How Chiesa can reignite his career at Liverpool

Italian football expert Nicky Bandini profiles Liverpool signing Federico Chiesa following his move from Juventus.

Player analysis - Federico Chiesa (Liverpool)

It was no surprise to hear Federico Chiesa give the first interview of his Liverpool career in fluent English. As a boy, he studied for four years at the International School of Florence, where all classes (except Italian) were taught in that language.

Beginning with Fiorentina

His parents wanted him to grow up “with a world of opportunity”, he explained back in 2015, even if his sporting ambitions did not bear fruit.

Besides, they argued, it might not hurt on the pitch, either. As Chiesa recalled at the time: “When my dad signed me up, he told me it could turn out to be useful for my football one day, too.”

That father, is Enrico Chiesa, the former Italy striker who scored at Anfield himself during UEFA EURO ’96. His influence on Federico has been clear from the start. Old family video recordings show dad encouraging his toddler son to take his first shots in the living room. 

Enrico was a centre-forward who played for 12 different clubs, starting in the sixth tier and going on to successful top-flight stints with the likes of Parma, Sampdoria and Fiorentina.

Federico graduated from the latter club’s academy in 2016. He was soon labelled as “un predestinato” – someone predestined, by natural talent and genetic heritage, for great things.

He made his Serie A debut for Fiorentina against Juventus at 18 and was a regular starter within a year. Unlike his father, Federico did not have a fixed position, playing across the forward line.

Nevertheless, in the pandemic-disrupted 2019/20 season, he scored 10 Serie A goals (below), breaking double figures in the league for the first - and still the only - time.

Juventus signed him at the start of the following campaign, in a deal - structured as an initial loan, then obligation to buy - that would wind up costing a reported €45million.

He rewarded their faith with 14 goals and 10 assists across all competitions, earning a spot on the Italian Footballers Association’s Team of the Year.

Starring for Italy

Then came EURO 2020, delayed to 2021 due to the Covid pandemic. Chiesa began as a backup. Sassuolo’s Domenico Berardi started, and played well on the right of attack for Italy as they thumped Turkey and Switzerland 3-0 in the group stage.

But Chiesa displaced Berardi from the side after coming off the bench to score an extra-time goal against Austria in the last 16.

It was his semi-final strike against Spain, though, that captured the world’s attention. In a match which Italy played largely on the back foot, Chiesa showed opportunism and finesse as he seized on a loose ball from Aymeric Laporte’s tackle of Ciro Immobile and curled a shot around Unai Simon from the edge of the box.

Chiesa's goals v Austria and Spain

Italy went on to beat hosts England in the final. Chiesa, named in the team of the tournament, looked poised to become - together with goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and midfielder Nicolo Barella - a face of his country’s next generation of men’s footballing talent.

As if to prove the summer was no fluke, he scored another sublime goal at the start of Italy's next match, a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Bulgaria.

Chiesa's goal v Bulgaria

Injury problems

How differently might his story, and his country’s, have unfolded if it were not for the cruciate ligament tear he suffered in January 2022.

Chiesa stayed out for eight months, missing Italy’s playoff defeat to North Macedonia: a match in which they took 32 shots without scoring.

Although that injury is long behind him now, the player has never fully delivered on his potential since.

Over the last two years, Chiesa has frequently been sidelined by minor muscle and joint strains, but even when healthy - and he did make 33 league appearances in 2023/24 - he has blown hot and cold.

Chiesa began last season with four goals in five matches, but only hit five more the rest of the way, with three assists, but did crown the season by winning the Italian Cup.

If Chiesa’s first season at Juventus was the most fruitful, it was not only because he was healthy, but because the coach Andrea Pirlo embraced an attacking game plan.

Pirlo’s successor, Massimiliano Allegri, prioritised defensive stability. Perhaps the player’s own versatility has also hindered him, playing on both wings, as a No 10 and centre-forward without ever making one spot his own.

There could have been an opportunity for Chiesa to reinvent himself at Juventus this season, with Thiago Motta taking charge and introducing a more modern and fluid approach to the game. Yet, the player was informed he would not be part of the club’s plans this season.

The club has spent more than €150m in the transfer market this season, and selling Chiesa, one of their higher earners who is entering the final year of his contract, might simply have been viewed as a sensible option to help balance the books.

It is also true, though, that the player failed to make an impact for Italy at this summer’s Euros and Motta took the time for a close-up look in training before deciding to cut him loose.

Whether because of injury, tactics, or any other cause, Chiesa has dazzled Italian audiences only intermittently since that break-out summer three years ago.

Yet he is still only 26 years old and the reported £10m fee for Liverpool is modest for a Premier League forward in 2024.

Chiesa spoke before this summer’s Euros of an enduring ambition to prove he can be one of the best players in the world.

When Liverpool came calling, of course, he checked in with his dad. “He told me immediately: Go!” said Federico. “It’s the best choice for your career.”

Arne Slot explains what Federico Chiesa will bring to Liverpool External Link

Arne Slot explains what Federico Chiesa will bring to Liverpool

Nicky Bandini (@nickybandini) is a sports writer and broadcaster who specialises in European football