Primavera Milan’s sensation Giacomo Olzer has been delivering a nothing short of amazing performances week in and week out carrying the team on his shoulders hitting the back of the net 6 times in 8 games only.
Actually, even though AC Milan’s first team is taking the big part in every fan’s heart, the real supporters of the Rossoneri are always disposed to listen when they discover a gem in the club’s youth sector that has the potential to make the cut and flourish in the top flight.
Apparently, it is becoming the case for Olzer, as the Serie A side’s fanatics began to wonder whether the 19-year-old could become an asset which club’s head coach Stefano Pioli might rely on in the near future.
Playing role:
When it comes to his role on the pitch, Olzer can fill many, being a versatile player in the final third. According to Transfermarkt, the AC Milan academy product played 61% of his games as an attacking midfielder, 19% as a central midfielder, 12% as a right winger, 6% as a center-forward and 2% as a second striker.
Statistics:
Although Olzer is not really a forward, playing less than 20% of his career games up-front, the young prospect manages somehow to get the ball past opposing goalkeepers in a consistent basis.
In fact, Giacomo has scored 22 goals in 65 games (3662 minutes), averaging a goal every 166 minutes (less than 2 full-matches), based on the German website’s data.
His counterparts:
First things first, in a club such as Milan, you have to earn your place whether you are a local boy or a foreigner, and what better example for that, than club’s right-back Davide Calabria, whose rise to the starting spot took him several years of hard work. If the 24-year-old is now widely regarded as the best Italian right-back by many football fans, Davide was only few steps away from being shown the door not so long ago.
On the other hand, this does not necessarily have to be the case for every rising talent, as the well-known “Gigio” Donnarumma made his way right into the Rossoneri’s starting lineup as a 16-year-old kid.
However, the club have not given many chances to academy graduates recently, counting on the experience of veterans like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Simon Kjaer and most likely Mario Mandzukic, in addition to proven up-and-comers like Bennacer and Kessie, opting for the loan of the likes of Lorenzo Colombo.
Apart from the previously mentioned Calabria and Donnarumma, only Gabbia has got a fairly regular playing time as a graduate this season, which is comprehensible, as Stefano Pioli’s men are involved in the title race.
Is Milan in need of such a profile?
In the trequartista role, Pioli puts all his trust in Turkey international Hakan Calhanoglu, who stepped up his game under the command of the Italian manager. Yet, it remains to be seen whether the former Bayer Leverkusen superstar will eventually renew his contract expiring by the end of this campaign.
In the same context, the future of Calhanoglu’s deputy Brahim Diaz looks blurry as well, with the Spanish youngster playing on loan from La Liga side Real Madrid, who do not look open to the sale of the 21-year-old.
Moreover, there is also Daniel Maldini, whose profile is actually similar to Olzer’s at some point: The tall young goalscoring attacking midfielder who does not struggle to fill any offensive role when the situation requires to do so.
To sum it up, Olzer, who has already featured with the first team against Torino in Coppa Italia last month, still has a long way to go to get the team promotion, which may be depending on the future of his counterparts, but surely on his development. Anyway, the Italian playmaker seems to be going on the right path. Giacomo Olzer, remember the name.
