MILAN – It's the business end of the season for the Nerazzurri academy sides and they have plenty still to play for. The U14s have already won the Giovanissimi Regionali league while the U19s, U18s, U17s, U16s and U15s have all qualified for the end-of-season finals in their respective leagues.
With some decisive weeks ahead, Nerazzurri youth academy director Roberto Samaden reflected on the season so far.
"It's been very good up to now,” he said. “Obviously there are lots of big games left to play but regardless of how many games or trophies we win what matters most to us is seeing our boys making improvement and in that sense we can consider ourselves happy this year too. In 2015 we were once again the Italian club with the most youth players moving into the professional game. We want to keep that up.”
Stefano Vecchi's Primavera side have already claimed one piece of silverware this season by beating Juventus in the Coppa Italia final. They play their last game of the regular season today having qualified for the Final Eight with victory over AC Milan last week.
“It was a big win for us in the derby last Friday because it made sure of our place in the Final Eight. That was no foregone conclusion after the strain of the Viareggio Cup and a two-legged Coppa Italia final. Milan were fresher than we were having played four fewer Coppa matches and three less at Viareggio.
“Stefano Vecchi has done an amazing job and built a real team with a group of youngsters who have shown they can put up a fight. We have this match against Perugia today and we want a result so that we can finish top and go into the finals in the best shape possible."
While the U19s are in action at the Stadio Breda, back at the Centro Sportivo Giacinto Facchetti there's a day dedicated to women's football.
"Our club is working hard, in line with FIGC directives, to give the female game the space and attention it deserves. It's a new challenge for us and one we're getting stuck into enthusiastically. Our are playing against their counterparts from Genoa and Atalanta. It's great day of football and sport."
Finally, Samaden commented on recent events in the 27th Città di San Bonifacio tournament, where the group match between Inter's and Atalanta's U16 sides was abandoned by the referee due to the protests of a Nerazzurri player.
"Our philosophy is clear and we strive to ensure that our boys always respect the rules. We have suspended the boy in question indefinitely and apologise to the relevant authorities, the organisers and the fans present for what happened. However, it is clear to anyone who saw the game or looks at the online footage that it didn't warrant abandoning the match and that the referee's report is not a true reflection of what happened."
