Paolo Di Canio was stunned by the acrobatic goal scored by Leeds United’s Wilfried Gnonto in his side’s 5-2 thrashing of Cardiff City in the FA Cup, similar to the former’s unforgettable striker against Wimbledon in 2000.
The £20,000-a-week winger was lauded after his supreme strike that was matched by a splendid display, with Roy Keane, Pat Nevin and Dean Whitehead reserving special praise for him.
Now, Paolo Di Canio seems to have become a fully-fledged member of the Wilfried Gnonto fan club, after sending him a congratulatory message for his incredible goal against Cardiff.
Di Canio raves about Gnonto goal vs Cardiff
Paolo Di Canio sent Wilfried Gnonto a heart-warming message on Sky Italia, saying, “Hi, Willy, first of all, I want to congratulate you because you have fitted in very quickly in the most beautiful, most coveted, most spectacular, most difficult championship in the world. Well done. But when you score like this I’m getting a lot of phone calls like I’m your grandfather saying, “have you seen it [the goal against Cardiff]?”
“I saw, it’s beautiful and very similar [to mine]. A very difficult goal. Beautiful, beautiful. Don’t do it better now or they’ll bombard me with phone calls and I can’t answer them all. Anyway, well done, God save the Premier League, good luck and God bless.”
Praise from Di Canio shows how highly he is rated
It’s confirmed: Leeds well and truly have a special player on their hands.
The fact that a legend of the game such as Paolo Di Canio compared his iconic goal to the strike by the ‘brilliant’ Wilfried Gnonto against Cardiff just goes to show how brilliant it was.
Perhaps more pertinently, the veteran was blown away by how well the 19-year-old has adapted to the Premier League, which is testament to how highly he rates the teenager.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
