Liverpool's Xabi Alonso replacement lands huge manager role in Serie A
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Liverpool moved to sign a $23 million (£17 million) replacement for Xabi Alonso in 2009, and he has just landed a big job in Serie A as he takes his next steps in coachingAlberto Aquilani during a Serie B game between AC Monza and Catanzaro(Image: Mairo Cinquetti/NurPhoto via Getty Images)Former Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani has become the new manager of Serie A side Sassuolo, a year after moving to second-tier Catanzaro, where he did well.Aquilani, now 41, took Catanzaro to fifth place in Serie B in the season just gone, but lost the playoff final to Monza, meaning that he missed out on promotion to the top flight. However, the move was not a success.The Italian was injury-prone and unable to adapt to life in the Premier League, with Aquilani making just 18 league appearances for the Reds before he moved back to Serie A.He went on to play for Juventus, AC Milan and Fiorentina.
In 2012, he secured a permanent exit, with Liverpool bringing in around 10 percent of what it paid for him initially.Aquilani was signed by Liverpool during his playing days(Image: Getty Images)"Liverpool was a big change for me," Aquilani told the Liverpool ECHO in 2023. I had had a lot of chances to move from Roma, I remember, when I was younger."Arsenal and Chelsea gave me big offers, but there was never any chance I’d leave Roma."What happened was I was injured, I had a big injury.
Learn moreLiverpool FC have launched their new home kit for the 2026/27, inspired by iconic adidas strip worn during the club's 1989/90 title-winning campaign."When my agent told me Liverpool wanted me, for me it was like the years before with Arsenal, Chelsea, Juventus when Roma never sold me."But when my agent told me that Roma wanted to sell me, for me it was different. For me, it was impossible to think of changing from Roma to another club, to another country."It was impossible, even one year before, but when I understood that that was true, then Liverpool, for me, was the best choice."