Rafa aiming to be a real Italian job in race for title

Feb 12 2009 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

RAFFAELE De Vita faced some of England’s top defenders during his time with Blackburn Rovers.

The Livingston frontman came up against up the likes of Micah Richards, Arvalo Arbeloa and Javier Mascherano as he starred in the Premiership Reserve League.

Now he has fought back from a cruciate ligament injury suffered in pre-season and is ready to bury First Division defenders under an avalanche of goals as he views his comeback for the Lions.

And the Italian has admitted he is itching to get the nod from Livi boss Paul Hegarty to finally make his competitive debut for the Almondvale side.

He said: “I’ve had the all clear now from the surgeon and I’ve been training with the first team now for three or four weeks now.

“I know I won’t walk into the side as the strikers are doing well at the moment.

“I’ll have to fight for my place but I’m desperate for a place on the bench and hope I can get a chance in the team soon.

“I was hoping I’d get that start in the last couple of weeks but I’ve not had the chance yet but I hope I do soon.

“The manager has been asking me how my knee feels as he doesn’t want me to rush back from such a long-term injury.

“It’s not the sort of injury you get over quickly and I know I’m going to have niggles and pains every now and then and he wants to make sure I’m doing fully fit before getting back into the squad.”

The 21-year-old was highly rated in Lancashire and enjoyed shooting practice with the likes of Ewood Park stars Benni McCarthy, Roque Santa Cruz and David Bentley on the training ground and coaching under the wing of the then manager Mark Hughes.

But despite finishing as top goalscorer for the Blackburn second string he found his path to the top-team blocked by the established internationals.

He revealed one of his proudest moments was when he scored twice against a star-studded Manchester United reserve side which boasted the likes of current Italian international Giuseppe Rossi and Quentin Fortune.

But now all he wants is the chance to blast the Lions back to the SPL after recovering from his injury.

Since his comeback he has featured in two closed door matches and suffered no ill effects.

And he admits watching from the Almondvale sidelines every weekend is driving him to despair.

He continued: “I have played in two friendlies since my injury.

“I played 25 minutes against Falkirk and a half against Rangers under 19s.

“My knee felt great in both although my match fitness wasn’t great and I felt a bit tired.

“It’s been a nightmare watching from the sidelines.

“To be honest I hate Saturday’s at the moment and every week feels exactly the same.

“I’m really frustrated as every day is the same as the last with no game to prepare for. I miss having the feeling of preparing for a game on a Friday night and it is frustrating.”

De Vita arrived in England at just 15 years of age after being spotted playing in Rome for local team Atletico 2000.

But despite being a big hit in the youth and reserve ranks he found it tough to break into the Blackburn Rovers team.

So when the offer of a move to Livingston came up and the chance to play under a fellow Roman in chairman Angelo Massone he jumped at it.

And despite watching his team mates slip up against Dundee on Saturday, De Vita is still confident the title race can be won by the Lions.

He added: “We were all very disappointed on Saturday as we felt the Dundee game was very important.

“But at least St Johnstone didn’t win to increase the gap further.

“Time is against us but Saints have drawn a lot of games recently and we still believe we can catch them but we have to keep winning. It won’t be easy but we reckon we can do it.

“I’ve watched all of our games this season and it is a tough league, even more than I thought when I signed for Livingston.

“You don’t get time on the ball before you have a defender closing you down or even time to think.

“The Premiership reserves was different because there were a lot of first-team players involved and they let you have time on the ball which suited my game.

“The league is full of big, strong defenders but I’m confident I can score goals.”

READY TO RETURN: Rafa De Vita has recovered from a serious knee injury and wants the chance to score the goals to help Livi back to the top of the table. svwlc090209davita-1