With Claudio Caniggia at Dens Park and matches being screened live in Argentina, ambitious owners tried to seal the ultimate coup for the club
Diego Maradona’s road to Dundee began, in a way, in Luton. Ivano Bonetti had played in a European Cup final with Sampdoria in the early 90s but by the summer of 2000 he was perhaps best known to British football fans as the victim of Grimsby manager Brian Laws’ flying chicken wings at Kenilworth Road in 1996. The incident left him with a fractured cheekbone and a battered reputation – one that was little repaired by a two-game spell in the bizarro world that was Attilio Lombardo’s Crystal Palace two years later.
He returned to Genoa and drifted around coaching in the lower leagues. That seemed to be that. But in the SPL, Dundee had ambitious new owners who wanted to infuse a little glamour and excitement into the club. Raise the profile. Make a few waves. By June 2000, the steady hand offered by manager Jocky Scott was no longer the order of the day. They wanted more and, having interviewed Bernd Schuster and spoken to then France Under-21 coach Raymond Domenech, opted to take a punt on the inexperienced but well-connected Bonetti, whose only management experience had come at Sestrese of Serie C.
Related: The Joy of Six: Diego Maradona
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