There are certain moments in sporting history that stand out purely because of the outrageous lunacy that they entail. Eric Cantona's famous kung-fu kick is one such moment. Kieron Dyer and Lee Bowyer's on-field scrap, another. And an additional enduring image is that of Paolo Di Canio's infamous shove on referee Paul Alcock that had him quite hilariously tumbling to the ground in a highly comedic manner.
Di Canio did so while playing for Sheffield Wednesday against Arsenal. But keep watching the video of the Di Canio incident until the very end, and pay attention to the brave soul who tries to challenge Di Canio as he walks off the field, then flinches spectacularly as the Italian feints a dig in his direction.
That figure was Nigel Winterburn, Arsenal's left-back. Di Canio would write in a book two years after the incident that Winterburn approached him "yapping away like one of those hyperactive dogs" only to soon back off, "retreating, wetting his pants in fear."
Well, as these things often do, the incident has come full circle. And Winterburn chose to make fun of both his own actions and the hilarity of Alcock's fall when himself and Di Canio came up against each other in a charity football game.
Winterburn joked to arsenal.com that he had been "waiting a long time to get Paolo back" and revealed that the two had chatted pre-match about the possibility of re-creating the incident, but referee Howard Webb "wasn’t having any of it" when asked to get involved himself.
This brought back memories!
Winterburn tells the story behind the #ArsenalLegends clash ? https://t.co/sVzp1hFsqN pic.twitter.com/55AZRyHi96
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) September 3, 2016
The game for the Arsenal Foundation featured an 'Arsenal Legends' team featuring David Seaman, Emmanuel Petit, Gilberto, Marc Overmars, Robert Pires and Kanu (who got a hat-trick) - they took on an 'AC Milan' team including Paolo Maldini, Di Canio, Christian Vieri and Cafu.
