El Hijo del viento- the story of Claudio Caniggia

"To me, Cani's like a soulmate....I love him as a brother....he replaced me in the heart of the people"

Diego Maradona on Claudio Caniggia.

  If Claudio Paul Caniggia ever wanted to add an an extra shine to his CV, then he would do well to use those words from Maradona.  Not a bad reference to have, right?  Not that he'd need to, of course.  Over fifteen years of service to the Argentinian national team, and a storied career that included spells at some of the greatest football clubs in the world speaks for itself.  Starting at River Plate as an 18 year old, Caniggia forged out a glittering career playing for giants such as Benfica, Roma, Boca Juniors and Rangers, before El Hijo del Viento, the Son of the Wind, wound up his career in Qatar at the respectable age of 37.  However, let it never be said that Caniggia's had an easy life.  Far from it.  This is a career with incredible highs, and, unfortunately, some corresponding lows.

  Roughly 15.6 million Argentines reside in the province of Buenos Aires.  Upon hearing that a footballer is from Buenos Aires, it is not uncommon to imagine them being brought up playing football in narrow alleyways, in a densely populated area of the urban metropolis.  Not so Caniggia.  Though in the Buenos Aires province, the sleepy town of Henderson in roughly a five hour car journey from the city.  With just under 8,000 inhabitants, and surrounded by farmland, the young Caniggia would never have been more than a few hundred yards from a lush green field in which to play football.

  The town enjoyed a warm climate that lasted all year, thereby enabling 'Cani' to spend hours and hours running about in the fresh air outside.  The boy certainly enjoyed his running, taking part in races at provincial level.  He even managed to do the 100m in just 10.7 seconds.  However, the national obsession in Argentina is indeed football, and this was no different for Caniggia.  In signing for River Plate at a young age, Caniggia was suddenly elevated from the peace and quiet of life in the countryside to the hustle and bustle of Buenos Aires.

  Debuting for River as an 18 year old, away against Santa Fe, it would be two years before he scored his first goal for the Argentinian giants.  2-0 down away to Temperley, it was Caniggia's strike that sparked a four goal come-back for the away team.  In the June of that year, the long haired winger realised his childhood dream and began a love affair with the Argentinian national team that would last for over a decade.  The match itself was a 3-1 surrender to the Italians.  Later, Maradona would remark in his autobiography that the only positive he took from the match was meeting Caniggia.

  This exposure won Claudio a coveted move to Europe, more precisely the Italian Serie A, which was widely regarded as the best league in the world.  The team who snapped the young Argentine up, Hellas Verona,  had finished tenth, fourth and first in the preceding three seasons.  However, this was a team seriously punching above its weight.  Another tenth placed finish, alongside growing financial problems, forced the gialloblu into selling Caniggia to Bergamo based Atalanta, another provincial club.  

  It was in the colours of Atalanta where Caniggia would probably enjoy the most stability he'd ever have in club football, making nearly one hundred appearances for the Lombardians, scoring on average a goal every three games, and helping Atalanta to a place in the UEFA Cup.  Meanwhile, poor old Hellas Verona were relegated that year.  

  On the international front, Caniggia was continuing to impress.  He had won a powerful ally in Diego Maradona, who revealed to the national coach, Carlos Bilardo, that if Caniggia was not picked for the 1990 World Cup, then Maradona would rule himself out.  Maradona's ultimatum was justified; 'Cani' not only scored a wonder goal against Brazil in the quarter finals, but also scored the goal that would take Argentina to the World Cup final, knocking out the host nation, Italy.  However, Caniggia would not play in the final.  Despite all video evidence indicating otherwise, the referee had deemed Caniggia to have played the ball with his hand on the halfway line.  As Caniggia had already been booked in the tournament, this further booking caused him to miss the biggest match in the footballing calendar.  As it happened, Argentina lost 1-0 in the final to the Germans via a late penalty.  Maradona then went on to claim that Argentina would have won a third World Cup, had his friend Claudio been playing.

