Paolo Di Canio

Date of birth09 July 1968
Place of birthRome
NationalityItalian
Weight74 kg
Height1.75 m
PositionForward

A veritable genius, Paolo is the one man who excited the West Ham United faithful and made the side tick. He was again in breathtaking form in 2000-01, showing off a fine array of skills and creating numerous scoring opportunities for his colleagues.

Among his many fine goals there were three amazing efforts: at Charlton Athletic where he rode one tackle and crashed an unstoppable 18-yarder into the roof of the net; at Manchester United in the FA Cup tie when he ignored offside claims and coolly slotted the ball home to earn the Hammers a surprise victory; and in the final home game against Southampton when he picked up on the ball on the edge of the area, ghosted past two defenders before tucking it in the corner of the net.

As ever, Paolo always came up with the unexpected and when Everton goalkeeper Paul Gerrard lay injured on the ground, he opted to catch the ball rather than take the easy option of tapping into an empty net. His decision won plaudits from FIFA president Sepp Blatter, but Hammers' boss Harry Redknapp was probably not so gushing in praise of his maverick striker.

Paolo joined Charlton Athletic in August 2003 on a one-year contract.

Club history

Team Joined Left Loan / Trialist
Lazio 01 Jul 1985 01 Jul 1990
Ternana 01 Aug 1986 01 Jun 1987 L
Juventus 01 Jul 1990 01 Jul 1993
Napoli 01 Jul 1993 01 Jul 1994
Juventus 01 Jul 1994 01 Jul 1995
AC Milan 01 Jul 1995 03 Jul 1996
Celtic 03 Jul 1996 08 Aug 1997
Sheffield Wednesday 08 Aug 1997 28 Jan 1999
West Ham United 28 Jan 1999 30 Jun 2003
Charlton Athletic 11 Aug 2003 10 Aug 2004
Lazio 10 Aug 2004 30 Jun 2006
Cisco Roma 01 Jul 2006 30 Jun 2008

Club stats

Season Team Competition Apps Subs Goals Y R
1997-98 Sheffield Wednesday FA Cup 3
1
1997-98 Sheffield Wednesday League Cup 2
2
1
1997-98 Sheffield Wednesday Premier League 34
1
12
9
1998-99 Sheffield Wednesday League Cup 2
1998-99 Sheffield Wednesday Premier League 5
1
3
1
1998-99 West Ham United Premier League 12
1
4
1999-00 West Ham United FA Cup 1
1999-00 West Ham United League Cup 3
1
1999-00 West Ham United Premier League 29
1
16
6
1999-00 West Ham United UEFA Cup 3
1
1999-00 West Ham United UEFA Intertoto Cup 6
2000-01 West Ham United FA Cup 3
1
2000-01 West Ham United League Cup 3
1
1
2000-01 West Ham United Premier League 31
9
6
2001-02 West Ham United FA Cup 1
2001-02 West Ham United Premier League 26
9
5
1
2002-03 West Ham United League Cup 1
1
2002-03 West Ham United Premier League 16
2
9
1
2003-04 Charlton Athletic FA Cup
1
2003-04 Charlton Athletic League Cup 1
1
2003-04 Charlton Athletic Premier League 23
8
4
1
2004-05 Lazio Serie A 14
9
6
2
1
2004-05 Lazio UEFA Cup 1


Please note: Career stats are based on performances in the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.

