Young, talented players are keeping the hope of future soccer alive, with top talents like Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, Real Madrid’s Endrick and Claudio Echeverri emerging in recent months. With injuries and other issues hitting many clubs, many have resorted to bringing out their academy superstars.
Francesco Camarda is now the latest history maker from Italy. The AC Milan academy superstar is full of promise and hope, with many clubs already monitoring him. And now the Italian youngster has created history for AC Milan since he made his debut.
Who is Francesco Camarda?
Francesco Camarda is the latest Italian talent to emerge, being only 15 years old. Born on March 10, 2008, he plays as a forward and is currently playing for Seria A giants AC Milan.
He started his career with humble beginnings at Afforese, a local soccer training club in Milan, where he was born. He then joined the AC Milan academy in 2015, initially playing as a defender but gradually transitioning into a striker. Camarda also had an interest in kickboxing in his early years.
From a young age, he showed tenacity for his excellent dribbling as well as being a proficient goal scorer. He continued to grow in AC Milan’s ranks and won them the U-15 Serie A title as well. Having scored 485 goals in just 89 academy games, he earned international attention from many clubs. He was promoted to the U-19 team soon, at just the age of fourteen. Camarda has also played for them in the UEFA Youth League, breaking records there as well.
Camarda has also represented Italy at the U-15, U-16 and U-17 levels. He has 13 goals in 21 goals for these teams.
Camarda creates Serie A history
And now Francesco Camarda has made history for the first team in Milan. After a lot of injuries, manager Stefano Pioli decided to call up the 15-year-old to the first-team squad for the Serie A game against Fiorentina. Since the Italian Football Federation doesn’t allow players under 16 to debut for the first team, the club had to obtain special authorization from the organization.
And then, in the 83rd minute in the game against Fiorentina, he entered the pitch as a substitute, replacing Luka Jovic. This made him become a record breaker, as he became the youngest player to play in Seria A. At 15 years, 8 months and 23 days, he surpassed the previous record of Bologna’s Wisdom Amey, who played at 15 years, 9 months and 1 day.
Francesco Camarda will only grow from this historic moment, and Italian soccer is looking at him. The 15 year old could be included in the next game against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday, where he could make new history.
