Luigi De Canio
Encyclopedia
Luigi "Gigi" De Canio is an Italian
football
manager and former player.
and Serie C2
teams, his lone season in Serie B
being 1979–80 with Matera
, marking his debut in the division on September 16, 1979 against Genoa
. He retired in 1989 with amateur team Pisticci, of which he successively became head coach.
team Pisticci, immediately winning the league, being thus promoted to Serie D
. He served as Pisticci boss for four more seasons before joining Serie C2
team Savoia
during the 1993–94 season, and winning the promotion playoffs the following season. In 1995–96 he coached Siena
of Serie C1
, leading the Robur to an eighth place. In 1996–97 he signed for Serie C1 minnows Carpi
, a team which featured a young Marco Materazzi
among their players, and led the Emilia-Romagna side to a surprising fourth place which allowed them to play the promotion playoffs. In 1997–98 he moved to Serie B
club Lucchese
, hardly saving them from relegation with a final 16th place. Initially with no club for the following season, De Canio was then signed by Pescara
, where he narrowly missed a surprising promotion to the top flight.
De Canio took charge of a Pescara side that had slumped to 13th place in 1997–98 and lost 2 of its opening 3 matches in 1998–99. He guided i biancoazzuri to 65 points, finishing 5th, just one point from 4th, and only missed out on promotion due to the incredible, much-discussed victory of Reggina at Torino on the last day of the season (13 June 1999), which was called a few minutes early due to a pitch invasion. Following his departure from Pescara, it finished 13th again the next season.
His impressive coaching performance with Pescara caused interest by Serie A
club Udinese
, which appointed him for the 1999–2000 season
. His first Serie A
campaign ended in an eighth place for the bianconeri and a place in the UEFA Intertoto Cup
, which they successively won, thus ensuring a place in the UEFA Cup 2000-01
. In 2000–01
, after a very impressive start, Udinese entered into a long result crisis which brought to De Canio being sacked on March 19, 2001 following a home loss to Parma
and his replacement with Luciano Spalletti
, who managed to save the club from relegation.
In 2001–02, De Canio was appointed as Napoli
boss with the goal to lead the azzurri back to Serie A
; however he failed to do so, as Napoli ended their Serie B campaign in fifth place, six points shy of the fourth Serie A spot. He consequently left Napoli and was appointed at the helm of Reggina
during the 2002–03 season
, maintaining their place in the Italian top flight after winning a tie-breaking playoff to Atalanta
. During the 2003–04, De Canio was called to replace Roberto Donadoni
at the helm of Serie B club Genoa
, which were sadly fighting to escape relegation despite their initial promotion claims, leading the club to a final 16th place in the league table. He was later sacked by Genoa only a handful days before their Serie B 2004–05 debut to appoint Serse Cosmi
at his place. He was then appointed on January 2005 by Serie A minnows Siena
, a team which he already coached some years earlier, to replace Luigi Simoni
, leading his side to escape relegation for two consecutive seasons.
Championship
team Queens Park Rangers
on October 29, 2007, succeeding the recently-sacked John Gregory. He started his QPR experience with a 2–0 home win to Hull City
on November 3. Rangers signed several players during the January transfer window
: Ákos Buzsáky
who had previously been on loan from Plymouth Argyle
, Hogan Ephraim
from West Ham
, Kieran Lee
on loan from Manchester United
, Gavin Mahon
on loan from Watford
, Matthew Connolly
from Arsenal
, Patrick Agyemang
from Preston
and Fitz Hall
from Wigan
. Early in January QPR also managed to secure striker Rowan Vine
in a permanent move following his brief loan spell which had ended in December. During his period in charge of the club
, De Canio became a very popular figure among the QPR faithful, due to the style and flair he brought back to their game. As a result he was, along with the club's owners, immortalised in the supporters' song "Gigi De Canio, Bernie
and Flavio
" (to the tune of La donna è mobile
).
