Son of ex-Premier League wonderkid who stunned Liverpool following dad's lead
His father was chaired out of Goodison Park shoulder-high, days after his 18th birthday, after scoring for Everton in a Merseyside derby.
Dreadlocks bobbing like National Lottery balls in a tombola, Danny Cadamarteri's finest hour in the Toffees' royal blue shirt was to rob dithering Liverpool defender Bjorn Tore Kvarme, lead Neil Ruddock a merry dance and drill his fifth goal in six starts into the bottom corner.
Five years later, almost to the day, Wayne Rooney made his grand entrance with a sensational winner against Arsenal aged 16 in 2002. But Evertonians have never forgotten the day Cadamarteri trimmed the Liver bird's wings – and now his son Bailey, 18, is proving a chip off the old block at Sheffield Wednesday, leading from the front in the Owls' own version of the Great Escape.
You saw the film, lapsing in and out of consciousness between Yule logs over Christmas – now meet the tribute act. Cadamarteri's three goals in nine starts and all-round bundle of pace and energy have earned him the EFL Young Player of the Month gong. His old man couldn't have done it any better.
By common consent, the starting point for Wednesday's revival was the moment head coach Danny Rohl walked in the door at Hillsborough with the Owls needing snookers to avoid relegation.
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It also coincided with Cadamarteri's arrival in the first team picture. They are now just three points from the dotted line marking the frontier to safety.
After 96 points proved insufficient to win automatic promotion from League One, and the play-off miracle against Peterborough last May, it would be a shame to let it slide.
“It's been going well and hopefully we can keep climbing the table,” said Cadamarteri. “Obviously we've got a new manager, we have a close-knit group who are all prepared to fight for each other and we are showing that on the pitch now.
Bailey Cadamarteri has been shining for Sheffield Wednesday with three goals in nine appearances (TomSandberg/PPAUK/REX/Shutterstock)“As a club, we had to fight so hard to get out of League One last season and it's important not to let all that hard work go to waste.
“It's a huge credit to the lads that they managed to get through that tough time – I wasn't involved when we managed to win promotion after a hernia operation, but I'm trying to make my mark this season.
“I truly believe we'll get out of the situation we've found ourselves in but it's going to take hard work, it's going to take quality and it's going to take all the players pulling together in the same direction.
“We've got all those things in our locker.”
Cadamarteri's father, who now works across the Steel City as an individual development coach, is an ideal north star for a young player learning the ropes about the perks and pitfalls of football.
He also runs the acclaimed Soccer aKIDemy in Bradford and Bailey admitted: “Obviously it helps me, as a player and as a person, that I've got someone in my own family who has been there, knows how it works and can offer me support.
Cadamarteri Jnr won the EFL Player of the Month award for his recent form (John Turner)“I play up front like my dad – I'm a bit taller than him so I can mix my game up and play the typical, powerful No.9 role, but I'm also quick so I can spin and run in behind the last defender.
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“It's always good to have someone who's been where you want to be, someone you can turn to not only when your career's on the way up but also when things take a turn downhill.
“Of course we talk about football, but the game has changed so much since he played. It's great to have someone who can tell me how it worked in his day and he's a coach now, so he looks at it through the eyes of a coach.
“He runs an academy in Bradford working with numerous age groups where he brings players in, helps to develop them and more than 100 of them have been signed by professional clubs at various levels, so credit to him. It's hard work and he's getting the rewards.
“Do I regard myself as one of his graduates? Yeah, you've got to, haven't you?!”
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