At eighteen (and a half), you usually begin to discover the world, and you generally do not even fully understand what lies before you, above you, below you and all around you. At eighteen and a half, which is Francesco Camarda's age, however, everyone seems to expect him (fans, journalists, critics and various observers alike) to be a fully-fledged adult, a complete footballer, a centre-forward worthy of AC Milan.
This is the merit (or perhaps the fault?) of the hundreds of goals he scored during the happiest period of his still young career, in the Rossoneri youth academy, where he always played above his age group, skipping stages and leaving opposing defenders behind. A born talent, as they say in cases like his: the youngest Italian (15 years and six months) to score a brace in the UEFA Youth League, the Champions League for youth teams; the youngest player ever (15 years, eight months and 15 days) to make his Serie A debut, on 25 November 2023 against Fiorentina; and the youngest Italian (16 years and 226 days) to make his Champions League debut, on 22 October 2024 against Club Brugge. Had his goal not been disallowed, he would obviously also have become the youngest player ever to score in the competition.
That was yesterday's story, yet it feels like a lifetime ago. Today, Camarda is still at Milan, after spending a season in Serie A at Lecce, where he scored just one goal in 21 appearances, 11 of them as a starter. In theory, he has been given the role of Ramos' deputy. In reality, however, he has also found himself on the bench for matches such as Thursday's game against Ferencvaros, when Amorim made six changes to the starting eleven compared to the derby but still left him sitting on the bench. He eventually brought him on alongside the starting striker in a desperate attempt to recover from the 0-2 deficit.
With things standing as they are, and less than two months remaining before the winter transfer window opens, it is only right to ask a few questions about a youngster who, at this moment, seems to be neither one thing nor the other. Let us put forward five of them and try to answer them.
The most difficult question, and therefore the most delicate one. To put it simply and bluntly: why is he not ready? Worse still, drawing on the malice that is never in short supply in the court of social media: why, despite all the expectations (and promises), is he not good enough for Milan?
How can you establish whether a footballer, especially one of his age, is good enough for Milan, or for a top club in general, if he only gets to play the final few minutes of a match, when things go well, and only when the situation is most difficult (that is, when the result is already beyond reach)?
Only Amorim, who last summer, especially after his brace in the friendly against Celtic (the first goal came from the penalty spot, granted, but you still have to score it), explicitly identified him as an alternative to Ramos, as mentioned above, could explain what is missing for Camarda to be given more frequent and longer appearances.
Only the Portuguese coach, who sees him every day in training, can say what Francesco is lacking to deserve a starting place, at least in the Europa League, where against Bournemouth he preferred to play an out-of-position Cisse instead.
Judging by the little we get to see of him on the pitch, Camarda does indeed seem to still be lacking in his ability to play with his back to goal and in his first touch. Overall, he gives the impression of being somewhat lightweight, physically as well. But, as you may know, you develop broad shoulders by giving and taking a few knocks.
Turning the argument around, the next question is precisely this: how much is Camarda missing before he is good enough for Milan, and to what extent is it instead Milan itself, the way it builds its attacking play and the players involved in it, that is failing to support, exploit and bring out the best in its centre-forward?
The day after the match against Ferencvaros, several video clips appeared on X showing how, during the 20 minutes he was on the pitch, Francesco made the right movements when attacking the opposition penalty area, escaping his marker and making runs in behind to call for the pass. The pass never came, or arrived that fateful second too late, by which time the defender had recovered his initial disadvantage.
And this is the point: Milan are missing a De Bruyne at his best, a playmaker, in short, capable of playing the ball first time to a striker making a run through on goal.
From Pulisic to Moreira, via Hutchinson, the currently injured Saelemaekers and Cisse, the Rossoneri have a group of wide forwards and attacking midfielders who like to start dribbling with the ball at their feet and whose first thought is to take on the opposition goal themselves. As a result, the centre-forward, as demonstrated by Ramos' own difficulties in receiving the ball in suitable positions, almost becomes a stranger to the development of Milan's attacking play.
