Who is Giacomo Quagliata?
By Anthony Barbagallo
Since the days of Totò Schillaci playing for the Italian national team, there have been very few Sicilian footballers representing the Azzurri. However, the likes of Giuseppe Mascara, Gaetano D’Agostino and Francesco Coco played for Italia in the early 2000s. And even Vincenzo Grifo - who is half Sicilian - has played several times under Roberto Mancini’s Italy.
Nevertheless, Sicily nowadays doesn’t boast many footballing stars such as in the regions up north, in central Italy and the Campania area. One of the main reasons for this stems from the lack of Sicilian football clubs playing in Italy’s top two divisions (Serie A and B). But in the last couple of years, numerous Sicilian footballers have left the island and have plied their trade for teams on the Italian mainland.
Sicilians like Ernesto Torregrossa playing for Brescia and now Sampdoria, Francesco Di Mariano with Venezia and Lecce, and Luca Fiordilino currently playing with Venezia have all experienced some top-flight Calcio. These players will have a better chance of making it to the Azzurri rather than their Sicilian compatriots playing for Catania, Palermo and Messina in Serie C. The only acceptance to this is Luca Moro - the Catania star striker recently playing with the U20 Italy side.
The story of Giacomo Quagliata
There is a unique Sicilian footballer who recently made the U21 Azzurri side. Giacomo Quagliata, who plays his football in the Dutch Eredivisie, is a promising left-back who has gone under the radar over several years.
Born in Palermo, Quagliata began his youth career with Calcio Sicilia - a football academy in the Province of Palermo - and with the youth sector of Pro Vercelli. In his youth days, several football representatives in Sicily said Quagliata was too thin and didn’t have the right physicality to make it as a professional footballer. However, Pro Vercelli believed in this young footballer’s abilities.
The 21-year-old gained his first professional contract with Pro Vercelli in 2018, taking two loan spells with Latina and Bari in the process. While honing his defensive and offensive skills in Serie D with Latina and Bari in 2018 and 2019, Quagliata’s promising performances earned him a place in the senior Pro Vercelli squad later in the year. The Palermitano made his professional debut in the Coppa Italia clash with Ascoli in August 2019 - showing that Pro Vercelli was ready to place some faith in this energetic and hardworking defender. During his short time in the Pro Vercelli senior side, the Bianche Casacche fans’ best memory of Quagliata was the 1-0 win in the derby against Novara - where the Sicilian provided an assist off a cross in the first nine seconds of the match.
In January 2020, Quagliata made a bold decision that would shape his football career. After making some decent appearances in Serie C with Pro Vercelli, the Sicilian youngster wanted to elevate his football skills by playing in the higher divisions. With the current landscape being so complex for young Italian footballers to gain a contract with Serie A and B sides, Quagliata received an offer from an unlikely club. Eredivisie side Heracles Almelo - a midtable club in the Dutch top-flight - took Quagliata with open arms. The two-time Dutch champions signed the Palermitano in the 2020-21 preseason.
Moving to a country with a different language and not knowing anyone can sound daunting for a young footballer. Apart from the culture shock, playing in a different footballing environment - an attacking and high-intensity division - was also going to be a tricky transition coming from Italy’s Serie C. But Heracles saw potential in this Sicilian defender that many Serie A and B sides ignored, hence why the Dutch side was willing to gamble with raw talent from Italy.
Embarking on a foreign journey has never been easy for Italian footballers. Still, Quagliata’s agent convinced him to move to the Netherlands by showing him photos of the Johan Cruijff ArenA and many other prestigious and historical Dutch stadiums. So, with this rare signing on Heracles’ doorstep, the fans of this club were eager to see what this Sicilian left-back had to offer in the Erve Asito stadium.
On November 22, deeper into the 2020-21 Eredivisie season, Quagliata finally made his debut for Heracles. It wasn’t just any ordinary game to play for the first time in the Netherlands. It was a fixture with Ajax at the Johan Cruijff ArenA. From playing against the provincial sides in Italy’s north and central Italy to playing in the Netherlands’ biggest football theatre was an extraordinary change in scenery for Quagliata. The Sicilian defender came on as a sub in the 70th minute. Still, he certainly left a lasting impression on the Heracles’ coaching staff and fans with his attacking dynamism and sublime crossing abilities.
During the rest of the 2020-21 season, Quagliata continued to take the Eredivisie by storm through his vibrant skills on the offence. And the Palermitano has continued this form throughout the current 2021-22 campaign so far - growing in strength, developing his defensive attributes and constantly applying the offensive Dutch football style to his attacking game. All this contributed to Quagliata’s recent call-up to the U21 Italy squad.
After taking a gamble on his football career by moving to the Netherlands, all of Quagliata’s dedication and sacrifices through hard work have paid off. The Azzurri U21 Coach, Paolo Nicolato, started Quagliata in the 4-2 victory against Romania earlier this week. From playing in Serie D a couple of years ago to now playing in the Dutch top-flight and earning his first call-up to the Azzurri U21 side, Giacomo Quagliata seems to be going on a flourishing journey.