Sunderland vs Newcastle: 'I wanted to hit Paolo Di Canio during derby loss,' says John Carver
Di Canio famously slid on his knees on the pitch during the win
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.John Carver has admitted he wanted to hit Paolo Di Canio when Newcastle United were beaten 3-0 at home by Sunderland during the Italian’s controversial time in charge.
Di Canio famously slid on his knees on the pitch during the win, Sunderland’s biggest at their rivals for more than 30 years. Carver, now Newcastle’s temporary head coach, was assistant to Alan Pardew on that chaotic afternoon.
In the build-up to tomorrow’s derby at the Stadium of Light, Carver revealed just what this derby means to him. “When Paolo was sliding on his knees, I’ve never been so agitated in my life,” Carver said yesterday. “I wanted to take the law into my own hands because of what I was watching in our stadium. It was very difficult to take.
“This is your own stadium, your home and it was embarrassing. It was an embarrassing performance and I was embarrassed to be part of it. Him doing that pissed me off. From that day, that is something that drives me to try to get the right result. When Paolo slid on his knees, I found that extremely hard to take, and that will stay in there.”
Earlier this season Newcastle lost for an unprecedented fourth time in a row to Sunderland, and again Carver was in the home dugout as Adam Johnson scored a late winner. “I just went home, never spoke to anybody, and put the television on. It hurts that much,” he said.
Carver was also there when Ruud Gullit dropped Alan Shearer and lost. “He started talking about what the team was going to be against Sunderland. I said, ‘Sorry, Ruud, what did you say there?’ He said he was going to leave out Alan and Duncan [Ferguson]. I said, ‘Do you know how important this game is?’
“I walked in after we’d lost, and there’s Ruud writing on his pad.” The next day he handed in his resignation.
This is likely to be Carver’s first and last derby in charge. And memories aside, both clubs desperately need a win.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments