his heart.
Alan Curbishley was delighted with the move; ""I am delighted to have secured a player of Paolo's pedigree and quality, and I know he's going to be immensely popular with the club's fans.
"He will add a different dimension to our play and I am sure that his professionalism and presence will also help the younger players in the side."
Di Canio said: "I had a number of lucrative offers from abroad but as soon as I met Alan Curbishley and Richard Murray I sensed this was a club with ambition and real team spirit.
"I'm excited to be playing in the Premiership again next season and can't wait for my first game at The Valley."
Paolo was born in Rome, Italy. His career started at Ternana, where he quickly moved on to Italian giants Lazio. After 3 long years Di Canio started to attract other clubs and eventually signed for Juventus and also went on to play for title rivals AC Milan.
He then moved to Britain in 1996 for a short spell with the green and white half of Glasgow, Celtic.Then when he moved to Sheffield Wednesday he made a name for himself by pushing Premiership referee Paul Alcock to the ground earning him a big fine and a ban from football. After this incident Paolo went back to Italy to hide from the English press where Harry Redknapp gambled on
signing the aggresive Italian. This paid off, Paolo played with his head held high and gave his all for West Ham. After giving his all West Ham were relegated laste year and he was released.