meant that, with Lazio struggling at the wrong end of the table, he was liable to a bigger move to a bigger team within Italy and this was exactly what happened.
Juventus came in for Di Canio and he made the move to better things in 1990, but frustrating times laid ahead of him as the attacker struggling for games and goals with the Old Lady, moving on to Napoli three years later.
Despite not entirely fitting in, in Turin, the ex-Italy youth International still managed to lift the UEFA Cup, leaving on unhappy terms much like his exit from his next club the following season and the club after that, Fabio Capello’s AC Milan.
By the time Di Canio was looking for a new challenge outside of his home nation in 1997, having lifted the Serie A and UEFA Super Cup in Milan, the character had earned a troublemaker reputation for famous rows with the likes of Capello and previously Giovanni Trapattoni.
Although he was about to make his mark in the British game in two spells, first spending one season with Celtic in the Scottish Premiership and then the English Top-Flight at Hillsborough with Sheffield Wednesdays.
He became hugely popular amongst the fans of both but the second of those stints ended in controversy after a year in 1998 when Di Canio pushed referee Paul Alcock to the ground in the wake of being red-carded by him.
The Football Association hit him with a hard ten-game ban and the incident in September, meant that he didn’t play again until January, though it wasn’t for Wednesday when he returned.
Harry Redknapp in East London decided to take a gamble on the much-maligned forward and forked out just over £1 million for him in the winter of 1999.
The move was met with a mixed reception from West Ham supporters, but if anyone had doubts they would soon be turned when the Italian let his football do the talking.
In his first half-season in the capital, he netted five times and played a key role in a stable Premiership campaign, from here, things would explode for the larger than life European.
18 strikes in all competitions followed the next season as Redknapp’s men achieving their best ever PL finish of fifth and highest points tally at the time, also lifting the UEFA Intertoto Cup.
In the next three terms, Di Canio’s scoring remained consistent around the ten-goal mark as he edged towards the twilight years of his career, seeing the Irons go from a top-four contender to a relegation battler.
Such was Di Canio’s love of the East London team that embraced him, he had a West Ham United tattoo imprinted on his right arm during his time in the English capital.
But, like all good things, the love affair had to come to an end at some point and this occurred during a tricky 2002/2003 for everyone at the club, with the striker clashing with new manager Glenn Roeder.
Not even a caretaker spell in charge for club legend Sir Trevor Brooking and goals in the final two league games by the Italy man could save the Hammers and he departed for Charlton Athletic in the summer of 2003.
Di Canio left E13 with a highly-impressive range of awards and recommendations including Match of the Day’s Goal of the Season for his memorable volley against Wimbledon, which was later voted Premier League Goal of the Decade in a Sky Sports poll.
And Hammer of the Year in 2000, not to mention FIFA Fair Play Award for picking the ball up at Goodison Park instead of converting a scoring opportunity when the opposing Paul Gerrard goalkeeper was down injured.
The born goal-scorer’s success in England didn’t end there either as he spent a season with nearby Charlton Athletic, helping them to their best Top-Flight season since the 1950s.
Having finished his career back in his native Italy with Atletico Roma and former club Lazio, the frontman took a few years away from the game to learn the tricks of the coaching trade.
Just three years after retiring from his playing career, the popular figure was back in England to take the manager’s position at League Two Swindon Town and quickly progressing with the club.
He guided the Robins to promotion up to League One in his first season at the County Ground and to the final of the Football League Trophy, resigning under a year later with the club in financial turmoil.
Mere months later, the manager was rewarded with his first Premier League job, succeeding in the objective of keeping Sunderland afloat and triumphing in the Tyne-Wear derby in his second match in charge.
At the start of the next season, however, the Black Cats sacked Di Canio for to being unpopular with the players who were said to dislike his strenuous training regime.
Since, he has worked largely as a pundit and applied for various managerial jobs but failed to get any, returning twice to Upton Park to play in the testimonials of Academy Director Tony Carr and fellow captain Mark Noble.
Nowadays, Paolo Di Canio is still on the managerial hunt, stating on several occasions, his desire to return to West Ham United as a manager, there is little doubt that he would be welcomed with open arms, but the question remains, has the fan favourite’s Hammers chapter been closed or is it just beginning all over again?
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