Agent47 Posted October 2, 2020 Posted October 2, 2020 Claudio Caniggia in Dundee. Looking back, it is hard to believe it happened at all. This was Argentina's World Cup hero. Diego Maradona's partner in football and crime. Star of Serie A. Boca Juniors favourite. And, last but not least, Dundee icon thanks to one single but spectacular season spent at Dens Park. A time when Caniggia fever gripped the city. His arrival sparked a media frenzy. Caniggia's presence was the catalyst for a predictable spike in attendances, with crazy wigs and chaos in the club shop. Other consequences were a little more surprising. The interest of international film crews. Talk of tours of South America. Even an appearance in the Beano. It was all part of the drama in Dundee. The fun and games began in earnest following the appointment of the brothers Bonetti in the summer of 2000. Another set of siblings, Peter and Jimmy Marr, had already taken over the club and set about an improbable spending spree focused on overseas talent. But it was the contacts book of the two Italians that really opened up possibilities for Dundee. Ivano Bonetti was a former Juventus midfielder best known in Britain for an eventful time at Grimsby that came to a sticky end when manager Brian Laws chucked some chicken wings at him in the dressing room. Brother Dario was a former Italy international. What the pair lacked in top-flight managerial experience, they made up for in famous friends. He took some persuading. Even missing his first scheduled flight to Scotland as the global media became aware of one of the unlikeliest transfers in football that September. But then, there he was. Claudio Caniggia in Dundee. His new team-mates could not believe it. "I think everyone thought it was a wind up to start with," Dundee midfielder Gavin Rae told Sky Sports. "The fact that he was even linked with the club. But then he walked into the dressing room and it was just... wow." Caniggia's wife Marina planned to live in a Scottish castle but she was not the only one who appeared to be in a fairy-tale world. At his opening press conference, her husband boldly set out his plans to reclaim his place in the Argentina team in time for the 2002 World Cup. Ivano Bonetti was giddy with excitement that afternoon. "Today my dream has come true," he told the unusually large gathering of reporters at Dens Park. "When people like Caniggia play, everybody watches. Not just in Scotland but in Europe and the whole world. He is one of the very biggest names that the sport has." Caniggia even claimed that Maradona would be coming to watch a game. Season-ticket sales soon passed the 4,000 mark for the first time in well over a decade as Caniggia fever took over. Dundee would need that money to pay a salary that was reported to be north of £10,000 a week. But with speculation about money-spinning South American friendlies and attention from international broadcasters, the focus was on opportunity. The number of office staff had to more than double to handle the demand for tickets as Dundee took 2,500 fans to Aberdeen for Caniggia's debut. The club shop ran out of letters to put on the shirts. Even his own team-mates were asking for autographs. "Caniggia was probably the best player that I have played with throughout my whole career and all the clubs that I have been at," admitted Rae. The fans knew it, of course. They chanted his name to the tune of Karma Chameleon and laughed along as he was immortalised in the Beano. The club loved that and chairman Peter Marr seemed to revel in the attention - and money - that Caniggia could generate. "Who could have imagined a few years ago that we would have the style magazine GQ coming all the way up here to do a big feature on the club?" Just months into his stay, Caniggia signed a new and improved two-and-a-half-year contract that would take him beyond his 36th birthday. "I am told that it is easily the largest amount of money this club has ever invested in a single player," said Marr. While that should have set alarm bells ringing, Caniggia's commitment was impressive. "I don't pretend Dundee is as glamorous as some clubs I have played for and the league in Scotland is not as big as others but for me, it is not a comfort zone. I am proud of my name as a footballer and the only way to keep it is by helping Dundee do good things."
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