FEDERICO CHIESA

Born in Genoa in 1997, it was at ACF Fiorentina where Federcio Chiesa began his career as a footballer. Noted for his ability to dribble at pace, beat a man and score goals, he quickly developed into one of Italian football’s most exciting wingers after being given a first-team opportunity at the start of season 2016/17. Chiesa was playing for ACF Fiorentina’s Under-19s team when Mo Salah was on loan in Florence in 2015. His international debut followed for Italy in 2018 and two years later he signed for Juventus FC, where he would go on to win two Coppa Italia titles. It was at UEFA Euro 2020 - delayed until the summer of 2021 - where Chiesa shot to international prominence with his standout displays for Italy earning him a place in the Team of the Tournament and helping the Azzurri to lift the trophy following a penalty shoot-out victory against England in the Wembley final. That success came 25 years after Federico’s dad Enrico played for Italy at Anfield in…

EURO ‘96

It was the day that future Liverpool FC players Patrik Berger and Vladimír Šmicer made their Anfield bows for the Czech Republic and an afternoon that ultimately cost Arrigo Saachi his job as Italy manager. Having already beaten Russia 2-1 at Anfield in the UEFA Euro ‘96 group stage, the Azzurri boss opted to rest several key players against the unfancied Czechs, but it backfired. Luigi Apolloni was sent off after 29 minutes and goals from Pavel Nedvěd and Radek Bejbl gave the Czech Republic a shock 2-1 win. After drawing 0-0 with Germany in their final group game, Italy crashed out, but that Anfield defeat was a significant day for the Chiesa family as Enrico, a Genoa-born striker who had scored 22 goals in Serie A for UC Sampdoria that season, equalised at the Anfield Road end after Nedvěd opened the scoring. “We have a picture of him celebrating after he scored that goal, but honestly I didn’t know it was at Anfield,” admitted Federico. “Usually when we speak about the Euros he doesn’t want to talk about it because I say that I won it and he has not won it!” Amongst the other clubs Enrico played for were SS Lazio, who play at the…

STADIO OLIMPICO

‘In ‘77 and ‘84 it was Rome’... Arguably the most significant stadium away from Anfield in Liverpool FC’s illustrious European history, Rome’s Stadio Olimpico was the venue the Reds won their first and fourth European Cups at in 1977 and 1984. Bob Paisley’s Redmen became champions of Europe for the first time in ‘77 when goals from Terry McDermott, Tommy Smith and a Phil Neal penalty saw off West German champions Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-1. For many Reds of that era, it remains the greatest night in LFC history. Seven years later the Reds returned to the Italian capital for their fourth European Cup final, but this time Joe Fagan’s side had to face AS Roma in their home stadium. Right-back Neal opened the scoring, but an AS Roma equaliser took the game to penalties where Liverpool FC goalie Bruce Grobbelaar famously put the home players off with his ‘spaghetti legs’ wobbling on the goalline before left-back Alan Kennedy converted the winning spot-kick. The Reds also won a UEFA Cup last 16 game 2-0 against AS Roma at the Stadio Olimpico in 2001 en-route to lifting the trophy and reached the 2018 UEFA Champions League final in Kyiv despite a 4-2 loss in the semi-final second leg there. Opened in 1928 and with a capacity of over 70,000, for seven years it was also the home stadium of…

JUVENTUS FC

Liverpool FC have played 22 games in Italy and the second of those was a 1-0 defeat against Juventus FC in Turin in the old UEFA European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1965/66, although the Reds progressed on aggregate. In January 1985 the two clubs met again in Turin to contest the UEFA Super Cup, Juventus beating Joe Fagan’s European champions 2-0 with Zbigniew Boniek netting twice, but tragedy struck four months later when Liverpool FC and Juventus FC reached the European Cup final in Brussels. Events that took place prior to kick-off in Block Z of the Heysel Stadium on 29 May resulted in 39 fans - mostly Juventus FC supporters - tragically losing their lives and leaving hundreds more injured.

A memorial plaque at Anfield remembers those who lost their lives and features the words In Memoria e Amicizia - In Memory and Friendship. LFC’s all-time leading goalscorer Ian Rush subsequently moved to Juventus in 1987, before returning to Anfield in 1988, and the Reds also defeated Juventus FC 2-1 at Anfield - Sami Hyypiä and Luis García scoring - in the 2005 UEFA Champions League quarter-final en-route to the final in Istanbul, where Rafa Benítez’s side faced...

AC MILAN

Despite having won 10 European Cups between them, Liverpool FC and AC Milan had remarkably never met in a competitive fixture until the 2005 UEFA Champions League final at Istanbul’s Ataturk Stadium. By half-time it looked like Carlo Ancelotti’s men would be champions of Europe for a seventh time having romped into a three-goal lead, but the Reds shocked AC Milan with three second half goals in six minutes from Steven Gerrard, Vladimír Šmicer and Xabi Alonso before goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek pulled off a wonder save from Andriy Shevchenko in extra-time and made two stops in the penalty shoot-out as Liverpool FC triumphed on spot-kicks. AC Milan got revenge two years later, winning the 2007 UEFA Champions League final against the Reds 2-1 in Athens, and the sides met again in the 2021/22 group stage with Jürgen Klopp’s men winning 3-2 at Anfield and 2-1 at the San Siro. Arne Slot’s Redmen also began this season’s UEFA Champions League league phase with a 3-1 win against AC in Milan on his birthday, while there have been nine players to have appeared for both clubs including Italian striker Fabio Borini, Spanish winger Suso and the one and only…

