| One of the Premiership's best players on his day, the fiery Italian has found a home from home at West Ham, although such is his unpredictability that he is likely to up and leave at any minute.
Joined West Ham in a bargain £1.5million deal from Sheffield Wednesday after his famous push on referee Paul Alcock and a case of 'depression' left him an outcast at the club.
He has been an absolute revelation at Upton Park, with his skills, passion and creative genius making him the most popular Hammer since the days of Trevor Brooking.
Came to British shores with Celtic after a nomadic career in Italy, and as per usual fell out with the club after winning the fans' hearts. Has also played for Ternana, Lazio, Juventus, Napoli and AC Milan.
One minute he can be taking on an entire defence and winning, the next he can be sitting down and asking to be taken off, as shown by the Hammers' thrilling 1999/2000 5-4 win over Bradford.
'The sublime to the ridiculous' may be a cliche but it sums up Di Canio perfectly.
Was linked with a move to Lazio towards the end of 2000, but both the club and the player's agent denied the stories as he continued to impress for the Hammers.
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson then tried to take him to Old Trafford in January 2002 to bolster his side's Champions League hopes. But the failure to off-load Dwight Yorke meant Ferguson could not go ahead with Di Canio's dream transfer. He was also linked with a return to Lazio again at this time.
When Yorke was sold in the summer of 2002, the link inevitably resurfaced again, but Ferguson claimed he was no longer interest.
The 2002/03 season saw Di Canio enter the last year of his contract at Upton Park with his future up in the air. By then he had scored 43 goals in 122 games for the club. |
Italy