2) Paulo Di Canio (Sheffield Wednesday, West Ham and Charlton) – 190 appearances
Di Canio came to the wider public’s attention after shoving referee Paul Alcock to the ground when he was playing for Sheffield Wednesday. He was banned for 11 games and fined £10,000 for the incident.
Not long after the controversy, he left Hillsborough for West Ham, where he became a cult figure. He only hit double figures once in his five years at Upton Park but he had a reputation for scoring spectacular goals, including a remarkable volley versus Wimbledon in 2000 which was named Goal of the Season. The Italian spent one more campaign at Charlton before leaving England for Lazio in 2004.
