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
12 Sep 2004 Sampdoria v Lazio W 0-1 Serie A 1
19 Sep 2004 Lazio v Reggina D 0-0 Serie A 2
26 Sep 2004 Lazio v AC Milan D 0-0 Serie A 4
03 Oct 2004 Atalanta v Lazio D 0-0 Serie A 5
17 Oct 2004 Lazio v Chievo Verona D 0-0 Serie A 6
24 Oct 2004 Parma v Lazio D 0-0 Serie A 7
27 Oct 2004 Lazio v Messina D 0-0 Serie A 8
04 Nov 2004 Middlesbrough v Lazio L 2-0 UEFA Cup Group E
07 Nov 2004 Lazio v Siena D 0-0 Serie A 10
14 Nov 2004 Lazio v Bologna W 2-1 Serie A 12
11 Dec 2004 Lazio v Lecce D 3-3 Serie A 15
19 Dec 2004 Udinese v Lazio L 3-0 Serie A 16
06 Jan 2005 Lazio v AS Roma W 3-1 Serie A 17
09 Jan 2005 Fiorentina v Lazio W 2-3 Serie A 18
23 Jan 2005 Lazio v Sampdoria L 1-2 Serie A 20
02 Feb 2005 Lazio v Brescia D 0-0 Serie A 22
06 Feb 2005 AC Milan v Lazio L 2-1 Serie A 23
10 Apr 2005 Lazio v Livorno W 3-1 Serie A 30
20 Apr 2005 Cagliari v Lazio D 1-1 Serie A 32
24 Apr 2005 Lazio v Juventus L 0-1 Serie A 33
08 May 2005 Lazio v Udinese L 0-1 Serie A 35
15 May 2005 AS Roma v Lazio D 0-0 Serie A 36
22 May 2005 Lazio v Fiorentina D 1-1 Serie A 37
29 May 2005 Palermo v Lazio D 3-3 Serie A 38


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.