Sunderland's New Backroom Staff - Part 1

With the dust starting to settle on Paolo Di Canio's controversial appointment, Roker Report has decided it's time to take the focus off Di Canio and to put the spotlight on the staff who followed him to the Stadium of Light from Swindon Town. Namely, Fabrizio Piccareta, Domenico Doardo, Claudio Donatelli and Giulio Viscardi.

First up is First Team Coach, Fabrizio Piccareta.

Piccareta is 47-year-old and hails from Genoa. Little is known about him before he obtained his UEFA 'B' Licence in 2001 but he had a brief spell as manager of Italian minnows Sanremese (June 2004 - June 2005) before a 4 year spell (October '04 - December '08) at Italian giants Inter Milan as a Coaching Co-ordinator in Inter's 'Inter Campus Abroad'. Wherein Piccareta travelled to such places as China, Colombia, Cuba, Iran, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, to coach youngsters on behalf of Inter Milan.

One such coaching assignment was in Cambodia, where he was interviewed by the BBC World Service.

Between 2008 and 2011, he coached other coaches in the Coverciano Academy in Italy and was a first team coach for various lower league Italian clubs.

Piccareta then came to prominence in June 2011 when he joined Di Canio's Swindon Town as Assistant Manager and Chief Scout. After joining The Robins he told the BBC;

We are not bringing Italian football here,

We will bring Italian methodology in training and how we handle the team but our kind of football won't be boring for the fans, I am sure about that.

We would like to bring our philosophy of good football and we would like to give our team a strong identity so even the fans can tell what the players are going to do on the pitch.

In an interview with the Swindon Advertiser, he reiterated his philosophy;

I think we will play good football.

We can't talk about English football, Italian football or French football, there is either good football or bad football.

I don't like to see the ball flying high in the air. I like always to see our players keep the ball on the ground. When the ball is in the air, nobody has control and everyone can play football - even the poorer players - but when it is on the ground only the good players can play.

It will be my aim to ensure we play with the ball on the pitch

And then went on to point out his main role within the coaching set-up;

As a footballer I was not a great player whereas Paolo obviously was, but what I hope I can provide for him is my commitment and support,

We will work together on the pitch every day as a team. I also hope I can offer a different point of view because sometimes a coach must have someone who can look at the same thing, but offer a different type of view. This will be my main task and I am confident I will give my best.

He also spoke of the three traits he values above all others in his footballers;

First of all there is respect. By this term I mean not only education, but also the ability to understand and appreciate the work of the whole team and staff. This is the key because a group can achieve results of value if they work together.

Secondly, I want my team to have an idea of the game. The inspiration of the individual is certainly important, but if it is not made for the team then our training is useless.

Third and finally is commitment. We must work constantly to improve.

When Di Canio resigned at Swindon, Piccareta was made Caretaker-Manager but only lasted one game, a 3-1 away win at Tranmere Rovers. After the match he, and the the rest of the staff, resigned due to their loyalty to Di Canio;

Tomorrow morning we will resign because we are here for Paolo Di Canio and we will follow Paolo Di Canio everywhere. Even if he will coach Real Madrid or Luton Town.

Much less is known about Giulio Viscardi, who joined the club as a physiotherapist and masseur. He held the same role at Swindon Town before following Di Canio to Sunderland and was Head Physiotherapist at the Italian Hockey Federation, as well as a number of lower league Italian sides.

He attended the University of Rome Tor Vergata between 2007 and 2011 and achieved a First Level Degree in Physiotherapy.

Join us tomorrow for the final part of our series, as we take a look at Domenico Doardo and Claudio Donatelli.