AliousTwelve years after Paolo Di Canio’s whirlwind appointment as Sunderland manager, we revisited three standout moments from his chaotic six-month stint.
His tenure was a rollercoaster, marked by a dramatic fight for Premier League survival that ultimately succeeded, yet was eclipsed by a series of astonishing decisions and behaviors—some brilliant, others bewildering. When Di Canio departed, Gus Poyet stepped in, skillfully steering Sunderland through a ‘miracle’ escape from relegation, delaying their eventual tumble to the Championship.
Poyet inherited a mess, grappling with fallout from Di Canio’s clashes with the board over transfer targets—he insisted on more British players with top-flight experience—and internal strife that saw players sidelined in dramatic fashion.
Here, we unpack three of the wildest and most memorable episodes from Di Canio’s brief time on Wearside.
Banishing Phil Bardsley and Lee Cattermole
Di Canio wasn’t one to mince words or actions when it came to his squad, often veering into bold, if not reckless, territory.
A prime example was his decision to ostracize Sunderland stalwarts Lee Cattermole and Phil Bardsley. Reflecting on the duo, Di Canio didn’t hold back: “Those two players were rotten—the most unprofessional I’ve ever worked with.”
He doubled down, asserting it was “no shock they were axed from my plans,” and even credited the team’s survival to their absence, noting, “Cattermole was sidelined by injury, and Bardsley barely featured.”
His scathing post-tenure critique underscored a deep rift, one likely fueled by his own polarizing management style.
The ‘Nightmare’ of Di Canio’s Leadership
Di Canio’s approach was as fiery and unpredictable as one might expect, but it alienated parts of the dressing room during his half-year reign.
Former Sunderland forward Danny Graham, who endured his time under the Italian, offered a blunt assessment via Roker Report: “It was bizarre. He was a nightmare, honestly—a total nightmare.” Graham painted a picture of a manager intoxicated by control: “He was on a power trip.
I recall him clashing with Connor Wickham just days into the job over a missed header—everyone was like, ‘What’s he doing?’” The striker described a cascade of frustrations: “It was a buildup of small things that turned into a disaster.”
Graham went further, dismissing Di Canio’s role in their survival: “Did he keep us up? No. The players did that—he just took the credit.”
He pointed to the infamous knee-slide after a Newcastle win as a calculated move: “He knew beating them and doing that would win over fans and buy him time. We had no days off for over a month—beat Everton 1-0, then smashed Newcastle 3-0, and while most clubs rest, we were in every day.”
The Iconic Knee-Slide at Newcastle
A defining moment of Sunderland’s 2012/13 survival scrap was their emphatic 3-0 rout of rivals Newcastle United at St James’ Park.
After a string of defeats, the win was a lifeline, and when Adam Johnson’s goal extended the lead, Di Canio unleashed his now-legendary knee-slide across the pitch.
It was a rare high amid a turbulent season, helping Sunderland stay afloat by a slim three-point margin. The celebration cast a fleeting glow on Di Canio’s tenure, a spell defined by sporadic brilliance but overshadowed by deeper lows.
Di Canio’s time at Sunderland was a spectacle—equal parts thrilling and tumultuous—leaving a legacy as complex as the man himself.
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