Paulo Di Canio – Managerial Master or Disaster?
Paulo Di Canio’s playing career spanned 8 clubs in 3 leagues across Europe, making 532 appearances and scoring 127 goals.
He was a mercurial talent but also proved to be a liability, as shown in 1998 when playing for Sheffield Wednesday against Arsenal he pushed over referee Paul Adcock, receiving an 11 game ban.
On the other side of the coin was his sense of sportsmanship, which came to the fore while playing for West Ham in 2001 against Everton. 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”.
Di Canio’s playing career ended in 2008 and he then proceeded to move into Football Management and was appointed Swindon Town manager in May 2011.
In August of that year he was involved in a pitch side spat with striker Leon Clarke, he branded Clarke lazy and would never play for the club again, and he subsequently shipped him out on loan within days. In another game he criticized the Swindon fans for booing the players, and on a further occasion substituted his goalkeeper in the first half for being arrogant.
Under Di Canio Swindon reached the 2012 Football League Trophy Final, losing out to Chesterfield and were promoted from Division Two after winning the league with 93 points.
Di Canio has recently resigned from his post as Manager of Swindon Town with the club at the summit of Division One. After resigning he then allegedly entered the premises after midnight to recover personal artefacts from his former office, allegedly causing some damage. See http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/feb/22/paolo-di-canio-swindon-raid
Surely it won’t be long before another possibly more high profile club than Swindon Town (there has been rumours he may even return to his former post as Swindon Town Manager) snap him up. But with his chequered past is he the sort of Manager you would be happy to see at your club? There is no doubt he has had a successful start to his managerial career. But is he more of a Managerial Master or a disaster?
