sabotagetimes.com/reportage/id-rather-spend-an-hour-with-fascist-di-canio-than-5-mins-with-alan-shearer/ "I'd Rather Spend 1 Hour With Fascist Di Canio Than 5 Mins With Creosote Shearer In a footballing world of dull characters and tired clichés, Paolo Di Canio is a breath of fresh air. So what if he's a fascist? I’d Rather Spend An Hour With Sunderland’s Di Canio Than 5 Mins With Newcastle’s Alan Shearer… I’ve tried really hard. Who doesn’t hate fascists, other than other fascists? I’ve got good anti-fascist credentials. I went to see Livorno, then the only far-left outfit in Serie A. I marched with the Anti-Nazi League (though seeing The Clash at the end helped). My partner is Indian. We have a mixed race child (half-Indian, half-ginger). By any measure, I’m a Guardian-reading tw**. I even read The Guardian sometimes. But I can’t help myself. I like him. He’s just more electric than most people in football. Ask yourself, would you really rather meet Newcastle bore Alan Shearer? I’d rather spend an hour with Di Canio than 5 minutes with Shearer , and I don’t think I could take anyone seriously who wouldn’t. Shearer would regularly say of his Newcastle goals, ‘I hit it and luckily it went in the net.” Di Canio described scoring against Man United as “Like having sex with Madonna.’ He may believe in an odious ideology, but he still makes our world more colourful. And surely great goals are more like sexy ladies than a bulge of the old onion bag. Am I so shallow that if Hitler could take a half-decent free kick I’d view mass murder with greater sympathy? That is my fear. Football fans are by nature subjective, blind to the faults of their own. So I must declare an interest. Di Canio played for my team ( Charlton Athletic) for one season. It was before he “came out” as a fascist and gave that hideous salute to Lazio’s ultras, perhaps not surprisingly, when playing against Livorno, the birthplace of Italy’s Communist Party. I’m glad I didn’t know then, or it might not have ruined a memorable year. I was so excited when he signed, I bought a replica shirt and not one of the previous seasons’ on the bargain rack – a fully over- priced shirt! We lost the opening game to Man City 3-0 and I never wore it again. But it’s not his season at The Valley that makes me hope he is successful at Sunderland . It’s his departure from football’s banal script. I can’t excuse his pushing over a referee, any more than he can escape credit for the act of sportsmanship that won him the FIFA Fair Play Award in 2001. They’re two sides of a man who is never grey. He was an exciting, explosive player. He played professional football for 23 years, combining the discipline needed to be an athlete for that long with the imagination to entertain. He’s even an exciting, explosive manager. Look at his reaction to Sunderland scoring. He celebrates without restraint, ruining a damn fine suit. He forgets he’s not supposed express joy. He does his biscuit, just like a fan. A more acceptable manager would be rollocking his centre-half and doing random pointing. He even reads Mishima, for chrissakes Who else would say: “Doping in English football is restricted to lager and baked beans with sausages.” He’s forthright and funny. And let’s not forget, he has not taken over a small country in a coup. He’s manager of a football club. OK, so maybe the training will run on time. But I have no doubt he will treat everyone at Sunderland the same, unless they fail to reach his expectations as footballers. Interestingly, after Di Canio’s appointment, my father asked me: “What is fascism?” That’s only remarkable because in 1939 my Dad joined an outfit called the Royal Navy and spent the next 6 years fighting fascism. Luckily for me, Hitler was rubbish in a dead ball situation, not really being the sporty type. So at least I only have Paolo Di Canio to worry about when I give my conscience a stock check. Thankfully for my internal wrestling, he will never manage my club and not just because we want Chris Powell to manage us for life, if not longer. We’re an inclusive, family club who wouldn’t go near a former player who might tarnish a well- deserved reputation for community work. When a neighbour told me he struggled to know who to support in a game between Stoke and Sunderland, I mentioned how I struggled not to like Di Canio. “But he’s a fascist!” he quite reasonably exclaimed. And yet, I struggle with being told what think by consensus. It seems a bit, I don’t know… fascist." For once, a good balanced article and I like the Shearer reference.
I think it would be naive to think that Di Canio is not a fascist: why else would he have a tattoo of Mussolini? Also his salute to the Lazio fans was remarkably similar to the salute used by Italian fascists. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he has the same beliefs as Mussolini, as fascism comes in many different forms. I do accept Di Canio at his word that he does not condone racism. There is no evidence to the contrary. The Di Canio era can only be a good thing for the club and will provide plenty of excitement. It will be interesting to say the least. Better than the dull football we've had to endure for the past few years.
I would imagine shagging Madonna would be fairly disappointing in all honesty, aside from the aftermath of picking up £150 from the Daily Sport for your story. Madge has probably got a fanny like a welder's glove and she'd probably wanna contort you and inevitably finish you off by kicking the living daylights out of you.
To be fair to Di Canio, she was probably still relatively hot when he said this. Madonna of 15 years ago wasn't all that bad.
1) When did Canio get that tattoo? people's beleifs can evolve. 2) Facist salute or Roman salute? Even if that tattoo is still relevant to his current philosophy, PDC isnt a Facist by the Anglophone definition of the word. Facism by the english definition automatically involves racial superiority beleifs. In his auto-biography Di Canio basically says Mussolini lost the plot as soon as he intoduced the italian race laws. British media define facism by the anglophone definition, as the guy in the article obviously does as well, otherwise he wouldnt mention his own race (half-indian) or the fact he took part in anti-nazi demonstrations. So the article gets its basic facts wrong, regardless of what southern europe would define as facism But i do agree that we are in for some interesting time under Di Canio!!
I would too, although there's far worse than Madonna that a single me would consider giving a slice to, although she'd probably describe having sex with me as like scoring an own goal at Kenilworth Road.
Sorry for the formatting but that's **** apps on Android for you . I can write you a poem ,for you, if you want: There was an old man called Di Canio, Who said, "Off to Sunderland I go" That's as far as I've got. I'll keep thinking.....
there was a footy manager called di canio whose forwards couldn't hit a barn door with a banjo so out went the ****e it was done overnight ill leave the ending to you guys
i enjoyed this article. PDC certainlly is a breath of fresh air as a manager from the sour faced fxxckwits usually paraded before us.
