Players who take your breath away don't come around very often.
Players who do something special in the blink of an eye, something that so few others are capable of doing, drawing you closer to the edge of your seat with every touch of the ball they take.
Players who - for all of the brilliance they show - can infuriate you in that same moment, as their selfishness and egotistical nature takes over.
Players who others look to for inspiration, such is their influence and brilliance at what they do.
Players like West Ham icon Paolo Di Canio.
The flamboyant Italian was like no other player ever seen in east London. He arrived at the club looking to rebuild his career - and reputation for that matter - after his time at Sheffield Wednesday had ended in acrimonious circumstances.
Acrimonious, that is, in the sense that just a few months previously Di Canio had pushed over referee Paul Alcock after being sent off, lashed out at any Arsenal player who had gone near him, been banned for 11 games by the FA and had subsequently gone home to Italy, refusing to talk to anybody.
So it was perhaps little wonder that his signing, pushed for by Harry Redknapp in early 1999 to the dismay of West Ham's board, was regarded as somewhat of a risk.
But what his signing turned out to be was one of the greatest pieces of transfer business ever concluded by the club.
"I loved working with him, he was a pleasure to have around. He was a fantastic footballer. Every day was a challenge with him, it was great. He was a special player. He could win a game on his own with a piece of magic."
- Harry Redknapp on Di Canio.
Di Canio thrilled, entertained, dazzled - and occasionally frustrated - throughout his time in the capital, showing that the undeniable talent that he'd shown in the years leading up to the move could be harnessed and nurtured.
Previously, wherever he had been, he failed to settle properly. Playing in an era in which Italy had an unfathomable amount of attacking talent at their disposal, it's borderline criminal that he didn't get a look in Italy's national setup.
But he didn't.
Spells at Juventus, Lazio, AC Milan and Celtic showed he was capable, but perhaps his inability to stay anywhere for any length of time counted against him. If it was the reason, that all changed when he went to West Ham. By then, though, it was too late for a call-up.
But instead of being a nearly man on the international stage, Di Canio is instead remembered - on the whole - for being a magician. He scored 48 Premier League goals - another three in cup competitions - in four and a half years at West Ham and was single-handedly responsible for some of the most sensational moments ever witnessed by the club.
"The best player I played with at West Ham? It has to be Di Canio. He takes some beating, doesn't he? He's a great player. He used to throw tantrums and stuff like that. And do mad stuff.
He'd walk in from training because someone kicked him. He was a temperamental dude man. But he had an amazing talent. Hard worker. Good guy."
- Rio Ferdinand
His out of this world scissor-kick volley against Wimbledon, for example, not only won goal of the season during the 1999/2000 season, it's still a goal reminisced and talked about to this day. An audacious, unthinkable and truly brilliant piece of craftsmanship, executed to absolute perfection.
His sky high confidence - often confused with arrogance and self-indulgence - was at its absolute peak when he wrestled the ball away from a youthful Frank Lampard to score a penalty against Bradford in a whirlwind 5-4 win.
That came after sitting on the ground for a full minute because he felt he should have had a penalty, and because Redknapp wouldn't take him off when he got angry at the decision.
And, last but not least, his incredible act of sportsmanship, halting play when a prone Paul Gerrard - Everton's goalkeeper - was unable to stand after pulling a muscle outside of his penalty area. Unfathomable, in the modern era of greed, gluttony and financial pressure - that a player would pass up the opportunity of firing into an unguarded goal.
But Di Canio wasn't - and isn't - like most people. It's those moments, along with the little things he did in each and every game that he played, that see Di Canio remembered not only as a cult hero and West Ham's greatest ever players, but an enigma that was capable of surprising you at every twist and turn.
His name still echoes around the London Stadium to this day as fans remember and acknowledge the genius they bore witness to at the beginning of the century. One day, he may even return to the club as manager - and one can only imagine the carnage to come if he does.
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90min
