Zlatan Ibrahimovic made a meteoric impact during his short stint at Manchester United. One of the most decorated footballers of all time, it seems the Swedish icon has unearthed a new diamond in the rough.
AC Milan starlet Francesco Camarda has been making waves in Serie A so far this season. Aged just 17, he is already working his way into the first team at the San Siro, making seven league appearances this season and scoring a single goal along the way.
Recently, Ibrahimovic revealed on his official Instagram account that Camarda had actually messaged him all the way back in 2019, when the Italian starboy was just ten years old.
During his time at United, Ibrahimovic played in 33 Premier League games, scoring 17 goals along the way. Signed under the stewardship of Jose Mourinho, he won the League Cup, the Europa League and the Community Shield during his time at Old Trafford.
Outside of United and AC Milan, Ibrahimovic also featured for massive clubs such as PSG, Inter Milan and Barcelona over the course of his illustrious career.
On the post, Camarda mentioned in an interview: “When I messaged Ibra, I was only 10. I admired him a lot, and still do. He’s a player I’ve learned so much from.”
Can Francesco Camarda be the next Zlatan Ibrahimovic?
In many ways, Camarda resembles a young version of Ibrahimovic when he is in full flow. Not only does he possess physical strength on the ball way beyond his years, he is also technically excellent and can strike a ball with exquisite sweetness.
Perhaps Ibrahimovic is reminded of a younger version of himself when looking at Camarda? In his youth, the Swede was fearless young forward with an outside interest in combat sports – given Camarda’s experience in kickboxing during his formative years, the similarities are numerous.
Having scored over 500 goals in youth football, there are heavy expectations on Camarda’s head – such numbers do not come without an overabundance of hype, especially at a club the size of Milan.
Angelo Carbone, the former head of AC Milan’s youth academy, said as reported by the BBC: “You could tell right away [Camarda] was different. His awareness and speed of thought stood out.
“The first time I saw him was at a seven-a-side trial. He did things with incredible simplicity – direct, effective play, and decisions beyond his age.
“You could see it in how he used his body and received the ball – those are innate qualities. Even before the play reaches the box, he already knows where to be to get to the ball first. I remember when, at 16, we called him up for the under-18s to play a friendly against the first team.
“He was marked by Fikayo Tomori, and he scored right away. [Milan technical director] Maldini, who was watching, immediately asked to switch off the Milan Channel cameras – Camarda wasn’t under contract yet, and he didn’t want foreign clubs to notice him.”