MARIO BALOTELLI

‘Mario fantastico, Mario magnifico, ole ole, ole ole’ was the Kop’s song of choice for Italian international striker Mario Balotelli, who seemed to make as many headlines for his exploits off the pitch as he did on it. A Premier League winner with Manchester City FC in 2012, he arrived at Anfield from AC Milan in the summer of 2014 as Liverpool FC manager Brendan Rodgers needed someone to fill the considerable void left by Luis Suárez, but his impact was minimal. Balotelli scored his first of four goals for LFC against PFC Ludogorets Razgrad in the UEFA Champions League, but then irked his manager by swapping shirts with Real Madrid CF’s Pepe when the Reds were 3-0 down at Anfield by half-time. Balotelli later got himself suspended for one match due to an inflammatory Instagram post. His late winner against Tottenham Hotspur FC in a 3-2 Premier League win was Balotelli’s best LFC moment, but it was no surprise that he was loaned back to AC Milan after one season before being sold to OGC Nice by Jürgen Klopp in 2016. Prior to playing for Manchester City FC, Balotelli had won a treble of Serie A trophies with…

INTERNAZIONALE

The only Italian club to have played in Italy’s top-flight since it was founded in 1909, Internazionale were also Liverpool FC’s first Italian opponents in European competition. The two clubs met in the European Cup semi-final in 1965 with the first leg considered one of Anfield’s greatest nights. Three days after winning the FA Cup for the first time, the Bill Shankly boys beat European Champions Inter 3-1 with Roger Hunt, Ian Callaghan and Ian St John getting the goals and a raucous Spion Kop famously singing ‘Go back to Italy’ to the tune of Santa Lucia. Internazionale won the second leg 3-0 in the San Siro, however, with Liverpool FC’s first game on Italian soil full of controversy as Inter’s first two goals both came in dubious circumstances. It was 43 years before the clubs met again, but after the Reds won the first leg of the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League last 16 clash 2-0 at Anfield a Fernando Torres goal secured a 1-0 win at San Siro and the travelling Kop unveiled a banner that read VENDETTA DELLO SHANKLY - Shankly’s Revenge. Goals from Roberto Firmino and Mo Salah also gave Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool FC a 2-0 San Siro success against Internazionale en-route to the 2022 UEFA Champions League final and a total of seven players have appeared for both clubs including Philippe Coutinho, Xherdan Shaqiri, Paul Ince and…

DANIELE PADELLI

If you never saw Daniele Padelli play for Liverpool FC then you’re not the only one. The goalkeeper made just one appearance for LFC, against Charlton Athletic FC on the final day of the 2006/07 Premier League season, having been signed on loan from UC Sampdoria, the club Liverpool FC’s 1984 European Cup winning captain Graeme Souness left the Reds for. Italy U21s international goalie Padelli didn’t play well and made a goal-costing error in a 2-2 draw, but has a place in LFC history as the first of seven Italian-born players to make a first-team appearance for Liverpool FC. Padelli remains the only Italian goalkeeper to have played for the Reds while Thiago Alcântara is the only Italian-born Liverpool FC player to have played internationally for another nation - Spain - having moved there as a youngster when his Brazilian international father joined Valencia CF and subsequently RC Celta de Vigo. The other Italy-born player to have appeared for LFC that we’ve yet to mention is…

ANDREA DOSSENA

Signed from Udinese Calcio in the summer of 2008, Andrea Dossena was bought by Rafa Benítez to solve his problem left-back position with John Arne Riise sold to AS Roma and Fábio Aurélio regularly injured, but the Italian international struggled badly in a red shirt. Dossena made 26 appearances as the Reds challenged for the Premier League title, but is best remembered for coming on as a substitute on the left of midfield and scoring the fourth goals in a 4-1 win against Manchester United FC at Old Trafford and a 4-0 UEFA Champions League victory against Real Madrid CF at Anfield in the space of five days. Dossena remained at Liverpool FC during season 2009/10, but only made five appearances and never played again after starting in a 2-0 defeat at Portsmouth FC before being sold to SSC Napoli - the Italian club with the best record against LFC in Italy having won three and drawn one of our four clashes in Naples. Mo Salah has scored twice in two Anfield wins against SSC Napoli, and also netting against them three times for Juventus FC was…

FEDERICO CHIESA

Bologna FC 1909, who Liverpool FC beat 2-0 at Anfield in this season’s UEFA Champions League league phase, are the team Chiesa scored most often against in Italian football, netting seven goals against them in 11 games, none of which he lost. Injuries meant the opening half-season of Chiesa’s Liverpool FC career was somewhat stop-start, but he got his first assist in the 5-1 Carabao Cup win against West Ham United FC at Anfield and struck his first goal at the Kop end to seal a 4-0 FA Cup third round victory against Accrington Stanley FC in January 2025. If Chiesa - which means ‘Church’ in Italian - can reach five goals for Liverpool FC he will become the Reds all-time leading Italian-born goalscorer above Mario Balotelli (4), while only Thiago Alcântara has won a trophy with LFC - the 2022 FA Cup - having been born in Italy. “I am enjoying being at the club because Liverpool is one of the biggest clubs in the world and the fanbase is just amazing, and playing at Anfield gives me shivers,” he said. A positive from the defeat at Wembley in the Carabao Cup was his consolation goal Infront of the travelling Kop, leaving many with hopes he can have big part to play between now and the end of May!