By Albatross
January 15 2003

It's a quiet week, so let's remember one of the less than great names from Pools recent past. Yes, it's the Argentinian from Blyth, Gustavo Di Lella. If you've ever wondered where he is now, prepare to find out.... Some players you remember for their skill, some for their never-say-die approach, and others you remember for different reasons. One who falls into the latter category was Gustavo Di Lella.

For those who've only just started supporting Pools, Di Lella was an Argentinian from Blyth. No, really. With Italian ancestry, he was able to get round Work Permit restrictions and arrived in the UK to try and make his name as a professional footballer. After arriving in the North-East, the midfielder found himself joining Blyth Spartans in 1997.

It was at Blyth that he managed to attract some interest from the professional ranks. Blyth made the FA Cup First Round, and although they went out 4-3 to Blackpool, Di Lella scored a spectacular goal. This was enough to earn him a month's contract at Darlington at the end of '97, during which he made several sub appearances. He wasn't kept on however, and arrived at Pools a couple of months later, making his debut away at Rochdale in March 1998.

The following week at Barnet, I well remember that there was much confusion about whether it was "Di Lella" or "De Leila". Possibly as a sign of bewilderment at Tait's transfer activity, there was already a chant in his honour - and so the song rang out, "Why, why, why, Di Leila!" Certainly he seemed an unlikely player for Pools - a South American with a comedy moustache who'd signed from Blyth Spartans, not exactly blessed with handsome features, isn't exactly an everyday signing!

The early signs though were good. His first match at the Vic saw him score twice in a 3-3 draw with Cambridge. A good pre-season, and it looked like Tait might actually have come up with a decent player from his Non-League contacts. A good performance against Bolton in the League Cup, and a wonderful Free Kick to win the game against Mark Hateley's Hull team showed promise, but it was not long before the other side of Di Lella's character came to the fore.

Much has been said about "Latin Temperament", and unfortunately for Gus he had it in full measure. He was maybe unlucky to be sent off at Orient in October - as Pools managed a 1-1 draw despite going down to nine men for the second season running at Brisbane Road - but before long he was picking up the yellows on a regular basis. In fact, during one match that awful season, I remember suggesting to someone that instead of a Golden Goal competition Pools good have a Golden Booking - just guess the minute that Di Lella would pick up a card - as it seemed more likely than us scoring!

The event that he's best remembered for though came, once more, in the FA Cup. The date was December 5th 1998; the place, Craven Cottage. Pools lost the match 4-2, but it was not during the match that Gus's moment came. Di Lella felt aggrieved about something that had happened during the game - he claimed that Simon Morgan had stamped on his head, and justice hadn't been done by the Ref. So, in the Players Bar, Di Lella decided to even the score. Apparently he took off his jacket and handed it to someone, and then landed one on the Fulham player.

The incident cost Di Lella two weeks wages, and almost saw him on his way out of the club - but he stayed, survived the sacking of Tait, and played a part under Turner in getting the club away from the bottom. He finished the season with a grand total of nine yellow and two red cards from just 27 games. The following season saw him take part in five games during August before being farmed out back to Blyth, having a spell in Spain, and then playing for a succession of local Non-League clubs including Durham City, Bishop Auckland, and a brief spell at Scarborough in 2000/1.

Now he's playing in Ireland for Division 1 leaders Waterford United, and although he never has set the football world alight with his silky skills, that incident at Fulham will make sure he forever has a place in Poolie Folklore.