Francesco Camarda will be on the bench for tonight’s game against Slovan Bratislava and AC Milan fans will hope he gets a chance to try break records again.
La Gazzetta dello Sport confirm that Camarda will be a part of the matchday squad for tonight’s Champions League match, given that Alvaro Morata is suspended while Luka Jovic is not in the UEFA list.
Camarda made his full debut in Serie A from minute one against Cagliari before the break, and he has already amassed 84 minutes of game time this season, spread over three appearances. For a 16-year-old who last season was playing with Milan Primavera, that is no mean feat.
The attachment that the striker has to Milan is well known, given the Curva Sud symbol tattooed on his thigh, and playing in the biggest club competition in the world for your boyhood club must provoke a lot of emotions.
His mental qualities are accompanying him hand in hand with his footballing ones. Anyone who works with him says the same things: that he is professional and down to earth. However, he has ‘unfinished business’ when it comes to the UCL.
Why? Because of that goal disallowed by VAR against Club Brugge, scored under the Curva Sud and initially given, which meant some already iconic images were taken of him being lifted to the sky in celebration by the rest of his team-mates.
In Slovakia, Francesco will almost certainly have another chance. Maybe not from the first minute like in Cagliari, but certainly during the game. With Morata suspended and Jovic not included in the squad, only he and Abraham remain.
Not only that, but Slovan have let in 15 goals in four games. The record for the youngest ever goal in the Champions League is still within reach, held by Ansu Fati who found the net against Inter at San Siro at 17 years and 40 days. In Bratislava, Camarda will be 16 and 261 days old.
Start him in all remaining fixtures vs Crvena zvezda, Girona & Dinamo Zagreb. Other strikes do not score and he needs to set that record. It is important.
would be smart to start with your strongest players, get a palpable lead, then throw on Camarda to play without pressure.