Carbone reflects on progress of Milan’s youth sector and addresses Camarda hype

By Oliver Fisher -

The head of AC Milan’s youth sector Angelo Carbone has reflected on the past year for the various categories, and also spoke about striker Francesco Camarda who is generating a media frenzy.

It has been a turbulent few years for the Primavera in particular as they suffered relegation to the second tier of youth football and avoided a relegation play-off in the final game of last season, but things are looking up under Ignazio Abate.

While it looks like Milan will not be challenging for the league title, they are in the knockout stages of the UEFA Youth League after winning a group consisting of Salzburg, Chelsea and Dinamo Zagreb, all of whom are known for producing top academy talent.

Carbone gave an interview to Tuttosport in which he discussed a number of topics from the year of 2022 to the progression of young players into the first team, with his comments relayed by PianetaMilan.

On 2022 for the youth teams: “Definitely a positive and important year because we have given continuity to the work done in previous years, those of the pandemic, which were complicated for everyone.”

On bringing young people into the first team: “I remain rooted in that thought. Our goal as a youth sector is to train players 360 degrees. Seeing a boy raised by us play in the Milan shirt is the greatest joy a youth sector can receive from the first team.”

On what a young player should have: “Above all, talent, then a sense of belonging, intellectual ability, but not only that: identity is fundamental, which is strong in Milan. A Milan style: having values ​​and being a good person”.

On Camarda: “It’s a wonderful thing to talk about the player, he deserves it. He has excellent qualities, demonstrated by his performances. But his journey is only at the beginning, to put too many expectations on him, I don’t know if it’s the right thing for him and I wonder if it’s right to talk so much about him.”

On Abate: “His journey is special. Last year he did very well, he made the team grow by giving it an identity and proved to be an intelligent and capable coach. He earned the chance to coach the Primavera and the we hope that his journey will be long and lasting.

“But it often happens that the AC Milan youth sector is also a reservoir for many technical figures and collaborators who then also reach the first team, creating that spirit of belonging that a great team must have.”

On being head of Milan’s youth sector: “There are some complicated things. The most important thing is to give the boys time, you have to give the players chances without being hasty. You need time to fully understand the human qualities of the teams too. Then, you also need to have competent collaborators: from this point of view I’m lucky.”

On his relationship with Maldini and Massara: “We have a wonderful friendship with Paolo, even if now we often talk for work reasons. Having two managers like Maldini and Massara helps us a lot, but above all the players. They are very present, they are always up to date, as much as they can, they make their proximity feel and this is very stimulating. An added value.”

On 2023: “Seeing one of our boys make his debut at San Siro. This is the goal. We all have memories of those boys from when they were children, which we carry with us, it’s a privilege to know that we helped them get there.”

Tags AC Milan Angelo Carbone Francesco Camarda
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