De Canio left the club by "mutual consent" after the end of the season in May 2008, having guided them to fourteenth place in the Championship
. His record at the club comprised 12 wins, 12 losses and 11 draws in 35 games. It has reported that his return to Italy was partly due to a bid to save his marriage.
relegation battlers Lecce
, replacing Mario Beretta
at the helm of the salentini
, but did not manage to save the side from relegation. On May 31, 2009 US Lecce announced De Canio had refused to extend his contract with the club; however, on June 6 the club officially confirmed to have reached an agreement with the former QPR manager, who guided the giallorossi back to the top flight, as league runners-up, in their 2009–10 Serie B campaign. He was sacked on May 22, 2011 as Lecce finished 17th at the end of the 2010-11 season.
media commonly misspell his surname as Di Canio, instead of the correct De Canio. The mistake is likely made due to the world renown of footballer Paolo Di Canio
, who played his career while De Canio managed; the two are not related.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
manager and former player.
Player
De Canio, a full back, played mostly with Serie C1Serie C1
Lega Pro Prima Divisione is the name of the third highest football league in Italy. It consists of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 18 teams each. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1....
and Serie C2
Serie C2
Lega Pro Seconda Divisione is the name of the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consists of 54 teams, but in the season 2010–11 the teams are only 49 divided geographically into three divisions of 17, 16 and 16 teams each...
teams, his lone season in Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
being 1979–80 with Matera
F.C. Matera
Football Club Matera was an Italian association football club located in Matera, Basilicata.Its colors were white and blue.-History:The club was founded in 1930....
, marking his debut in the division on September 16, 1979 against Genoa
Genoa C.F.C.
Genoa Cricket and Football Club, commonly referred to simply as Genoa , is a professional Italian football club based in the city of Genoa, Liguria...
. He retired in 1989 with amateur team Pisticci, of which he successively became head coach.
Coach
De Canio started his coaching career in 1989 with PromozionePromozione
Promozione is the name of a level of football in Italy. It is considered to be the 7th level in the Italian football league system. Each individual league winner within the Promozione level progresses to their closest regional league in the Eccellenza level...
team Pisticci, immediately winning the league, being thus promoted to Serie D
Serie D
Serie D is the top level of the Italian non-professional football association called Lega Nazionale Dilettanti. The association represents over a million football players and thousands of football teams across Italy. Serie D ranks just below Lega Pro Seconda Divisione , and is thus considered the...
. He served as Pisticci boss for four more seasons before joining Serie C2
Serie C2
Lega Pro Seconda Divisione is the name of the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consists of 54 teams, but in the season 2010–11 the teams are only 49 divided geographically into three divisions of 17, 16 and 16 teams each...
team Savoia
F.C. Savoia 1908
Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica Calcio Savoia is an Italian association football club located in Torre Annunziata, Campania. It currently plays in Serie D. Its colors are all-white....
during the 1993–94 season, and winning the promotion playoffs the following season. In 1995–96 he coached Siena
A.C. Siena
Associazione Calcio Siena is an Italian football club based in Siena.The club currently plays in Serie A, having gained promotion from Serie B at the end of the 2010-2011 season....
of Serie C1
Serie C1
Lega Pro Prima Divisione is the name of the third highest football league in Italy. It consists of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 18 teams each. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1....
, leading the Robur to an eighth place. In 1996–97 he signed for Serie C1 minnows Carpi
Carpi F.C. 1909
Carpi Football Club 1909 is an Italian football club located in Carpi, Emilia-Romagna.The club currently plays in Lega Pro Prima Divisione.- A.C. Carpi :...
, a team which featured a young Marco Materazzi
Marco Materazzi
Marco Materazzi , is an Italian footballer who plays as a defender, and is currently a free agent.At the beginning of his career, Materazzi played with various Italian teams in Serie B and Serie C, and with Premier League side Everton. He spent two periods with Perugia and signed for...
among their players, and led the Emilia-Romagna side to a surprising fourth place which allowed them to play the promotion playoffs. In 1997–98 he moved to Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
club Lucchese
A.S. Lucchese-Libertas
Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica Football Club Lucca 2011 is an Italian football club, based in Lucca, Tuscany that currently plays in Eccellenza Tuscany.The club was founded in 1905 and having last been in Serie A in 1952....
