Claudio Caniggia found himself a long way from World Cup duty yesterday when he trained with Dundee FC beside two of the city's notorious housing estates.

Wish you were here? Caniggia falls for downtown Dundee

This is still so hard to take in. Especially here, standing in the rain on a hill that overlooks the Michelin factory which sits between the once notorious Whitfield and Douglas housing estates on the north edge of a city that is now home to Argentinian legend Claudio Caniggia. It's even harder to believe than read.

In a pub the other night someone asked where in Dundee the striker actually stayed. "The Hilton," came the reply. "The Hul'toon? What's he doing living in the Hul'toon?" was the incredulous response. For those not in the know, the Hilltown in Dundee is the steep street that takes you to the city's two football cathedrals. It has a dim view of itself, but a wonderous view of the Tay. At the bottom of the brae once stood The Highwayman, a pub that lived up to its name. There was a time not so very long ago when Dick Turpin could sooner be seen riding these streets than Claudio Caniggia.

Yet Caniggia it was who last month could be seen in Kirkcaldy opening a Mexican restaurant, and pulling pints behind the bar in the High Corner in Dundee, a pub just off the Hilltown, in the shadow of the Law. He, along with Dundee player-manager Ivano Bonetti and a host of other players, was celebrating the 2-0 defeat of Dundee United that afternoon. The whole place resounded to the sound of Karma Chameleon by Culture Club. Listen closer, and you understood why. "Can-a-Can-a-Can-a-Can-a-Can-a Caniggiaaaaaa/ He comes and scores, he comes and scoo-ooo-ores....."

Caniggia, dirty blond hair falling limply on to the collar of his Dundee tracksuit, seemed bemused, but happy. He had scored in a derby, and endeared himself to one half of Scotland's fourth city. For someone who has scored in a World Cup semi-final it may not seem much, but for a player who hasn't played eight games in a row for over three years, it is enough.

This is why people such as BBC Scotland pundit Gordon Smith are missing the point by a country mile when they flippantly wonder why Rangers don't simply go out and throw £500,000 at Dundee for the former - Caniggia will say "resting" - Argentina international striker. The inference being that the player would go running to Govan, having of course supported the Glasgow club as a boy. Yet Caniggia, he will tell you, wants to be here, wants to experience the rare quality of a Tay sunset from his suite in the Dundee hotel which son Alexander, who has just started primary school in the city, also presently calls home.

Caniggia and his wife Marianna, who is still living in Italy and hopes to join her husband soon, are searching for a house in Scotland. Contrary to rumour that they are looking for a castle, their home won't necessarily require turrets. Unlike his team-mates, scattered across Broughty Ferry, Tayport and even Paisley, he wouldn't mind living in Dundee itself. It is, after all, his "favourite Scottish city", with Edinburgh coming in only a poor second. "The quietness of Dundee allows me to focus on what it is I have to do," he said, a comment that the Dundee tourist board won't be rushing to include in the pamphlets that tell of this apparently "vibrant" city.

St Andrews he rates too, and without the aid of a translator, is able to say that "maybe I will play golf there". He has never swung a club in earnest before, and the image of a leather jacketed Caniggia trundling a bag of clubs around the Old Course is one to ache for. Yet he is adamant that "now seems the right moment to start".

It is also the moment for him to truly test himself. While Caniggia has been a revelation since signing for Dundee, some have pointed out that goals against the likes of St Mirren, Aberdeen and Motherwell are not all that is expected of Diego Maradona's former strike partner. Tomorrow evening Caniggia is faced with a markedly different proposition, when Celtic arrive at a stadium where they are unbeaten since September 1988.

Back then a 19-year-old boy called Claudio was preparing for his assault on world football, which would begin at Italia 90. Twelve years hence he is running through puddles in the unlikely surroundings of the Michelin training park in the middle of a monsoon, the skies dark with disapproval. Nearly every other Dundee player is wearing tracksuit bottoms, or waterproof breeks, but Caniggia is skipping around in shorts, his trademark hair band replaced by what looks like an engine fan belt.

Inside the small club house, a "Christmas Greetings from Dundee FC" card hangs on the wall. Caniggia and Ivano Bonetti grace its cover, both in santa hats, and both now thoroughly defaced. This is, after all, a facility for Michelin workers, not all of whom are swooning at the thought of Caniggia in a dark blue shirt. "Got any drugs man" is the speech bubble scrawled above, well, guess who? Caniggia simply walks past the graffiti, one of the first to arrive at training, one of the last to leave.

Yet the photographer from GQ is fascinated by the card, and spends an age snapping away at it from different angles. The style magazine is up from London to research a feature on Dundee FC. Which means, of course, that they are here to find out what on earth Caniggia is doing here. They apparently want some "sexy shots" of the striker. Caniggia traipsing through the mud, with his leather jacket pulled over his head for shelter from the Tayside rain, isn't what they had in mind, but this is the pose he adopts anyway.

Later, inside Dens Park, Caniggia is dry, and content. His English has improved no end, and he reclines in the executive lounge, chatting away to amiable Dundee director Jim Connor. "I look forward to every game," he later tells you. "The fact that it is Celtic makes no difference really. Obviously either Celtic or Rangers will win the league, but we will be working hard to take the points in a one-off situation. As for Henrik Larsson, "we will have to pay attention to him," admitted Caniggia. "But then they will also have to pay attention to us."

For the first time in many years, Celtic may travel to Dundee with fluttering stomachs. The last time they visited Dens Park was in the immediate aftermath of John Barnes' sacking.

The good vibes that spilled down on to the pitch for Celtic that day were translated into an energetic performance on the field. Amid snowflakes, caretaker manager Kenny Dalglish guided his team to a 3-0 victory. This though is a different Dundee, with Caniggia and Juan Sara currently leading the sleigh. The former is content in his new surroundings, but Dundee, despite the Nemsadzes, the Carranzas and the Arteros, still flatter and deceive rather than stand and deliver. Although having scored five goals in eight games, Caniggia believes he can offer more.

"By nature I am a person who is never satisfied by what I have achieved," he said. "I always want to achieve more. If you want to make it big in football then you must have this mentality. I look at my experience at Dundee, and while I am very happy with what I have found, I wonder if I should not have more goals than I do now. I am happy, but not lazy."

He speaks still of an international recall, and with his Premier League goals regularly aired in Argentina, he clearly believes there is a chance he can make his third appearance in a World Cup finals in 2002. As a Dundee player? "That would be perfect," he replied with a smile to warm hands on.

Since his arrival, the latest life-will-never-be-the-same-again development at Dens is the broadcasting of games live in South America, where Caniggia has an enduring appeal.

His friends back home all watch him on television, performing in curious outposts like Dunfermline. "Several call me to say they have seen the game. Others don't have my number, but I know they are watching." Right on cue, a call from Argentina comes through. "They all think I still look 20," he said, returning to the subject. For many he will always be the dashing, sinewy whippet of the balmy summer of 1990, whether in the dreich Dundee drizzle or no.

Alan Pattullo
Saturday, 9th December 2000
The Scotsman