| Celtic Slang |
Details
Reference to: Pierre Van Hooijdonk, Jorge Cadette and Paulo Di Canio
Derivations: –
Started: Season 1996-97
Background
The wonderful moniker was delivered in a sarcastic manner by Celtic chief executive Fergus McCann in reference to the forward line triumvirate of Cadette, Van Hooijdonk and Di Canio.
Individually they were exceptionally talented footballers and collectively a dream forward line. Personally they were very flawed characters and that’s where the problem majorly lay.
The biggest problem was financial, with money underlying the problems that each ‘Amigo‘ caused:
(1) McCann described Cadette as a financial basket case, in time to be proven to be the case in later years as Cadette went broke living off state benefits after having earned millions during his football career,
(2) van Hooijdonk believed what he was earning was derisory (disgustingly paralleling it to a homeless person’s worth), and
(3) Di Canio stated that McCann had broken his word on a pay rise, an allegation that led to a court case and out of court settlement in favour of McCann.
McCann wasn’t exactly the easiest person to deal with, and in retrospect his handling of people was his weak point. Yet in the case of the Three Amigos he can fairly argue to now be vindicated in his stance against all three. It was a caustic relationship and something had to give, but nothing ever did, so the Three Amigos departed.
McCann may not have been noted for his humour but he did have a dry wit, and in this case his nickname for the trio of ‘The Three Amigos‘ was one that stuck and made everyone chuckle.
The Celtic support are unlikely to ever again see such a curious relationship again between chairman and a set of players. There will be problems as always in future between individual players and the club chairman, but with The Three Amigos it was very unique & apt in its own way. As McCann was to summarise the situation in his own inimitable way later on:
“I’m not surprised by what’s happened to any of them [The Three Amigos]. What DOES surprise me is someone is willing to pay to take trouble off your hands.”
