We looked at three aspects of Paolo Di Canio’s mad and short tenure as Sunderland boss, 12 years after he was appointed.
So much happened in Paolo Di Canio’s short reign as Sunderland boss, including a successful survival bid, but one that was heavily overshadowed by many aspects of his coaching that were deemed to be incredible for all the right and wrong reasons.
After he left the club, Gus Poyet took over at Sunderland, where he successfully papered over the cracks, delivering the ‘miracle’ survival that delayed the Black Cats’ drop to the Championship in incredible fashion.
Nonetheless, Poyet had his work cut out for him after the issues that surrounded the reign of Di Canio, whether it be board disagreements, which were sourced back to the Italian not being able to sign the mould of player he wanted, citing that Sunderland needed many more British players with Premier League experience, or troubles within the squad that led to exilations from the squad.
We looked at three of the most bizarre and/or incredible moments of his six-month tenure on Wearside.
- READ MORE: Chris Mepham spills a home truth that all Sunderland fans want to hear, he has put to bed one doubt
Exiling Sunderland duo Phil Bardsley and Lee Cattermole
During his time at Sunderland, it was clear that Di Canio certainly didn’t hold back when it came to making his feelings known about his players, and the bold, but bordering on the reckless, lengths that he went to.
This involved Di Canio exiling Sunderland pair Lee Cattermole and Phil Bardsley, which, when reflecting on the pair, the Italian said: “Those two players [Cattermole and Bardsley] were rotten,” he said. “The most unprofessional players I ever worked with.”
Di Canio went on further to suggest that it was ‘no surprise these players were kicked out of my plans’ and that Sunderland managed to avoid the drop because ‘Cattermole was injured and Bardsley played very little’.
The Italian clearly held no punches with his assessment of his players after his tenure, but much of this appears to have come from questions in his coaching approach…
Paolo Di Canio’s ‘nightmare’ managing style
Anyone can imagine that Di Canio’s style is most likely on the dynamic and erratic side, but it looked to have hindered several of the players dfuring his six months on Wearside.
One man who was far from content with Di Canio was former Sunderland striker Danny Graham, who found himself at the club during his reign, to which, per Roker Report, he said: “Yeah, it was strange.
“He was a nightmare, to be honest – I’m not going to lie about it – he was a nightmare.
“He had this power trip about him. I remember him arguing with Connor Wickham, probably two or three days in when he missed a header, from there everyone is “what’s he doing?”.
“It was kind of a build-up of little things, it was just a disaster really.”
Graham even proceeded to suggest that the Italian was in fact not the mastermind behind the survival that season, but rather pinned that recognition upon the squad.
“Listen, he kept us up, do I think he kept us up? No. I don’t think he kept us up, the players kept the football club in the league.
“He’s knee sliding at Newcastle away, for me he knew what he was doing. He knew if we win that game and he does something the fans will be on his side, it’ll give him a bit of breathing space.
“There were no days off in 36/37 days. We beat Everton at home 1-0 and then we go to Newcastle away, pump them 3-0 and normal football clubs are off Sunday-Wednesday, depending on the fixtures, we were in every single day.”
It’s no surprise to see Graham mention the knee-sliding celebration, a well-known part of his Sunderland career.
Knee sliding celebration in Newcastle United victory
One of the crucial games of the 2012/13 season that saw Sunderland’s Premier League status retained was the 3-0 victory against Newcastle United.
After several games winless, such a victory was needed to get Sunderland back on track, and after Adam Johnson’s goal to put the Black Cats into a two-goal lead, Di Canio hit the famous knee-slide across the St James’ Park turf.
The game played a crucial part in the season, with the Black Cats staying up by three points, and it help reflect a positive light on Di Canio’s tenure, one which had many peaks, but even more troughs.