Francesco Camarda has shed more light on the record-breaking debut that he made during AC Milan’s win over Club Brugge on Tuesday night.
At 16 years and 226 days old, Camarda became the youngest Italian and Milan player to debut in Europe’s top club competition when he came on in the closing stages against the Belgian champions, and he was so close to becoming the youngest ever scorer too.
Camarda spoke to Sky after the game and called it the best day of his life, while he also gave an interview on Milan’s official Instagram profile, starting with talking about learning he would be called up for the game.
“Being called up with the first team is beautiful. Especially in the Champions League, let’s say even if I hadn’t come in I would have been happy anyway.” The striker revealed when he understood that he would come on: “Probably, I understood the thought of coming in more or less when we were 2-1.”
Camarda then described the feelings he experienced when Fonseca decided to bring him on and recalled the last advice he was given before entering the field: “When the coach called me I had goosebumps. I was emotional and very happy. He gave me tactical advice, he gave me advice on how to think in the game, stay calm and play with courage.”
The feelings of the disallowed goal are difficult to explain: “When I scored, I didn’t understand anything anymore: it was an emotion that I can’t describe in words. I was really happy when my teammates hugged me, when they disallowed it, I felt a bit of disappointment and regret.”
The first thought went immediately to his family in tears in the stands: “When I saw my parents excited I went to hug them, they follow me everywhere so I dedicate this debut to them too.”
The support of the San Siro crowd for Camarda also left a mark: “When I entered the field the fans made me feel their support by singing and this is something that gives you a lot of confidence. In the evening I didn’t use my phone and I spent the night a bit sleepless to be honest, I still had a lot of adrenaline in my body.”