SS Lazio (Italy),
Ternana (Italy), SS Lazio (Italy), Juventus (Italy), Naples (Italy),
Juventus (Italy), AC Milan (Italy), Celtic Glasgow (Scotland),
Sheffield Wednesday (England), West Ham United (England),
Charlton Athletic (England), SS Lazio (Italy)
Honours
1993 UEFA Cup
winner (Juventus)
Biography
Paolo di Canio (born July 9, 1968 in Rome) is an Italian
football player who currently plays for the Italian Serie A club
Lazio.
Paolo has had a chequered career, in which time he has won many
honours and been selected for his national team, but also been
the centre of much controversy, such as assaulting a referee
during a game and has recently been accused of making Fascist
gestures to celebrate his team winning last Rome derby against
arch-rivals AS Roma. He is known to be outspoken and passionate,
and is famous for his on- and off-field flair.
He signed for Lazio in 1985, where he remained until 1990,
moving to one of the Italian giants Juventus. He stayed there
until 1993 and successive seasons saw him join first Napoli and
then AC 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 Premiership as he joined Sheffield
Wednesday.
In the United Kingdom, di Canio is famous for an incident on the
pitch in 1998 where he pushed referee Paul Alcock to the ground
after being sent off while playing for Sheffield Wednesday
against Arsenal.
In January 1999, di Canio signed for West Ham United and helped
them to achieve a high league position (5th) and qualify for the
UEFA cup.
He scored the BBC Goal of the Season in 2000 with a magnificent
volley against Wimbledon, which is still considered among the
best goals in Premiership history. 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 an impressive display of
sportsmanship, di Canio shunned a clear goalscoring opportunity
and instead picked the ball up while the Everton goalkeeper was
lying injured on the ground. FIFA described the act as "a
special act of good sportsmanship."
He remained at West Ham until 2003 when, following West Ham's
relegation, he signed for Charlton Athletic. In August 2004 he
moved back to his home team of Lazio.