, hardly saving them from relegation with a final 16th place. Initially with no club for the following season, De Canio was then signed by Pescara
Pescara Calcio
Delfino Pescara 1936 is an Italian football club based in Pescara, Abruzzo.The club was formed in 1936 and currently plays in Italian Serie B. Pescara has competed in 5 seasons in Serie A...
, where he narrowly missed a surprising promotion to the top flight.
De Canio took charge of a Pescara side that had slumped to 13th place in 1997–98 and lost 2 of its opening 3 matches in 1998–99. He guided i biancoazzuri to 65 points, finishing 5th, just one point from 4th, and only missed out on promotion due to the incredible, much-discussed victory of Reggina at Torino on the last day of the season (13 June 1999), which was called a few minutes early due to a pitch invasion. Following his departure from Pescara, it finished 13th again the next season.
His impressive coaching performance with Pescara caused interest by Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
club Udinese
Udinese Calcio
Udinese Calcio is an Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and currently plays in the Serie A. Founded in 1896, Udinese is the second oldest club in the Serie A, after Genoa....
, which appointed him for the 1999–2000 season
Serie A 1999-00
Lazio won the title on the final day of the season in controversial cirumstances. Juventus, the only other team left in contention on the day lost their match against Perugia in terrible conditions at a rain-sodden Stadio Renato Curi, many considering the pitch unplayable. Pierluigi Collina the...
. His first Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
campaign ended in an eighth place for the bianconeri and a place in the UEFA Intertoto Cup
UEFA Intertoto Cup
The UEFA Intertoto Cup, also abbreviated as UI Cup and originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition for European clubs that had not qualified for one of the two major UEFA competitions, the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. The competition was discontinued...
, which they successively won, thus ensuring a place in the UEFA Cup 2000-01
UEFA Cup 2000-01
In perhaps the most bizarre European final ever, the 2000–01 UEFA Cup was won by Liverpool in a dramatic golden goal final against Deportivo Alavés for their third title in the competition. It completed a unique cup treble for the club, as they also won the FA Cup and the League Cup that season...
. In 2000–01
Serie A 2000-01
In the 2000-01 season, Serie A, the major football Italian professional league, was composed by 18 teams, for the 13th consecutive time from season 1988-89....
, after a very impressive start, Udinese entered into a long result crisis which brought to De Canio being sacked on March 19, 2001 following a home loss to Parma
Parma F.C.
Parma Football Club , commonly referred to as just Parma, is an Italian professional football club based in Parma, Emilia–Romagna that will compete in Serie A for the 2011–12 season, having finished in twelfth position last season. Founded as Verdi Foot Ball Club in July 1913, the club changed its...
and his replacement with Luciano Spalletti
Luciano Spalletti
Luciano Spalletti is a retired Italian footballer and current coach of FC Zenit Saint Petersburg.-Playing career:Born in Certaldo, Province of Florence, Spalletti played for Serie C teams such as Entella, Spezia, Viareggio and Empoli....
, who managed to save the club from relegation.
In 2001–02, De Canio was appointed as Napoli
S.S.C. Napoli
Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli, is a professional Italian football club based in Naples and founded in 1926. The club has spent most of its history in Serie A, where it currently plays its 2011–12 season....
boss with the goal to lead the azzurri back to Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
; however he failed to do so, as Napoli ended their Serie B campaign in fifth place, six points shy of the fourth Serie A spot. He consequently left Napoli and was appointed at the helm of Reggina
Reggina Calcio
Reggina Calcio are an Italian association football club, the main club of the city of Reggio Calabria. Founded in 1914, they currently play in the Italian Serie B, and play their home matches at the 27,763 seater Stadio Oreste Granillo...
during the 2002–03 season
Serie A 2002-03
In the 2002-03 season, the Serie A, the major football Italian professional league, was composed by 18 teams, for the 15th consecutive time from season 1988-89....
