Former Swansea City Boss Francesco Guidolin Once 'Brandished a Rifle' in Palermo's Dressing Room
![Former Swansea City Boss Francesco Guidolin Once 'Brandished a Rifle' in Palermo's Dressing Room Former Swansea City Boss Francesco Guidolin Once 'Brandished a Rifle' in Palermo's Dressing Room](https://www.si.com/.image/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/MTY4MTA2NTI0MDA5OTY0ODE3/59d8e014d915b2a21f000001jpg.jpg)
Many Italian bosses are looked upon as charismatic, with innovative implementations usually being a feature of their coaching qualities.
However, where former Swansea City boss Francesco Guidolin is concerned, he allegedly takes galvanisation that one step further than just a spirited pre-match speech.
![59d8dfd92ee40ff68c000001.jpg](https://www.si.com/.image/t_share/MTY4MTA2NTI0MDEzMjQxNjE3/59d8dfd92ee40ff68c000001jpg.jpg)
Ex-Italian international striker Amauri played under Guidolin at Palermo - a club who Guidolin has managed four times during his managerial career - and the attacker revealed that the 62-year-old once 'pulled out a rifle' in the squad's locker room and 'aimed it' at the players before their UEFA Cup encounter with West Ham United in 2006.
Amauri - speaking in an interview via Il Giornale di Sicilia - said: “I’ll never forget what happened one afternoon in training. We prepared for the second leg of our UEFA Cup tie with West Ham and Guidolin came into the dressing room with a big bag.
“He then pulled out a rifle and aimed it at all my team-mates and I, exclaiming, ‘we’ve hurt them, now let’s go on the pitch and finish them off…’ I remember that with [Fabio] Simplicio, we managed to hold back the laughter, but it’s a nice memory, which I still remember with pleasure.”
A questionable stunt indeed, although it proved to be an inspiring measure rather than intimidating, as the Serie A outfit ran out 3-0 victors on the night and 4-0 winners overall on aggregate - a relative assault it could be labelled as, perhaps.