On January 28th, 2001, during a FA Cup 4th round clash at Old Trafford between Manchester United and West Ham, football merged with high-stakes poker when goalkeeper Fabien Barthez attempted an audacious bluff on Paolo Di Canio.
With a little under 15 minutes remaining of an engrossing, but to that point goalless tie, the Italian striker was put clean through by Freddie Kanoute and as he homed in on goal, from the right-hand side, Barthez initially set himself, a procedure he would have done a million times before.
He moved swiftly across to cover his near post. He micro-glanced to his right to ensure his angles were correct. He lowered his body to conversely appear bigger.
Yet these processes were not committed to, lasting a mere moment at most, because when the eccentric French stopper spied that his defence were appealing for offside an idea quickly formed, one that he would just as quickly come to regret.
As the Hammers forward steadied himself, his eyes no doubt lighting up at a rare opportunity to score at the ‘Theatre of Dreams’, Barthez dramatically altered his stance, standing bolt-upright, with one arm raised in the air.
An absolute classic from Paolo Di Canio at Old Trafford!
— West Ham United (@WestHam) January 28, 2021
🗓 #OnThisDay 20 years ago... pic.twitter.com/eTxgkooC1o
His intention was to relay to Di Canio that the flag had already gone up, betting on the front-man at least hesitating, at best stopping in his tracks. And who knows, on a less experienced, less streetwise player his ruse may have worked.
Not on someone raised in the tough Roman district of Quarticciolo though. Not on a forward who knew every trick in the book. Brought up to always play to the whistle, Di Canio simply ignored the theatrics and slotted the ball into an unguarded net.
"He tried to make my brain a little bit confused," the former Milan and Juventus ace said later to a media that was still trying to make sense of it all.
"But I have played 15 years at the top level and have a little bit of experience in these situations. It is better to score and then see whether the goalkeeper is right or wrong."
And boy was Barthez in the wrong, not only in haplessly under-estimating his opponent’s smarts but in trying to pull off such a hoax in the first place because when revisiting the goal, it is apparent that Di Canio still has work to do, approaching Barthez from a wide angle. It could even be said that the percentages were in the keeper’s favour.
Indeed, so odd was the United stopper’s behaviour that it was widely reported later that he was joining in with his centre-backs, in protesting for offside. He wasn’t. No keeper ever does in a one-on-one situation, or likely ever will.
And so, the Hammers won-out, progressing to the next round in bizarre circumstances, and upsetting the football odds into the bargain by besting a team who would go on to win the league that season by ten clear points.
As for West Ham, they ultimately disappointed, finishing 15th and departing the FA Cup at the quarter finals stage. Just two years later, this fantastic side, that included the twinkle-toed Joe Cole, Michael Carrick and the artful Di Canio were shockingly relegated.
That though is a story for another day.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*
FIRST PUBLISHED: 20th September 2022
