Francesco Camarda

Francesco Camarda (born 10 March 2008) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club AC Milan.

Early life
Camarda was born in Milan, Italy. As a child, he also took an interest in kickboxing.

Youth
Camarda started his career with Afforese, a football school in Affori, Milan, where he grew up. During his time with Afforese, he trained with the academy of professional side AC Milan, and went on to join the club permanently in 2015, after just over a year with Afforese. In his first training session with AC Milan, he was deployed as a defender, but after continually dribbling through the opposition teams and scoring, he was moved up front to play as a striker.

During his time in the academy of AC Milan, Camarda established himself as a prolific goal-scorer; at an under-9 tournament in Vienna, Austria, he was taken off due to injury with his side 2–0 down to German opposition Bayern Munich. He asked his coach to return to the field and went on to score two goals and provide an assist in the eventual 3–2 win. His prolific form continued as he progressed through the academy, and he went on to score 22 goals in 24 games for AC Milan's under-15 side, leading them to the under-15 Scudetto title.

Eventually, his goal-scoring feats drew the attention of international media, and he was lauded for having scored 485 goals in only 89 matches for AC Milan's academy, an average of 5.45 goals per game. He trained with AC Milan's under-19 side at the age of fourteen, and scored two goals for the side in a friendly win against Eccellenza team Solbiatese.

Camarda made his UEFA Youth League debut against Newcastle United on 19 September 2023, scoring a brace in a 4–0 victory. These goals made Camarda the second-youngest player to score a brace in the tournament and the youngest-ever Italian goalscorer at 15 years, 196 days, breaking Fabrizio Caligara's record of 16 years, 192 days.

Senior
In November 2023, amid an injury crisis, AC Milan manager Stefano Pioli called up Camarda as part of the first team squad for the Serie A game against Fiorentina on 25 November 2023; in order to do so, the club had to specifically request an authorization from the Italian Football Federation, as under-16 players are normally not allowed to be part of an Italian first team. He was eventually substituted on for Luka Jović in the 83rd minute, becoming the youngest Serie A footballer ever at 15 years, 262 days of age.

International career
Camarda has represented Italy at under-15, under-16, and under-17 levels. With the U17 side he won the 2024 UEFA European Under-17 Championship and was named Player of the Tournament.

Honours
Italy U17
 * UEFA European Under-17 Championship: 2024

'''Individual
 * UEFA European Under-17 Championship Player of the Tournament: 2024
 * UEFA European Under-17 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2024