Kevin Zeroli continues to make a name for himself both for his club AC Milan and now for his country Italy, and there is a plan in place regarding his future.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport write, Zeroli grew up in Busto Arsizio which is around 35km from central Milan. He was a fan of the Rossoneri during his childhood, and his pact with the club becomes more solid day after day.
The midfielder, leader and captain of Ignazio Abate’s Primavera, is experiencing a golden moment and looks to the future with his head held high.
Azzurri goals
Zeroli is also a protagonist with Bernardo Corradi’s Italy 19 team. The midfielder born in 2005 started both in Wednesday’s 3-1 victory in Lignano Sabbiadoro against Scotland and in the 2-1 against the Czech Republic in Udine.
Against the Scots, Zeroli scored the 1-0 goal as an opportunist, his first with the U19s, paving the way for his team in a controlled match without major problems. That came a few days after he sealed the win for the Primavera against Lazio.
He is showing a knack for making dangerous runs into the box, trump card that led him to score seven goals and two assists in 25 seasonal appearances with the Primavera, including the league, Coppa Italia and UEFA Youth League.
Hero in Europe
The Youth League, like last year, deserves a separate chapter. Abate’s boys reached the final four of the tournament for the second consecutive year, which will be held in Nyon from 19 to 22 April (Milan in the semi-final against Porto).
Part of the result is thanks to the captain: he decided the play-off against Braga from the penalty spot (complete with a goal in normal time) and Abate praised him with a big smile.
“He has an engine that goes by itself. He is a player who has accustomed us to doing 12-13 km, he seems like a born cross-country skier. He has charisma and quality and in the team he feels,” he said.
Then, at a sold out PUMA House of Football, the No.18 again scored the winning set piece in the quarter-finals against Real Madrid.The responsibility for the final penalty once again fell to him, and wild celebrations followed.
Ideas for the future
Zeroli’s season also includes a senior debut under Stefano Pioli’s orders on December 30th, in the last match of 2023 against Sassuolo when he played a quarter of an hour.
The teenager joins his Primavera team-mates Jan-Carlo Simic, Francesco Camarda, Alex Jimenez and Davide Bartesaghi among the debutants who made the jump.
Pioli himself demonstrated that he believed in his potential right from the beginning of the season, deciding to take him on tour in America and confirming his idea at the beginning of February.
“Zeroli? We will give him confidence, he will become the sixth midfielder in place of Pobega,” is what the coach said. It was a sort of investiture for the future, another theme that concerns him closely.
Should the U23 team project come to fruition (a work in progress situation, but in recent weeks Milan has begun discussions with Pro Sesto regarding the possible availability of their stadium), Zeroli would certainly be on the launching pad to add a piece to the path.
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