Gino Padula

Padula first moved to England when he joined Bristol Rovers in 1999, however he only joined on trial and didn't make an appearance for them. He then moved on to Walsall for whom he made 27 appearances in 1999–2000, and was voted their player of the season. However, at the end of the season, Walsall were relegated. Padula signed for Wigan Athletic in 2000, and at Wigan he scored his first goal in English football in a Football League Trophy tie against his former club Walsall.

Queens Park Rangers

After leaving Wigan in 2001 and spending a year in Argentina, his most successful spell came at QPR, where he became somewhat of a cult hero. Padula was signed in 2002 by then QPR manager Ian Holloway who he had worked with during his spell at Bristol Rovers. He initially found it hard to break into the first team. Padula made his debut for the club as a substitute against Barnsley on 17 August 2002. His first start for QPR came on 2 November 2002 against Port Vale, however in the first half goalkeeper Simon Royce was sent off and substitute goalkeeper Fraser Digby was brought on for Padula. He eventually got his chance due to injuries from January 2003, and he finally started to display his tough slide tackling and steely determination. Padula became an overnight fan-favourite and one of the first names on the team sheet. As his confidence grew, he became more and more attacking, and his prowess from dead balls became legendary with the QPR faithful. He scored his first…