All Whites' defender grabs another slice of New Zealand football history, as he makes Serie A debut

Liberato Cacace of Empoli FC in action during the Serie A match between Bologna FC and Empoli FC at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara. Photo / Getty Images.

Liberato Cacace has capped a remarkable week with a debut appearance for Empoli in Serie A on Monday morning.

The All Whites' defender became the first New Zealander to play in the Italian top flight, which is currently rated by UEFA as the third best in Europe, only behind the English Premier League and Spain's La Liga.

His first bow was far from easy, coming off the bench in the 70th minute away to Bologna, helping his team hang on for a crucial 0-0 draw.

It's a remarkable milestone for the 21-year-old, who replaced left back Fabiano Parisi, who had picked up a yellow card.

His loan move to Serie A, from Belgian club Sint Truidense VV, was only confirmed last Tuesday and just a handful of training sessions later Cacace got to experience first team football.

It was an early show of faith from coach Aurelio Andreazzoli, given the match situation and especially since Empoli had only managed three points from their previous six games.

When asked about Cacace in the pre-match press conference, the 68-year-old Andreazzoli said he had been quick to impress in the team environment.

"I didn't know Cacace at all, but I had good feelings that have become certainties since he trains with us," said Andreazzoli "The boy has quality, strength and experience despite his young age. [Sporting director] Pietro Accardi has shown that he is good at finding the ideal".

Cacace had been on Empoli's radar and they decided to act when first choice left fullback Riccardo Marchizza picked up a serious knee injury.

"Within the squad we have flexible players who could still fill that role, but in the end we decided to take a pure full-back like Cacace," Accardi told Italian media last week.

"The name is perhaps unknown to you but in football circles it is a well-known name. We have been following him for some time, we have seen that he has grown a lot in recent years."

It augurs well for Cacace. He will continue to have a steep learning curve but is in an ideal environment and has shown across his career an ability to step up to each new level, for club and country.

Wellington Phoenix defender Sam Sutton admitted it was amazing to see the continued rise of his former teammate.

"It's awesome, inspiring," said Sutton on Monday. "He's a good mate of mine and it's awesome to see him push on and do things like that."

"We all know about the quality he is and the sky is the limit for him, who knows how far he can go, that's up to him and everyone here at the club is really proud of him."

"Hopefully he can keep going and personally it is very inspiring to see a young New Zealand left back to do things like that and makes me want to push even harder."

Cacace made 60 appearances for the Phoenix between February 2018 and August 2020, before his move to Belgium.

His time at Sint Truidense VV was far from straightforward, with the exit of coach Kevin Muscat a few months after he arrived, followed by a intense relegation battle.

This season had also been challenging, with Cacace benched for five successive matches at one point late last year, which is testimony to his resilience, before his move to Italy.