AFC Youth Academy welcomed Sampdoria U16s coach Fabrizio Piccareta to Aberdeen for a visit on the 12th of January. Fabrizio is currently studying for his UEFA Pro Licence with the Scottish FA and he took a break from his studies to come up to visit Aberdeen FC to discuss his experiences in both professional and youth football.

RedTV | interview with Fabrizio Piccareta please click here

Fabrizio is a product of Sampdoria’s youth system and played semi-professional and professional football in Italy. His early coaching career saw him working in Youth Academies in his native country, before moving on to deliver coach education at Inter Milan.  In 2011 Fabrizio joined Swindon Town FC as Paolo Di Canio’s Assistant Manager before following him to Sunderland in October 2013.  In 2014/15 he was first team coach at Olhanense FC before joining Sampdoria to coach their U16s.
 
The first part of Fabrizio’s visit saw him meet with full-time AFC Youth Academy staff, Neil Simpson, Gavin Levey, Steven Gunn, Scott Anderson Jim Fraser and Patrick Maughan to share ideas and experiences from his time coaching professional and youth teams.
 
After a lunchbreak Fabrizio met with the SFA coach Development group for a Q&A session.  Fabrizio discussed his career, structures at Sampdoria, the Italian youth set up and developing young players with coaches from AFFCT and AFC Youth Academy.
 
The main coaching seminar was held in the evening where he delivered a session with AFC’s U17 squad demonstrating drills developing defensive characteristics to AFC Youth Academy and SFA coach development coaches.  Fabrizio focussed on the movement and positioning of the back 4 and how to collectively defend from every angle of pitch.
 
After the session the coaches were treated to an analytic presentation of Scottish and Italian football and the use of defensive play which included video footage using good and bad examples of how and where a team should set up a defensive line.
 
Head of Youth Academy Neil Simpson said, “I am currently attending the SFA creating high performance environments course and the subject of my project is to improve the defensive characteristics in every player and squad involved in AFC Youth Academy.  The Italian game is based on a solid defensive shape so I wanted to bring an Italian coach over to the club to learn how they develop young players on this subject.  My former colleague at the SFA, Jim Fleeting recommended Fabrizio Piccareta and put me in touch with him to arrange for him to visit us in the north east.  Fabrizio’s visit was first class and was a great day of learning and discussion and gave us an insight into the structure and philosophy at Sampdoria FC and in Italian football.  All AFC coaches thoroughly enjoyed Fabrizio’s visit which will have a lasting benefit not only for the development of our young players but the enhancement our current coaching Programme.”
 
We would like to thank Fabrizio for visiting Aberdeen FC and we wish him well for the future.