Don't be like me, Di Canio tells Chelsea target Conte
By Martyn Herman
LONDON (Reuters) - Paolo Di Canio has a few words of advice for old team mate Antonio Conte should the Italian take over at Chelsea next season -- quickly learn the ways of English football.
Italy national boss Conte is widely-tipped to be the man charged with reviving Chelsea's fortunes next season and while Di Canio thinks he is up to the task, communication will be key if he is to get his message across.
"I tell him: 'Be careful of the media', Because if you start talking like me, they say, 'ah he's Italian, he's too theatrical, too much, he's screaming'," Di Canio, whose dabbles in management at Swindon Town and Sunderland were brief affairs dotted with occasional histrionics, told reporters this week.
"I am joking! But I say be careful, try to learn the English mentality straight away. Sometimes words put into a sentence come out differently.
"Sometimes you can have the stamp of the donkey because you say something you didn't intend. So try to learn (the language) and put next to you a good guy, an English guy, with good experience that can help you...
"It's important to have a member of the club who understands everything of English football. Not only in the way you deliver your methodology or your tactics, but also in the way you need to deliver the words at the end of the game, before the game, the message during the week.
"Don't do it like Di Canio!" added the 47-year-old who played with Conte at Juventus and had spells with Napoli, Milan and Celtic before moving to England.
Di Canio, back at West Ham United for club captain Mark Noble's testimonial on Monday, has been keeping a close eye on his old club as they chase a top-four finish in the Premier League.
He has also been left scratching his head at the demise of Chelsea who have gone from champions to mid-table mediocrity in the space of a year and believes Conte, who won three consecutive Serie A titles in charge of Juventus, could be the man to return them to the top.
"He is a good guy, a good manager," Di Canio said.
"I think he would be good for English football. A manager with the right mentality, with the right worth ethic that can help Chelsea change the direction.
"This year is incredible if you think what Chelsea did last year. For the first three to four months it was clear the squad did not have the same mentality, energy or desire.
"That is incredible but this is the magic of football."
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Toby Davis)