Chelsea captain John Terry has backed Paolo Di Canio to revive Sunderland as the controversial Italian prepares to take charge of his struggling side for the first time at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
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Di Canio's arrival on Wearside as successor to the sacked Martin O'Neill triggered a storm of negative headlines about the Italian's notorious political views.
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The Italian's support for right wing extremism, summed up by his declaration in 2005 that he was a fascist but not a racist, didn't go down well among sections of the Sunderland fanbase and convinced the club's vice-chairman David Miliband to resign in protest.
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As well as fending off some searching questions about his politics, Di Canio has also had to deal with accusations that his volatile personality and lack of experience as a top-flight manager make his appointment a massive gamble by Black Cats owner Ellis Short.
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Di Canio has just seven games to save Sunderland from relegation. And making the task even harder, his team, currently only one point and two places above the bottom three, face Chelsea, Newcastle and Everton in their next three matches.
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But Terry, a man who is no stranger to controversy himself, has fond memories of Di Canio and is convinced the former Lazio, West Ham and Celtic forward will make an instant impact.
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"He was just a really nice guy on the pitch and I spoke to him after games," Terry said. "He said to me 'maybe you should do this and do that', which was really nice at the time.
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"There were just certain things, like when he made certain movements he said maybe I should have been tighter. I was only young at the time and from an opposition player it was quite nice. A two-word sentence was enough and something I learned from.
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"He would always give a battle and if there was a little tussle he would get up and shake your hand afterwards.
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"He was very fair and very passionate, as we've seen with his character. His ability was fantastic and he was a really tough player to play against. I can only speak highly of him."
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Terry expects Di Canio to thrive at Sunderland, having propelled Swindon from League Two to the brink of a return to the second-tier before resigning in frustration at the club's financial problems earlier this season.