Last season, the Milan Futuro team were relegated to Serie D. However, it seems the project may be working, albeit not in the way expected.
When AC Milan started to look at a project to improve youth players at a senior level, the hope was that they would emerge quickly and not struggle in the third tier. Instead, most found it more challenging.
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Take Francesco Camarda for example, the Italian striker never really got to grips with Serie C. However, he looked calm in the top flight, and he looked strong against European competition, albeit at a youth level.
Futuro failing… or not?
So, when the team were relegated last season, there were frustrations about the way that things were headed.
As Gazzetta dello Sport writes, via MilanPress, the project is far from failing. Camarda is now on loan in Serie A, Kevin Zeroli is with Monza in Serie B and Alex Jimenez is now a Premier League footballer. Then, there is Davide Bartesaghi, who has established himself as a starter for the first team.
Of course, each of these players had quality before the Futuro, but their experience there has certainly helped to mature them. Even if there are only a few shining lights per year, there can be positivity.
At this rate, the Futuro cannot really be considered a mistake, as it may have been last year. Especially if the pathway to the first team becomes more common and sales continue.
If they don’t get Promoted the Project should be Terminated. Better focus on a Strong Primavera. The only investment in the Primavera was Mattia Piermarini for just E500k. He only played 4 games due to injury. Playing in Serie D is an insult. Take Silvano Vos he prefer not playing than play in Serie D. Players like Comotto and Zeroli prefer to play a few minutes in Serie B than having a full season in Serie D. Keith.
Camarada hardly played for Futuro last year. He was on the bench getting minimal use for the first team. Thanks Portuguese Pair.
The first job of Futuro is to produce first team ready players. Promotion is likely second. But more than likely it is to be profitable. If we were supposed to be winning then Camarda and Zeroli would be with Futuro in lieu of taking the next step in their development.
It will take years to understand if the pipeline of talent from Futuro is supplying the first team and producing enough players for other first teams to make the club a profit.
Zeroli is a “big deal” but has yet to really show he belongs in Serie A and he is 20. It might be that he reached his level. We have to wait (the part we forget so often) and see.
Camarada has so much promise and is only 17. It will be a couple more years before we know if he fulfills our hopes and dreams or tops out as a bottom table Serie A 9.
Being demoted found the level of our youth program relative to adult competition. I’d argue that demotion was more about letting Abate go. Ibra’s Boy was clearly not fit for purpose. A manager who develops youth primarily while balancing seeing his best players cherry picked to the first team is a rare talent.
The moaning and whinging around how poor our national team is playing is another factor to consider. Are Italian youth defective? Of course not. So that means it is environmental. They are not put in crucible so hot they must aneil or flame out. So when they meet competition who has been ruthlessly selected they are pummeled. This is on the trend of about 8 years now. Programs like Futuro are a recognition of that signal. They express the understanding that the goal is to produce talent that competes on the world stage, not the provincial stage.
Finally, the economics of this are also in our favor. It costs about €12m to run the program. If it produces on Bartesaghi every 2 years it is profitable once we have 5-7 years.
In this case profit is dual meaning:
1. Money – 3 years from now Bartesaghi is worth €25m and Camarda is tracking for something similar.
2. Keeping Bartesaghi now is €20-25m we don’t spend on a replacement. That is money to invest in a striker or central defender. The first team has a quality player who is Milanista to the core.
Ultimately Futuro is an economic engine with potential extraordinary benefits to the sporting side of the club if it is run well. Expanded to other top teams it’s a key initiative to restore Azzurri competitiveness in Europe, at the club level and on the international stage.
Not getting out of Serie D is a concern. It is certainly not _the_ concern
You laid this out well.
If Futuro succeeds in producing quality players, so to speak, “on a conveyor belt”, the best and most suitable ones can be picked for the first team. The most promising can be loaned out to develop further or to be sold with some nice money.
This is what for example Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester City and Liverpool do.