“It’s a massive boost and I think it just shows how well I’m doing in the league in my first season here,” Cacace said. “I believe that I can go a long way here in Europe and hopefully it keeps going. But I just have to keep producing on the pitch, keep performing well and keep that consistency going, and fingers crossed we’ll see what happens in the summer.”
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Liberato Cacace has established himself as the All Whites’ first-choice left-back. But while playing in Italy’s Serie A might be his long-term goal, Cacace said he was in no rush to leave Belgian Pro League club Sint-Truiden and felt a move to an under-23 would have been a backwards step at this stage in his career.
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After just 19 appearances for fast-reviving Belgium Jupiler Pro League Sint Truiden VV, the 20-year-old wingback is already being targeted by Juventus for their U-23 side, and is allowing himself to daydream of a future in his ancestral home.
Recruited by former Sint-Truidense coach Kevin Muscat - who was sacked after just 14 games at the helm back in December - Cacace has powered on, lighting up the left flank with his attacking exuberance, just as he did in the A-League with Wellington Phoenix.
“I came here knowing the coach Kevin and having (a long-standing) relationship with (then assistant) Luc Trani,” he said.
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There is no suggestion a transfer is imminent, but to be linked with a club of that stature will be a feather in the fullback s cap, especially as he grew up sometimes sleeping in an Italian football kit. He made his debut at the end of September in the seventh round of the Pro League season, with his new club languishing near the bottom of the table in the 18-team competition, and has played every minute since. Sint-Truiden coach Kevin Muscat had been familiar with Cacace from the A-League, where he came up against him as coach of Melbourne Victory, but he was sacked at the start of December after they won just two of their first 14 matches.