Francesco Camarda Returns to Scoring Form with the Under-21 Team; Silvio Baldini Sends a Message to Milan and Ruben Amorim

Just 24 hours after the senior national team’s victory over France, the Azzurri secured another win against their French rivals at the Under-21 level in a friendly match played Friday at Stade Francis Le Basser in Laval. All the goals came in the second half: Francesco Camarda opened the scoring in the 54th minute, France’s Versini equalized seven minutes later, but Luca Lipani scored the winning goal in the 68th minute to give Silvio Baldini’s team a 2-1 victory.

The Azzurrini head coach himself spoke to RAI reporters after the match about Camarda, who hadn’t scored since the friendly between Milan and Celtic on July 25 and has seen very little playing time this season under Rossoneri coach Ruben Amorim: “He’s going through a difficult time mentally, not physically or technically,” Baldini said.

“Camarda is a great player, but he’s also a sensitive young man,” added the Under-21 coach. We need to understand him; he’s a 2008-born player in the top echelons of soccer, where there’s immense pressure. I’m happy about the goal—he deserves it. I keep telling him he’s good, but not just to be polite—I truly believe it.”

Baldini’s words sound like a message to Milan and to Amorim himself: This season, Camarda has taken the field six times for a total of 119 minutes—an average of just under twenty minutes per game. On three of those occasions, he played for less than 5 minutes: added to these numbers are rumors of another loan move—albeit with a different strategy than last year—that would see him head to Serie B to play for a team with playoff aspirations.