Fabio Liverani – Genoa and their history maker

Fabio Liverani made history as a player and now as a coach he is set to do likewise.

Over the last couple of weeks and months the Serie A world has been dominated by the ins and outs of coaches across the peninsula.

Walter Mazzarri’s switch to Inter from Napoli, Rafa Benitez’s return to Italy at the Partenopei and the on-going sagas at Roma and AC Milan have grabbed all the headlines.

Yet under the radar an appointment of even greater significance took place.

“Liverani hasn’t signed the contract yet, but he will do soon,” the words of Genoa president Enrico Preziosi earlier this week to a local television station.

The new Genoa coach Liverani was born in Rome during the 1970’s to a Somali mother and an Italian father, Ezio, who died when he was 15 years old.

Liverani was brought up in a difficult time for those of racial minorities in Italy. The 1970’s and 1980’s was a time of great political tension in the country with immigration a provocative subject.

The youngest of three brothers, Liverani had to deal with many obstacles to become a professional footballer in Italy and was subject to racial abuse throughout his youth.

He made his big break when he joined Perugia in the summer of 2000, joining the revolution under coach Serse Cosmi.

Perugia were a team which gave youngsters their chance and it worked. The side under Cosmi established themselves as a Serie A outfit and won the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2003.

The Umbrian side proved to be the launch pad of the successful careers of players like Marco Materazzi, Hidetoshi Nakata, Fabrizio Miccoli, Fabio Grosso and of course Liverani.

During the 2000/01 season, Liverani was one of the first Serie A players to openly speak out about racism in the Italian game and more generally in Italian society

Liverani gave an interview with Italian magazine, Guerin Sportivo, which he talked at great length about the issue and the difficulties of growing up in Italy as an Italian with an African mother.

“I want to be the Carlton Myers of football,” said Liverani.

Myers was the best Italian basketball player of his generation, at his prime at the turn of the millennium and was of Afro-American decent. The famous basketball player was the symbol of ethnic diversity in Italian sport at the time and was chosen as Italy’s flag bearer at the Olympic Games of Sydney 2000.

Liverani was to earn his own landmark, when Giovanni Trapattoni called him up for Italy’s friendly against South Africa in April 2001.

In the build-up to the game Liverani stated, “It will be a special game for me because South Africa has had to battle so much against racism. I’ve battled against those same prejudices. When people whistle at me for the colour of my skin, it gives me an extra charge.”

He made his debut for Italy and the occasion was made even sweeter by the fact that it came three days before his 25^th birthday and that the game was held at Perugia’s ground, the Stadio Renato Curi.

Liverani was the first black player to wear the Azzurri shirt and the likes of Matteo Ferrari and Mario Balotelli have followed.

He left Perugia after a single season at the club and joined Lazio. He made over 120 appearances for the Roman club and was part of the side which won the Coppa Italia in 2004. Despite only making two appearances for the Italian national side, Liverani was called up by Marcello Lippi to his preliminary squad for the 2006 World Cup. However, Liverani did not make it to Germany.

Later that summer, Liverani moved to Fiorentina. He quickly asserted himself as a vital component of the Viola side under Cesare Prandelli.  Liverani was part of the side that finished fourth in the 2007/08 Serie A campaign.

He was not to enjoy the Champions League, however, as he was moved onto Sicilian club Palermo in 2008. Liverani was instantly given the captaincy, a testament to the player’s leadership qualities. In his first season, he made more passes than any other player in Serie A.

Yet Liverani never reached the heights of the 2008/09 campaign again. A succession of injuries thwarted the last stage of his professional career and any chance he had of regaining his place in the Italian setup.

He retired in November 2011, as a hugely symbolic figure in Italian sport. Now after just over twelve years since he became the first black player to represent Italy, he is to become the first black coach in Italy’s top division.

“I chose him and I am sure of his qualities – character, technical and tactical,” proclaimed Preziosi who is keen for Genoa to revolutionise their youth system.

Liverani has been part of this youth system since he retired and took the Primavera side to the Campionato Primavera playoffs this season. The former Palermo midfielder can also take the experience he gained during his playing career notably at Perugia in regards to bringing young players into the first team.

It is certainly a risk from the part of Preziosi to hire Liverani who has not coached at the professional level in his short career on the side-lines.

Genoa is also hardly a club in which Liverani will be given time to experiment with his youth products. The club are notorious in Serie A for being anything but stable and this was shown last year.

Genoa endured a tough 2012-13 season in Serie A, only avoiding relegation on the penultimate match day with a 0-0 draw against Inter having had three coaches at the helm at various points in the campaign.

A pioneer in modern Italian football, Fabio Liverani is about to embark on his greatest challenge to date. I am sure I speak for all those who follow Italian football in wishing him well.

Follow Richard Hinman on Twitter: @RichardHinman