Di Canio – A new start?

The 1st of April had already begun in some parts of the world and Sunderland chose to announce their newest addition to the club in the form of manager Paolo Di Canio. We aren’t really new to the ways of Di Canio, explored in detail here. He is nothing short of a character, which leaves us with the question – is this really a smart move? He replaces the outgoing Martin O’Neill, who was doing a decent job of keeping the blundering side above the dotted red line. Then again, how safe is 31 points from 31 games, with at least 2 teams breathing down your neck? Anyway, Di Canio is a potential risk, and here’s a little more insight on the factors at play, now that he is a Black Cat.

‘I am a fascist, not a racist.’

Said Canio to Italian news agency ANSA in 2005, after his controversial salute to the Lazio fans in fixture against Roma. Now, Fascism – defined as the propagation of an authoritarian hierarchical government (as opposed to democracy or liberalism) – is frowned upon, especially in the football circuit. Football has always detested deep rooted politics and that explains why Former foreign secretary David Miliband put in his papers as Sunderland’s vice-chairman and non-executive director after the appointment on Sunday night. A rather rash decision one may say, because if Miliband did have a point, he will be essentially powerless to make it once he is out of the system. He cited the Italian’s past political statements for his move, but how often do you change jobs because your views clash with your colleague? It is a professional relationship, and as far as Di Canio doesn’t push his beliefs onto others, and restricts public exhibition of his choices, he should be the ideal way to go, given his immense experience.

But the popular idea seems to be the complete opposition of Di Canio’s political leanings, given that fascist ideology is based on intolerance. Earlier, when Di Canio was in charge of Swindon Town in 2011, the trade union GMB pulled its sponsorship, averaging around £4,000 per season, courtesy Di Canio’s political leaning. Even today, with Sunderland’s foray in to the African market, such an appointment may do more harm than deemed possible.

The fans have come out too, to state that as long as their latest signing keeps his views off the table and sticks to pure football, there should be not foreseeable hurdle. Any digression and his head will roll. They clearly understand that the footballing experience outweighs the others, but only till a limit. Di Canio does have a lot of experience though, having played for Lazio, Juventus, Napoli, Milan and Celtic. In the Premier League, he has represented Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton Athletic and West Ham United, which spells a good resume.

Adaptability

At Swindon Town, his former employer, Di Canio had more than just a couple of spats with the administration. At one point in time, he even offered a substantial amount of money to keep a hold on his loan players, after the club was facing difficulty after a financial embargo. His attempt to sign new players too was dashed, and he picked up a pen and put in his letter. He did push his luck a bit and gave the owners a deadline, within which he would withdraw if the demands were met. They didn’t, and he was let go of on the 18th of February.

Wanted by Alex Ferguson as a player at one time, Di Canio was always hot-headed. He quit Juventus over a spat with the then manager and coach, Giovanni Trapattoni. He plied his trade for Napoli, before he wound up at Milan, which ended soon after he had a fiery exchange with Fabio Capello. He also pushed a referee to the ground after he got himself sent off, and this resulted in an 11-game ban with a deserved fine. Not the first guy anyone will pick to manage their team which is literally hanging by a thread, 7 games from relegation. His time was reportedly called ‘management by hand grenade’, which is not a compliment certainly.

His first

He may have played for the big ones, but he hasn’t managed one, yet. His first game, an away fixture, is at Chelsea, who have just negated their loss to the Saints by advancing to the semifinals of the FA Cup. He has a win percentage of over 56 per cent, which is remarkable over 95 games. But it remains to be seen how the extremely temperamental and politically opinionated footballer can hold his nerve in the face of looming danger over the next seven games, all the time with Aston Villa and Wigan Athletic lurking in the shadows. Maybe he just needs to take it as it comes, get maximum points out of every game and keep your personal views, well, personal.