Modern football is cluttered with managers recycling tired old clichés ad nauseum, "at the end of the day..." "to be fair..." etc. This is what makes crazy managers like Paulo Di Canio so refreshing.
Di Canio was never one to shy away from controversy in his playing days, from celebrating by giving the fascist Roman salute to Lazio fans during his time at the club (7,000 euro fine) or pushing over referee Paul Alcock during his stint at Sheffield Wednesday (£10,000 fine, 11 match ban) you could never be sure whether to expect genius or insanity from the colourful Italian.
His most recent footballing position is as manager of Swindon Town in League One. His confidence and passion clearly transferred well to the playing staff at the club as promotion from League Two was achieved in his first campaign.
This week, Di Canio unexpectedly subbed 21 year old goalkeeper Wes Foderingham after just twenty minutes of Swindon's 4-1 loss to Preston North End. Foderingham, who had already conceded twice, was replaced by an even younger 'keeper. Clearly not happy at being subbed, Foderingham reacted in a way Di Canio may well have done as a youngster - kicking the hell out of a water bottle and petulantly watching the second half from the stands. Di Canio obviously demanded an apology - if there is one manager who would not stand for losing face, it's Paulo.
To rub salt into the wounds for young Wes, post-match, Di Canio went on to describe him as "the worst professional I have ever seen". This was clearly a heat of the moment comment, as despite his age, Foderingham has already kept 14 clean sheets for the club and is first choice stopper.
The goalkeeper has since made the inevitable apology to Di Canio and normality has been restored. This is just the latest chapter in an epic which would challenge any Tolstoy or Tolkien work in depth and i'm sure Swindon Town fans hope there's a few more chapters left for him at the club, regardless how bonkers.
theartofmadeline
baratheonpilled
vaporwave
izzy806
titsay
snowghoul
discoholicmusic