An evening with Paolo Di Canio: Being attacked by his own team-mates, shoving referees, Nazi salutes, grandchildren ...and managing West Ham

It is 2 hours earlier Paolo Di Canio is owed connected signifier but already the car parkland astatine the Loddon Valley leisure centre successful Reading is astatine bursting point.

A antheral successful a West Ham grooming apical slams his doorway unopen and strides disconnected towards the entranceway with the aerial of a fella who knows he’s clinched the past spot.

The feline successful the retro Hammers garment pulling successful has nary accidental and, similar the remainder of us, does a thigh of the batch earlier accepting he’ll person to find a broadside street.

Such is the clamour for an evening successful which 1 of the Premier League’s astir colourful characters and 1 of West Ham’s astir cherished entertainers volition clasp court.

Di Canio’s signifier is acold humbler now, arsenic much than 400 radical battalion into a sports hallway crossed the corridor from the children’s brushed play country and instrumentality their seats successful beforehand of a impermanent level with a inexpensive achromatic curtain hung down it.

On 1 broadside of the room, the impermanent barroom is doing decent commercialized portion the queue for the blistery buffet snakes astir the backmost wherever a immense array of signed framed memorabilia is piled precocious acceptable to beryllium flogged.

A stack of framed pictures signed by Paul Gascoigne are going astatine £99 a pop, aforesaid for ones of Geoff Hurst.

A heap of Di Canio ones volition acceptable you backmost £160 each, arsenic volition 1 of Europa Conference League victor Said Benrahma oregon different of goalkeeping fable Phil Parkes.

It’s £150 for Damon Hill oregon Sterling Moss, £125 for Torvill & Dean and £175 for Ed Sheeran, Craig David oregon the histrion that played Ada Shelby successful Peaky Blinders.

You get a consciousness it’s much astir however overmuch currency the organisers could pry from punters’ pockets than making it an evening Hammers - oregon Celtic oregon Sheffield Wednesday - fans volition ne'er forget.

Not that the oversea of people, galore successful claret and blue, galore with Di Canio’s sanction adorned connected them – or, arsenic 1 woman had connected the backmost of hers ‘Genius 10’ – care. 

Certainly not the grinning lad who’s conscionable got his hands connected a signed framed representation of Jarrod Bowen courtesy of The Bank of Grandad. They are present for the antheral himself and the memories.

Di Canio is arsenic suave arsenic ever successful his navy double-breasted suit jacket, garment and necktie with slim-fitting grey trousers and suede shoes.

For much than an hr earlier helium takes to the stage, helium stands beside it posing with the never-ending enactment of radical who had paid for a representation (£30 for 1 connected the nighttime and different £30 for a framework to enactment it in).

‘What a legend,’ said 1 chap connected Mail Sport’s array arsenic helium returned representation successful hand. ‘A due man, a due guy.’

When Di Canio strides done the country to instrumentality his spot successful 1 of the achromatic seats connected the stage, the chants of ‘Irons, Irons’ ringing astir the country alongside booming renditions of his name. Even the 2 Wednesday fans contiguous articulation successful with the latter.

The compere takes Di Canio done his vocation with questions astir his clip astatine Lazio, Juventus, Napoli, AC Milan and Celtic and the champion players he’s played alongside, Ballon d’Or winners specified arsenic Roberto Baggio, Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit.

He’s asked, of course, astir the clip helium shoved referee Paul Alcock to the crushed successful 1998 portion playing for Wednesday.

'I don’t cognize wherefore I enactment my hands connected him…but I thought astatine the time, if I had pushed my eight-year-old daughter, she couldn’t person fallen down similar that!’

‘He needs to speech astir West Ham,’ mutters 1 bloke connected his mode backmost from the toilets. Di Canio does, astatine last, and wherever other to commencement than that stunning volley against Wimbledon that took spot a 4th of a period agone past week?

Di Canio springs to his feet, present 56 but arsenic animated arsenic ever, and zips crossed the signifier to recreate the infinitesimal successful his mind.

‘Trevor Sinclair… helium took a s*** archetypal touch!,’ helium laughs. ‘The 2nd interaction was bully due to the fact that helium prepared his transportation – past helium delivers the shot that is incredible.

'It was a emblematic English delivery. In Italy we play them much bendy, but this was similar a razor. In truth, I tried to leap but couldn’t due to the fact that it was a spot down maine but then, successful a divided second, I decide: “now I americium going to people the champion extremity of each time!”’

Up spell the roars.

‘From my celebration, you tin archer it was adjacent a astonishment to me! I don’t similar to observe myself much,’ helium adds with a grin, ‘…but it is truthful difficult. The champion goal.’

Ever the unpredictable force, Di Canio would spell from a antheral banned for 11 games for pushing a ref to earning a FIFA just play grant aft his enactment of sportsmanship successful 2000 erstwhile helium caught the shot alternatively of scoring a precocious victor erstwhile helium saw Everton's goalkeeper Paul Gerrard was injured.

‘My quality is astir loyalty and respecting people, I’ll ne'er bash thing from down to suffer your honour,’ recalls Di Canio. ‘That infinitesimal was clear, the shot was successful beforehand of Gerrard. It was wide that helium was successful power of the ball. I said stop. For maine the crippled was stopped successful that moment.’

A triumph would person taken West Ham supra Liverpool successful the contention for the apical six.

‘We finished the lucifer and I thought I had done thing bully and special, and the Everton players shook my manus to accidental good done. I was the past into the dressing room.

'“F*** off, you!" they said. I asked what did I bash wrong. “We should triumph the game,” they said, “we request points!”. I was successful the ablution and I was disquieted idiosyncratic was going to onslaught me!’

Di Canio is spared questions astir his governmental past. None astir the 2 straight-arm salutes helium gave to Lazio fans successful 2005, nor his comments afterwards that declared ‘I americium a fascist, not a racist’. Nor the tattoo of Dux he has connected his arm, a notation to erstwhile Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.

‘He had a hard clip politically,’ says a antheral connected the array with Mail Sport, the fortunate car parker successful the West Ham grooming top.

‘He did a Nazi salute. He’s changed now, though.’

‘I’d person Paolo for Prime Minister each time long,’ replies his son.

It’s been a hectic week for Di Canio. He did different of these nights successful Essex the nighttime earlier and 10 minutes earlier helium takes the signifier present helium receives a substance to pass him he’s go a gramps again.

On Tuesday, helium visited West Ham’s Rush Green grooming crushed and met manager Graham Potter.

Fitting, too, arsenic 1 of the last questions from the assemblage is to inquire Di Canio if he’d ever similar to negociate the nine helium inactive calls home.

‘I volition unrecorded my full beingness until the past 2nd successful anticipation and dream,’ says Di Canio to different roar from the crowd. ‘But present I don’t privation to speech astir it due to the fact that I met with Graham Potter and I americium precise happy. I had a chat with him. I similar him. He has a bully shot brain.

'I anticipation successful the adjacent fewer matches, we springiness him a accidental to bring each the characteristics of the players we emotion and, successful the transportation window, the close footballer who lets him present the strategy and doctrine and attacking mentality. I deliberation it’s truly affirmative for the future.’

Before Di Canio leaves the signifier to drawback a formation backmost to Italy, helium shows 1 past clip helium inactive has it successful him to clasp a assemblage successful the thenar of his manus arsenic helium leads a rendition of I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles with his arms crossed successful beforehand of his chest.

Everyone downs the past of their drinks, slips connected their coats and chatter distant arsenic they caput backmost to their cars, portion 1 antheral skips towards the exit with a grin connected his look and a replica World Cup statue and teddy carnivore tucked nether his arm.