Wisdom Amey, the youngest player in Serie A history | OneFootball

Born on 11 August 2005 in Bassano del Grappa (VI), Amey is the youngest player ever to appear in a Serie A game, beating the record previously set by Amedeo Amadei and Pietro Pellegri. Those two forwards appeared aged 15 years and 280 days, whilst the Rossoblù defender played his first professional game, against Genoa, at aged 15 years and 274 days. A centre-half measuring 182cm, he arrived at Bologna in the January transfer window in 2019/2020 from Vicenza – after beginning his career at Cosmos and Bassano – along with Davide Franzini, a goalkeeper who, before COVID interruption, had been picked by the Italy U15s. In his first year, the defender played 15 times, missing only 4 games and scoring 3 goals. In addition, he was called up last year by U16 coach Patrizia Panico, to the festival for players from Northern-Central teams; following that, he was not picked – but only because he still awaits his Italian citizenship, as his mother and father are of Nigerian and Togolese nationality respectively. Up until now this season, he was being brought into Luca Vigiani’s U17 side, playing two league matches and occasionally filling in at right-back.

Below, read the thoughts of Daniele Corazza, Youth Team Coordinator at the club, as well as those of Luca Vigiani and Francesco Morara, the coaches who have overseen his development up until his Serie A debut. They illustrate why such interest has been taken in the young man, and explain his qualities and the improvements that they have seen in him.

The thoughts of Daniele Corazza, Rossoblù Youth Team Coordinator

“Wisdom was a player closely watched by the likes of Davide Caprari for our Scouting Area. As we always do when a player potentially interests us enough to sign for our Youth Team, we watched him on several occasions and liked him from the start, holding high hopes for his future. Before coming to Bologna, there was a lot of interest in him – to be honest, he probably could have signed for a number of other big clubs – but we succeeded in convincing him to choose the Rossoblù specifically: he believed in the Youth Team project and and the people here at Bologna.

Once he had arrived at the Due Torri, he was warmly welcomed, along with the other boys signed, to the Camplus Bononia boarding school, becoming – almost instantly – an integral member of Francesco Morara’s U15 side. During the season, the decision to integrate him into Luca Vigiani’s U17 side was taken; his quick sporting development gave him the possibility to compete in games with the 2004-born group. In league games and training matches, he showed his obvious talent, which is what led to his surprise call-up to the first team: a pleasant surprise, of course!”

The thoughts of Luca Vigiani, Bologna U17 coach

“The kid’s application and work-rate pleasantly surprised me right from the outset. Beyond the impressive physical and technical skills that Wisdom has, he also has that ability to pay attention to whatever he is told. He has shown a diligence beyond his years. He has responded really well to all the things that we have asked him to do, which is why he attracted the attention of Mihajlovic’s staff and the Coach himself. He is a boy with a brilliant work-ethic and concentration, both of which are fundamental skills. If things in training are not quite understood, the boys tend to let it go, whereas he always stops to ask for explanations so he can continue to improve. I am delighted for him, as is the whole club and, in particular, the Youth Team sector that believed in him and helped him to grow.”

The thoughts of Francesco Morara, Bologna U15 Coach

“With me, although he was not here very long, he already showed himself to be a very mature athlete and one who was ready, from a mental perspective, to grow – and, therefore, to move up the age-groups. Again, he has such a desire to improve and has a maturity that allows him to be very exacting and dedicated with his work in training. Clearly, he was too good for the U15 level, but he still had to learn to be more consistent during games, because he would suffer from “blackouts” at certain moments, where he would make un-characteristic mistakes. This year, in the U17s, I have seen him become more consistent, more mature. He is the type of player that always makes the difference in the Youth Team, because he has a physical and technical development that is comparable to those much older than him. I am really happy for him: he deserved his debut and I think he can provide the example for so many other youngsters of the required mentality and work-ethic. He has a very mature attitude and character, and so it is no accident that he has so quickly managed to come to the fore.”