on 23 may 2009 ruotolo was appointed on an interim basis to replace leonardo acori at the helm of livorno for the final serie b league game and the following promotion play-offs in an attempt to bring his side back to the top flight. he debuted with a late 3–2 away win to ascoli that left his side in third place at the end of the regular season. in the promotion play-offs, livorno was coupled with tuscan rivals grosseto in the semifinals: after a shock 0–2 loss in the first leg, ruotolo's side managed to make an impressive comeback by defeating their opponent in a 4–1 home win that ensured livorno a place in the playoff finals against brescia. in the finals, ruotolo then managed to guide livorno to defeat brescia 5–2 on aggregate, thus marking an immediate serie a return for the "amaranto" club. he subsequently accepted an offer from livonro to become the club's head coach on a permanent basis; however the move was later dismissed by the italian football federation due to ruotolo lacking the required uefa pro coaching badges, and vittorio russo was instead appointed as acting head coach, with ruotolo being however often referred as the "real" livorno boss.