, maintaining their place in the Italian top flight after winning a tie-breaking playoff to Atalanta
Atalanta B.C.
Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, commonly known as just Atalanta, Atalanta Bergamo or the abbreviation Atalanta BC, is an Italian football club based in Bergamo, Lombardy.They are nicknamed the Nerazzurri and the orobici...
. During the 2003–04, De Canio was called to replace Roberto Donadoni
Roberto Donadoni
Roberto Donadoni is an Italian football manager and former player, last in charge of Serie A club Cagliari.An attacking midfielder or winger known for pace and technique, he was a pillar of the powerhouse AC Milan teams of the late 1980s and early 1990s and one of the pioneers of Major League...
at the helm of Serie B club Genoa
Genoa C.F.C.
Genoa Cricket and Football Club, commonly referred to simply as Genoa , is a professional Italian football club based in the city of Genoa, Liguria...
, which were sadly fighting to escape relegation despite their initial promotion claims, leading the club to a final 16th place in the league table. He was later sacked by Genoa only a handful days before their Serie B 2004–05 debut to appoint Serse Cosmi
Serse Cosmi
However, after a disappointing series of results, including elimination in Champions League and results in Serie A much below the expected results, Cosmi was finally fired on February 10, 2006.-Brescia and Livorno:...
at his place. He was then appointed on January 2005 by Serie A minnows Siena
A.C. Siena
Associazione Calcio Siena is an Italian football club based in Siena.The club currently plays in Serie A, having gained promotion from Serie B at the end of the 2010-2011 season....
, a team which he already coached some years earlier, to replace Luigi Simoni
Luigi Simoni
Luigi "Gigi" Simoni is an Italian football manager, currently in office with Gubbio of Serie B, and a former player.-Biography:Luigi Simoni was born at Crevalcore ....
, leading his side to escape relegation for two consecutive seasons.
Queens Park Rangers
De Canio was announced as first team coach of EnglishEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
team Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club is an English professional football club, based in White City, Hammersmith and Fulham, west London. As the 2010-11 Football League Championship champions, they now play in the top tier of English football the Premier League, for the first time in 15 years...
on October 29, 2007, succeeding the recently-sacked John Gregory. He started his QPR experience with a 2–0 home win to Hull City
Hull City A.F.C.
Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...
on November 3. Rangers signed several players during the January transfer window
Transfer window
The transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other countries into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA...
: Ákos Buzsáky
Ákos Buzsáky
Ákos Buzsáky is a Hungarian footballer who plays for Premier League club Queens Park Rangers as a midfielder, having previously played for MTK Hungária, FC Porto, Academica de Coimbra and Plymouth Argyle. He has been capped by Hungary at international level....
who had previously been on loan from Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle F.C.
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...
, Hogan Ephraim
Hogan Ephraim
Hogan Phillip Ephraim is an English football player. He plays for Charlton Athletic on loan from Queens Park Rangers. He is a graduate of the West Ham United Academy and an England Under-19 international. His primary position is as a winger but he can also play as a forward.-Background:Ephraim was...
from West Ham
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
, Kieran Lee
Kieran Lee
Kieran Christopher Lee is an English footballer. He currently plays in central midfield or at full back for Oldham Athletic, having signed on a free transfer from Manchester United in May 2008...
on loan from Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
, Gavin Mahon
Gavin Mahon
Gavin Andrew Mahon is an English footballer who is currently under contract at League One club Notts County.-Career:...
on loan from Watford
Watford F.C.
Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...
, Matthew Connolly
Matthew Connolly
Matthew Thomas Martin Connolly is an English footballer who plays for Queens Park Rangers as a defender. He joined the club from Arsenal on 2 January 2008.-Career:...
from Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
, Patrick Agyemang
Patrick Agyemang
Patrick Agyemang is a footballer who plays for Queens Park Rangers as a striker. He has been capped 4 times by the Ghana national team, scoring one goal....
from Preston
Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
and Fitz Hall
Fitz Hall
Fitz Benjamin Hall is an English footballer who plays for Queens Park Rangers. He is a central defender who can also play as a central midfielder. His nickname is "One Size" Fitz Hall, a pun on the phrase "one size fits all"...
from Wigan
Wigan Athletic F.C.
Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...
. Early in January QPR also managed to secure striker Rowan Vine
Rowan Vine
Rowan Lewis Vine is an English footballer who plays for Queens Park Rangers as a striker.-Career:Born in Basingstoke, Vine began his career at Portsmouth, making his way through the club's youth scheme. He made his first-team debut in a goalless draw with Sheffield United in December 2000 at the...
in a permanent move following his brief loan spell which had ended in December. During his period in charge of the club
Queens Park Rangers F.C. season 2007-08
During the 2007–08 season, Queens Park Rangers were playing in the Football League Championship.-Pre-season:Manager John Gregory began rebuilding the squad before the new season, bringing in Daniel Nardiello, Chris Barker and John Curtis on free transfers...
, De Canio became a very popular figure among the QPR faithful, due to the style and flair he brought back to their game. As a result he was, along with the club's owners, immortalised in the supporters' song "Gigi De Canio, Bernie
Bernie Ecclestone
Bernard Charles "Bernie" Ecclestone is an English business magnate, as president and CEO of Formula One Management and Formula One Administration and through his part-ownership of Alpha Prema, the parent company of the Formula One Group of companies. As such, he is generally considered the primary...
and Flavio
Flavio Briatore
Flavio Briatore is an Italian businessman. During the 1980s, he was convicted for multiple counts of fraud, receiving two prison sentences, only one of which he served. As a fugitive from Italy, he set up restaurants and then a number of successful Benneton franchises in the Virgin Islands and the...
" (to the tune of La donna è mobile
La donna è mobile
"La donna è mobile" is the cynical Duke of Mantua's canzone from Giuseppe Verdi's opera Rigoletto . The inherent irony is that it is the callous playboy Duke himself who is mobile...
).
De Canio left the club by "mutual consent" after the end of the season in May 2008, having guided them to fourteenth place in the Championship
Championship
Championship is a term used in sport to refer to various forms of competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.- Title match system :...
. His record at the club comprised 12 wins, 12 losses and 11 draws in 35 games. It has reported that his return to Italy was partly due to a bid to save his marriage.
Back to Italy
On 9 March 2009 De Canio signed a contract to become head coach of Serie ASerie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
relegation battlers Lecce
U.S. Lecce
Unione Sportiva Lecce or simply U.S. Lecce is an Italian football club based in Lecce, Apulia who play in the Italian Serie A. After being crowned Serie B champions in 2009–10, the team successfully managed to avoid relegation in 2010-11....
, replacing Mario Beretta
Mario Beretta
Mario Beretta is an Italian association football manager, last serving as head coach of Brescia in the Serie A league.-Career:Beretta had a short career as footballer, playing only for Pro Patria of Serie D....
at the helm of the salentini
Salento
Salento is the south-eastern extremity of the Apulia region of Italy. It is a sub-peninsula of the main Italian Peninsula, sometimes described as the "heel" of the Italian "boot"...
, but did not manage to save the side from relegation. On May 31, 2009 US Lecce announced De Canio had refused to extend his contract with the club; however, on June 6 the club officially confirmed to have reached an agreement with the former QPR manager, who guided the giallorossi back to the top flight, as league runners-up, in their 2009–10 Serie B campaign. He was sacked on May 22, 2011 as Lecce finished 17th at the end of the 2010-11 season.
Name spelling
Some sections of the media, particularly the English languageEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
media commonly misspell his surname as Di Canio, instead of the correct De Canio. The mistake is likely made due to the world renown of footballer Paolo Di Canio
Paolo Di Canio
Paolo Di Canio is a Italian former professional footballer and current manager of League Two side Swindon Town. Di Canio made over 500 league appearances and scored over 100 league goals as a player....
, who played his career while De Canio managed; the two are not related.