So why not try Ramos himself, who started out as an attacking midfielder and has repeatedly demonstrated the composure and passing accuracy needed to set team-mates through on goal, playing behind Camarda?
So, what would be best for Camarda in January: staying at Milan or asking to leave on loan?
A million-dollar question, because both possibilities have their advantages and disadvantages, which we will explore shortly.
In the meantime, a useful point of comparison could be the career path of Pio Esposito. Three years ago, at the same age as Camarda, he left Inter, the club that had developed him and where, like his Rossoneri counterpart, he had been prolific at youth level, to join Spezia in Serie B.
There, he gained valuable experience, to use an expression our fathers were fond of, taking plenty of knocks and giving just as many back to the old pirates of the Italian second division's penalty areas.
After two years of this, he returned to Inter as the broad-shouldered youngster mentioned above, ready to compete for a place with the likes of Lautaro and Thuram and secure a regular place in the national team.
The problem is finding the right club that could guarantee Camarda a starting place, or something close to it, while also ensuring, as far as possible, that its style of play is not too different from the one he is accustomed to.
In this respect, the choice could become limited for reasons unrelated to football. The destination may depend on whether an Italian or foreign club is willing to accept a player on loan, knowing that it will have no option to exercise any rights over him at the end of the season. On the other hand, it will also depend on the financial demands of the club itself, where Camarda would spend the six months between January and June.
These demands could range from contributing towards the player's wages to paying a development fee or bonus to the club receiving him on loan.
If he were to go out on loan, would Italy or abroad be better? A lower-to-mid-table Serie A club or a high-ranking Serie B side?
It is worth reiterating that, first and foremost, Camarda should, at least in theory, be guaranteed a starting place. It is also worth repeating that, should he temporarily leave Milan, the search must be for a club that gives him the opportunity to make a name for himself. At the very least, he needs to properly test his abilities at professional level.
His experience at Lecce is a textbook example of how things can go wrong in this respect. Even with a coach such as Di Francesco, traditionally committed to attacking football, Camarda barely saw the ball up front.
Last season, the Apulian side struggled enormously to provide their strikers with service. The competition from Stulic should also not be underestimated, as it certainly did not help Camarda, who was still a minor at the time. In short, under those circumstances, it is difficult for any centre-forward to perform well, let alone a seventeen-year-old.
Massimo Ambrosini, a former Milan player through and through, hopes the youngster will follow a path similar to Tresoldi's: testing himself at a European club of a decent level such as Club Brugge, in a league such as the Belgian or Dutch one. These leagues lack the competitiveness, pressure and media exposure of the Premier League, Bundesliga or La Liga. Then, once he has developed in every respect, technically, physically and mentally, he can return to Milan or aim to make the step up to top-level football.
But what if Camarda decides, or is persuaded, to stay in January instead? What could his prospects look like? Before that, what would be the advantages and disadvantages?
Let us start with the disadvantages, which are obvious: the risk of growing stale on the bench would be extremely high, especially if Milan were to sign a reserve striker on the market, or even an alternative to Ramos who is more 'ready' for first-team football.
On the other hand, his apprenticeship behind the Portuguese international could eventually come to an end and, with Amorim's approval, Francesco could finally start getting more regular playing time.
The old sages of football say that training alongside champions, and Milan have several, from Modric to Rabiot and Ramos himself, can only benefit a young player. At some point, however, a youngster has to be given a chance to see what he is really made of.
Francesco Camarda is eighteen (and a half): even in a football world that burns through everything far too quickly, that is nothing. The problem is that people have been talking about him since he was 15, perhaps even earlier. As a result, time passes more quickly in his own personal hourglass.
He and those around him must decide whether to slow things down, regardless of other people's judgements and prejudices, taking one step at a time and waiting for the right moment to emerge, whether at Milan or elsewhere; or whether to seize time by the tail, skipping stages as he did when he was younger, in his race towards the Sun. In the latter case, however, a refresher on the myth of Icarus would not go amiss, writes La Gazzetta dello Sport on their site.