Club matches

Date Match Result Competition Round
09 Aug 1997 Newcastle United v Sheffield Wednesday L 2-1 Premier League
13 Aug 1997 Sheffield Wednesday v Leeds United L 1-3 Premier League
23 Aug 1997 Wimbledon v Sheffield Wednesday D 1-1 Premier League
25 Aug 1997 Blackburn Rovers v Sheffield Wednesday L 7-2 Premier League
30 Aug 1997 Sheffield Wednesday v Leicester City W 1-0 Premier League
13 Sep 1997 Liverpool v Sheffield Wednesday L 2-1 Premier League
17 Sep 1997 Grimsby Town v Sheffield Wednesday L 2-0 League Cup 2nd round 1st leg
20 Sep 1997 Sheffield Wednesday v Coventry City D 0-0 Premier League
24 Sep 1997 Sheffield Wednesday v Derby County L 2-5 Premier League
27 Sep 1997 Aston Villa v Sheffield Wednesday D 2-2 Premier League
01 Oct 1997 Sheffield Wednesday v Grimsby Town W 3-2
Agg: 3-4
League Cup 2nd round 2nd leg
04 Oct 1997 Sheffield Wednesday v Everton W 3-1 Premier League
19 Oct 1997 Tottenham Hotspur v Sheffield Wednesday L 3-2 Premier League
25 Oct 1997 Sheffield Wednesday v Crystal Palace L 1-3 Premier League
01 Nov 1997 Manchester United v Sheffield Wednesday L 6-1 Premier League
08 Nov 1997 Sheffield Wednesday v Bolton Wanderers W 5-0 Premier League
22 Nov 1997 Sheffield Wednesday v Arsenal W 2-0 Premier League
29 Nov 1997 Southampton v Sheffield Wednesday W 2-3 Premier League
08 Dec 1997 Sheffield Wednesday v Barnsley W 2-1 Premier League
13 Dec 1997 West Ham United v Sheffield Wednesday L 1-0 Premier League
20 Dec 1997 Sheffield Wednesday v Chelsea L 1-4 Premier League
03 Jan 1998 Watford v Sheffield Wednesday D 1-1 FA Cup 3rd round
10 Jan 1998 Sheffield Wednesday v Newcastle United W 2-1 Premier League
14 Jan 1998 Sheffield Wednesday v Watford W 0-0 (5-3) FA Cup 3rd round replay
17 Jan 1998 Leeds United v Sheffield Wednesday W 1-2 Premier League
26 Jan 1998 Sheffield Wednesday v Blackburn Rovers L 0-3 FA Cup 4th round
07 Feb 1998 Coventry City v Sheffield Wednesday L 1-0 Premier League
14 Feb 1998 Sheffield Wednesday v Liverpool D 3-3 Premier League
21 Feb 1998 Sheffield Wednesday v Tottenham Hotspur W 1-0 Premier League
28 Feb 1998 Derby County v Sheffield Wednesday L 3-0 Premier League
07 Mar 1998 Sheffield Wednesday v Manchester United W 2-0 Premier League
14 Mar 1998 Bolton Wanderers v Sheffield Wednesday L 3-2 Premier League
28 Mar 1998 Arsenal v Sheffield Wednesday L 1-0 Premier League
04 Apr 1998 Sheffield Wednesday v Southampton W 1-0 Premier League
11 Apr 1998 Barnsley v Sheffield Wednesday L 2-1 Premier League
13 Apr 1998 Sheffield Wednesday v West Ham United D 1-1 Premier League
19 Apr 1998 Chelsea v Sheffield Wednesday L 1-0 Premier League
25 Apr 1998 Everton v Sheffield Wednesday W 1-3 Premier League
02 May 1998 Sheffield Wednesday v Aston Villa L 1-3 Premier League
10 May 1998 Crystal Palace v Sheffield Wednesday L 1-0 Premier League
15 Aug 1998 Sheffield Wednesday v West Ham United L 0-1 Premier League
22 Aug 1998 Tottenham Hotspur v Sheffield Wednesday W 0-3 Premier League
29 Aug 1998 Sheffield Wednesday v Aston Villa L 0-1 Premier League
12 Sep 1998 Sheffield Wednesday v Blackburn Rovers W 3-0 Premier League
16 Sep 1998 Sheffield Wednesday v Cambridge United L 0-1 League Cup 2nd round 1st leg
19 Sep 1998 Wimbledon v Sheffield Wednesday L 2-1 Premier League
22 Sep 1998 Cambridge United v Sheffield Wednesday D 1-1
Agg: 2-1
League Cup 2nd round 2nd leg
26 Sep 1998 Sheffield Wednesday v Arsenal W 1-0 Premier League


Please note: Match history is complete for the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.

International stats

Season Team Competition Apps Subs Goals Y R
1988-89 Italy UEFA Under-21 1
1988-89 Italy Under-21 5
2
1989-90 Italy UEFA Under-21 2
1989-90 Italy Under-21 1


Please note: Career stats are based on performances in the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.

International matches

Date Match Result Competition Round
21 Dec 1988 Italy v Malta W 8-0 U21
18 Jan 1989 Turkey v Italy D 2-2 U21
15 Feb 1989 Italy v France W 1-0 U21
29 Mar 1989 Romania v Italy L 2-1 U21
26 Apr 1989 Switzerland v Italy D 0-0 UEFA U21 Group 8
17 May 1989 Italy v Spain W 1-0 U21
20 Sep 1989 Italy v Bulgaria D 1-1 U21
04 Oct 1989 San Marino v Italy W 0-2 UEFA U21 Group 8
21 Feb 1990 Italy v Spain W 3-1 UEFA U21 Quarter-final


Please note: Match history is complete for the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.