On this day in 2015, Sunderland signed Fabio Borini permanently from Liverpool, after the Italian fan favourite saved us from relegation a few years prior during his loan spell here.
Borini was born and raised in Bentivoglio, Italy. He started his career in the Bologna Youth team setup where he spent a few years before signing for Chelsea.
After a few years in the Chelsea development teams he was sent on loan to Brendan Rodgers’ Swansea City. He joined halfway through the season as the Swans were making a push for promotion. He only played a handful of times but he definitely made an impact. In the final of the playoffs he was fouled for a penalty which Garry Monk scored, clinching promotion to the Premier League with a 4-2 win.
After the promotion success with Swansea Borini left Chelsea on a free to Parma but didn’t even play a game for them. He was sent on loan to Roma who ended up purchasing the Italian the season after, only to sell him in the same transfer window to Liverpool.
He was reunited with former gaffer Brendan Rodgers, who must have been impressed with what he saw in the Swansea days to take him to Liverpool. Funnily enough, it was here where he started his fantastic habit of scoring against the Mags as he bagged his first Premier League goal in a 6-0 thumping at St James’.
After that season we took him in on loan. Borini played a major role in the incredible season of 2013/14. Speaking on his favourite moments in his playing career he had this to say:
“The other is staying up with Sunderland, a truly incredible moment. We were in an almost impossible ranking position, the whole path was strong. I remember that those were the holidays that I enjoyed the most because I was energised for the whole season.”
Fab was essentially a big game player, most of his goals that season came in important games or against big teams. His first goal for us was a late winner against the Mags as we won 2-1, a thundering strike from the edge of the box followed by his iconic celebration as he was swarmed by fans. That’s one way to make an impact.
In the return fixture at the Sports Direct Arena we hammered the Mags again. We won 3-0 as Borini stood out from the crowd in a historic performance as we climbed up the table. He famously laughed in Tim Krul’s face before slamming home a penalty kick into the roof of the net. In the latter stages of the game Newcastle were pushing and getting chances until the Italian got the ball from the halfway line, ran all the way to the edge of the box and laid it off for Jack Colback, who rifled it in to seal a lovely away day win.
Then of course there was the historic day at Wembley against Manchester City where we dared to dream. It was made better by that iconic goal and celebration of which I'm sure you’re well aware of. Any chance to re-watch that goal and strike up old memories of what could have been.
After that incredible season where we started the new year in the 20th position and managed to finish 14th, Fabio didn’t re-join the Lads as most of us had hoped. Ultimately, Borini rejected us in favour of fighting for his place at Liverpool. It was one of Gus Poyet’s major mistakes at Sunderland, he spent all season chasing the Italian instead of focusing on other transfer targets.
Borini spent one more season at Liverpool where he did nothing really, scoring one goal over the course of the whole season. We then took him in permanently on deadline day and he scored a couple of goals, but he spent the rest of his time with us in Jermain Defoe’s shadow. It turned out that he wasn’t worth the extortionate fee of £8 million, rising to £10 million, which we paid for him in the end. Borini only managed to score five goals for us that season whereas Defoe put the ball in the net 15 times.
The season after wasn't any better either. Having been shifted around the front three throughout the course of the season he didn't pick up many goals or assists when in creative roles. Then of course we started our journey through the EFL and Borini left on loan to AC Milan, who ended up purchasing him after his loan spell. He was even hilariously linked with a move to the Mags at one point. He could have ruined their days even more had he joined, since he had been in a slump ever since the 13/14 season with us.
As he got older he moved to the Turkish League (he's now at Sampdoria after a great season in Turkey). Borini could have been a legend at the SOL, but a poor attitude meant he was never able to fulfil his potential after a sensational season on loan.
