It was not on the football field that Chris Greenacre first witnessed Liberato Cacace's speed, but in the garden at a barbecue where he was a surprise guest.

A player at Wellington Phoenix at the time, Greenacre received a group message from captain Andrew Durante, who was looking for some team-mates to go along to a junior football team's end of season get-together.

Antonio Cacace, Liberato's father, was hosting a BBQ for the Island Bay youngsters at their family home and knew Durante through his Italian restaurant La Bella.

So he asked Durante if he would be willing to pop in and surprise the boys.

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​Not only did he accept, but Durante brought a bunch of other Phoenix players with him, Greenacre included. They spent the evening eating food and having kicks with the kids in the backyard.

As it transpired, one of those boys would grow up to become a Phoenix star himself.

"There were quite a few of us and I remember Libby running around the garden," said Greenacre, now the club's assistant coach.

GETTY IMAGES Liberato Cacace made his A-League debut as a 17-year-old.

"We've all seen him grow up. Last season there was some footage of him with Dura where he looked very, very young and it gave the rest of the squad a bit of a giggle. But it just shows there is a pathway here in Wellington on everyone's doorstep.

"That's the side of the club that people don't see. We're always wanting to give our time to the community, to the people who give good money to come through the turnstiles to watch the team play.

"There's a lot of work that goes behind the scenes to try and reach out to these local communities and keep in touch with the youngsters because everyone remembers their first team.

"It doesn't matter where you live in the world you remember your first team and those colours stay with you for the rest of your life, through the good times and the bad times."

PHOTOSPORT Liberato Cacace and Paul Ifill jostle for possession during a match between the Phoenix reserves and Tasman.

On Sunday, Liberato Cacace will become the youngest player in the club's history to play 50 A-League games, when he takes the field against Central Coast Mariners.

It is yet another milestone for the 19-year-old defender, who has enjoyed a rapid rise since making his debut in a 4-0 defeat to Sydney FC in 2018, when he was a Year 12 student at St Patrick's College.

Cacace is now the first choice left-back for both club and country and is considered by many to be the best player in his position in the A-League.

"We thought there was a point where it was kinda sink or swim and we thought we'd give him a go and see if he can cope in the A-League, and you know he hasn't looked back," Greenacre said.

"He's been able to take it to the next level where he's been able to cement the position and hold onto the jersey. With that comes a lot of hard work in training on a daily basis to try and solidify any position in the starting 11. He's certainly on the right trajectory.

GETTY IMAGES Liberato Cacaces marks up against Daniel Arzani during a match against Melbourne City in 2018.

"To play 50 games is a fantastic achievement and a personal achievement for Libby but knowing Libby he'll just take it in his stride, like yeah it's 50 but we've got to win on the weekend and it's all about Central Coast Mariners.

"For us, for his family and all the people around him it's a nice little milestone and hopefully he's here to make the 100 and we get more out of Libby."

A powerful dribbler, Greenacre said Cacace was a consistent performer for the Phoenix reserves and had been knocking on the door for some time prior to his debut.

"He was playing in a back three, I played him as a left-sided centre-back and it was interesting because a lot of teams couldn't deal with him.

"The way he dribbled with the ball, as soon as the ball came out to him he was able to break that first defensive line and then before you know it, he'd be on the edge of the opponent's box.

"He has that strength and composure where he gets into the opponent's half of the field. He's now getting on the scoresheet and getting a couple of assists to his game, and that's just developed and developed the higher he's gone to play and it's gone to the A-League now.

"But to get to the next level he still had to improve and for a lot of young players it's their game understanding and developing his role in the team. He played as a wingback last season which is a different role to how he plays as a fullback this season so he's had to adapt his game, which is great in the long-term because he's learning to play different positions.

GETTY IMAGES Liberato Cacace, centre, celebrates with Ben Waine after scoring against Western Sydney.

"He's still young and he's still got a lot of stuff he needs to work on. Like all of the young players, he's not the finished article, but he's well on his way. There's things in his game where he knows he needs to improve and to be fair he spends extra moments on the training ground afterwards, doing extra crossing. He's trying to improve every day and long may that continue and that attitude continue."

Although Cacace was thrown into the deep end in his debut season, he certainly held his own, even against some of the A-League's more prominent attackers.

Greenacre recalled a 2-1 win over Melbourne City in Auckland, when he had taken over as caretaker coach. Cacace was tasked with marking Daniel Arzani, who had been a revelation for City and would go on to play for the Socceroos and sign for Premier League giants Manchester City.

"The Arzani game we played up in Auckland, what happened was the first time Arzani got the ball he turned Libby inside out and I thought in that moment that he's going to be in for a tough evening because Arzani was playing very, very well then, he was playing with lots of confidence, he was scoring and he was tearing teams apart," he said.

"But Arzani didn't get past Libby once after that. It was like it was a shock wake up call for Libby, but he made the most of the occasion and I think it showed really strong character and self belief.

"You've got one of the top young players in the competition playing for Melbourne City with all their razzmatazz and you thought 'this kid's not bad' and Libby took his game to another level. I thought he was the man of the match that night and I think Warren Joyce put Arzani on the other wing because he couldn't get past Libby.

"He caught a lot of people out because they didn't really how quick he was or how strong he was. He will get you defending your own box and doing the running you don't want to do."

While the Phoenix have produced other promising players in the past, including the likes of Marco Rojas and Sarpreet Singh, Cacace is the first Wellington-born star to come through the academy who grew up supporting the club as a boy, and that is something Greenacre said the Phoenix were extremely proud of.

"I think it sends a clear message out, the work that has been done at the other levels of the club. Players are coming into the academy now and can see there's a clear pathway that I can make it in the A-League and potentially go overseas, like Sarpreet Singh.

"But it's for parents too. They can see that their child can make it in the pro grade and can do it right here on their doorstep in Wellington. There's a number of players who have got involved in the first team and we've got no problems wanting to call up the reserve team players to first team sessions because we know they're not at a level where they're going to let the session down, we're going to help their progression and we've got a coach in charge in Ufuk Talay who is willing to throw players in.

"Ufuk has worked with some of the best players in this part of the world but he's shown if you're good enough then we've got no problem throwing you right into the first team, and Libby is sitting right at the top of that.

"He's an excellent role model, the way he conducts himself, he works hard at training and off the field he's a very family orientated person who comes from a very good grounding. He's the shining light for all the players in Wellington."