Former Swansea City Boss Francesco Guidolin Once 'Brandished a Rifle' in Palermo's Dressing Room

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.

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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.