Francesco Camarda (10/03/2008) is a right-footed player of Italian origin who is systematically played out as a striker. He currently plays most of his games for AC Milan U19 in the Primavera 1 and is also a youth international with Italy U17. With both teams, Camarda therefore plays above his age.
Camarda is 184 cm tall, but will possibly grow even taller given his young age. He is strong and has an athletic posture that makes it hard to take him off the ball and unbalanced. He also possesses a firm portion of duelling power. Camarda has great running ability, is quite explosive on the first metres and also quick on the longer distances. Nevertheless, I do not consider his speed a core quality. He changes direction fairly quickly.
In terms of mentality, it can certainly be said that Camarda possesses a good work ethic. He is not afraid to cover metres when his team is out of position and puts constant pressure on the opponent. Furthermore, I think he plays remarkably mature and game-conscious for a guy who is still only 15 years old and constantly going up against players at least two years older. For instance, he regularly claims penalties, which shows his eagerness for goals but also self-confidence. Finally, it is noticeable that he invariably plays with the necessary concentration and is sportsmanlike towards his teammates, opponents and referees.
Camarda mainly comes into his strength with his back to goal and preferably with an opponent at his back. In this way, he is often used as a targeting point. In doing so, he can keep track of the ball to make his teammates move up or execute a switch of play, but he can also free himself up to then take a well-aimed strike. Either way, Camarda also likes to play on the edge of the offside line and then be sent into the deep. However, his timing to make an offensive run is a small working point as he still regularly dares to run offside. Also when not in possession, Camarda has his value since, as mentioned above, he has a great work ethic and constantly chases down his opponents, as a result of which he regularly manages to conquer a ball high up the pitch.
Technically, Camarda has the necessary skills to complete his tasks successfully. His first touches are always neat, as are his general ball handling and passing. He is mainly right-footed but can also use his left foot if the situation requires it. Once he gets into the box, he does not need much to score. So he can finish well and does so from all angles. Although Camarda can free himself after he is played in, he is not the type of striker who will quickly seek out 1v1 situations to eliminate an opponent using a dribble. His heading game is good in function of finishing but at times could be more clean in function of combination play.
To conclude, I would say Francesco is a versatile, modern striker who I think would excel in almost any playing system. At 15, he is already very important and functional in an elite team of which his teammates are at least two years older, so you can certainly call Francesco a top talent. His heading play as a function of combination play and timing to get around the offside trap are work points, but other than that, I think Camarda has everything to become a very high-level striker in time.
Target Scouting 