Record, recruited at 7 years old, Ibrahimovic… 5 things to know about Francesco Camarda, 15 years old and new phenomenon of Italian football

At just 15 years, 8 months and 15 days, Camarda became the youngest debutant in the history of the Italian championship last Saturday during the success against Fiorentina (1-0). The young talent had to be established after the absences of Giroud, Leao and Okafor. He beat Wisdom Amey (Bologna, 15 years, 9 months and 1 day), Amadeo Amedei (Roma, 15 years, 9 months and 5 days) as well as club legend Paolo Maldini (16 years, 6 months and 25 days during a Udinese-Milan in 1985). Just that !

Being on the Serie A pitches with only 15 players is no coincidence. “He is simply predestined,” said Francesco Pietrella, journalist at La Gazzetta dello Sport for Eurosport. “I am certain that he has a great future ahead of him,” said Stefano Pioli, the coach of the AC Milan. The prodigy is even presented as a future phenomenon of Italian and world football according to the press. Even if it is difficult to obtain precise figures on his performances, Camarda is said to have scored 483 goals in 87 matches during his young training Milanese. Statistics to be moderated all the same since some of them were registered during matches with 5, 7 or 8..."

Licensed to the Afforese club – affiliated with the Milan club – Francesco Camarda was quickly spotted by the Lombard club and joined it at the age of 7. He climbed the ranks at great speed and joined the “Primavera”, the category coached by former international Ignazio Abate at just 15 years old, where the average age is… 17 years old. Always outclassed, the AC Milan striker has numerous videos on Youtube, Instagram and TikTok compiling his best actions.

In the Youth League, the young teenager amazed everyone. For his first match in the competition against Newcastle, he became the sixth youngest player to score and especially the second – with Dortmund player Yussoufa Moukoko – to score two goals in his first match. But on November 7, Camarda made a name for himself by scoring a “Zlatanesque” scissor against PSG. A gesture that impressed Yohan Cabaye, the deputy director of the Parisian club's training center.

“He reminds me of the very first Erling Haaland, the one who played at Bryne FK in Norway. If we compare the goals, the resemblance is there,” judges journalist Francesco Pietrella. But the young Milanese would undoubtedly like to be compared to his idol: Ronaldo, the Brazilian. The former legend actually left AC Milan a few months before Camarda was born. But the player trained at Afforese still has a long way to go before becoming part of the history of his club and world football...