  Such eye-catching performances won Caniggia a move to one of the 'seven sisters' of Italian football, AS Roma, in 1992.  However, despite a glistening start to life among i Lupi, after just fifteen appearances and four goals, in the April of 1993, Caniggia failed a random doping test.  It transpired that the young Argentinian had fallen victim to the temptations that the world of professional football brings.  Despite being a known chain smoker, it was still a surprise to learn that Caniggia had been using cocaine.  He was thus handed a thirteen month ban, which expired just before the 1994 World Cup.

  Nevertheless, to the USA he went.  With his rock star looks, it's no surprise to learn that Caniggia is very much into his music.  A keen drum player, the hard rock band Poison invited him to be the guest drummer for three of their songs on their American tour before the tournament.

  On the playing side, inspired by his good friend Maradona, Caniggia helped Argentina to two wins in their opening two matches, scoring twice against Nigerians.  The Argentinians were contenders.  However, after the match, the albiceleste campaign took a turn for the worse.  Their captain and inspiration, Maradona, had failed a drugs test, and was kicked out the team.  Even worse, in the final group game against the Bulgarians, Caniggia limped off injured before the half hour mark.  The Bulgarians proceeded to score two goals without reply.  In the first knockout round, with neither Caniggia nor Maradona, the Argentines slumped to defeat at the hands of a Hagi inspired Romania.

  Roma still wanted rid of him though, and him was subsequently loaned to Benfica.  A successful year in Lisbon led to a move back to Argentina.  Only this time, it was to be with River's fierce rivals, Boca.  Why?  The Maradona factor.  El Diego had pressured the club's board to sign his 'brother', and they relented.  Caniggia continued his fine form at El Bombonera, scoring twelve goals in just under thirty matches before tragedy struck.  In the autumn of 1996, his mother leapt from the fifth floor of her apartment.  The suicide had a profound effect on Claudio- just two seasons after his last sabbatical, he decided to take another one, this time optional, to mourn the passing of his mother.

  Upon returning, 'Cani' had a real fire in his belly.  Turning 30 must have struck a chord.  With Maradona retiring, all the Boca fans looked to their returning hero for inspiration.  After a twenty goal year, Caniggia decided to once again, up sticks, and return to Europe for a second tour of duty with Atalanta.  However, reheated soup rarely tastes as good as the original.  One goal in seventeen matches made Caniggia an unemployed thirty three year old.

  Looking to revive his career, a move to Scotland beckoned.  Bankrolled by the Marr brothers, Caniggia linked up with former Atalanta team mate Ivano Bonetti on the banks of the river Tay, at Dundee.  This was at a time when the Dark Blues were bringing in internationals such as Zurab Khizanishvili, Fan Zhiyi and Temuri Ketsbaia.  However, Caniggia was certainly the biggest coup of them all.  Scoring the winner up at Pittodrie on his debut, Caniggia was an instant hit in the city of discovery, agreeing a new deal worth £1.5m soon after his arrival.  

  However, such a talent was destined to garner the attention of one of the Old Firm and in the May of 2001, Claudio Caniggia became a Ranger.  With the £1m payed to Dundee, many viewed it as a risky investment for a 34 year old.  However, Caniggia would repay that million, scoring 26 times for the Glasgow giants.  He may have been in the tail-end of his career, but el hijo del viento still had 'it'.  In his first season at Ibrox, he actually played well enough to merit a call up to the 2002 World Cup for the albiceleste.  

  In 2003, after two fruitful seasons in Glasgow, Caniggia wound down his career playing in Qatar, before finally retiring in 2005.  

  Wherever he played, the rock star lookalike managed to ingrain himself into the hearts of the supporters.  There's the idea that all footballers should live their lives like a monk; Caniggia certainly did not buy into this theory, which perhaps explains why he was so loved by the fans.  Playing the role of the loveable rogue, Caniggia was always frank in his interviews, and exuded an enormous self belief whenever he played.  His drug problems and his mother's untimely death have undoubtedly affected him, but overall, he is still quite rightly regarded as one of the best players to have ever come out of Argentina.  Maradona certainly thinks so, and that's certainly no faint praise at all.