GdS: Gabbia and Dimarco lead the way as academy duo prepare for derby debut

Tomorrow’s Derby della Madonnina between AC Milan and Inter will have several academy products in the spotlight, as highlighted by Gazzetta dello Sport this morning. 

As the pink newspaper states (see photo below), many of the talents that come through the youth ranks of Milan or Inter dream of playing the derby. For many, making an appearance in the big fixture is the end goal, even if it can be achieved at a very young age.

Tomorrow evening, in addition to some established academy products, the San Siro crowd will get to see two debutants, most likely anyway. For the duo, the pressure is massive, but knowing the importance of the game can also be a huge strength.

Debutants prepare

Of course, we are talking about Davide Bartesaghi and Pio Esposito here, both 19 years old and with a good chance of playing in their first Serie A derby tomorrow. The Milan left-back played two minutes in the Coppa Italia derby last season, but this could be his first proper one.

Expectations are high, as mentioned, but a generous dose of affection and a sense of protection will balance it all: this match is what they live for. Indeed, both of them started out in the clubs as children and thus have a deep connection to the respective colours.

Esposito, when he was in elementary school, left his hometown of Castellammare di Stabia for Brescia with his two brothers, eventually ending up at Inter. As a youngster, he met Chivu who one day put the Primavera captain’s armband on his arm, despite him playing with much older players.

The striker responded with a hat-trick against Cagliari, the same city where, at twenty, he would score his first Serie A goal. When he was playing for the Nerazzurri’s youth teams, Esposite often met the Milan left-back, whose colossal physique had bewitched Pippo Inzaghi during his tryouts.

Indeed, Bartesaghi and Esposito battled in a couple of derbies during their time with the Under-17s and then with the Primavera. While the Inter striker was bulging his biceps scoring on loan at Spezia, Bartesaghi made his rise step by step.

The pre-season tour in the United States, the first-team debut under Stefano Pioli two years ago, and switching between the Futuro and the first team last season. The planets have aligned in time for this derby, which Inter and Milan will play at the top of the Serie A table

Bartesaghi is the favourite to start on the left, set to battle it out against Inter’s Carlos Augusto instead of the injured Denzel Dumfries. Esposito will start on the bench, meanwhile, but with a great chance of coming off the bench.

Established duo

Moving on to the more established academt products, we have Matteo Gabbia and Federico Dimarco. The latter’s journey to the first team has certainly involved more roadblocks than Esposito, but now he’s considered a pillar of the team.

Photo by AC Milan

Indeed, his left foot was instrumental in securing the second star and winning all of the derby games, before a certain Gabbia broke the streak with an 89th-minute header. Like Dimarco, the centre-back also had to say goodbye a couple of times before convincing Milan to keep him.

Today, he’s the leader of the defence, untouchable for Allegri. For the fans, however, he became that leader already after that lethal header a year ago. In that game, Pulisic scored the first, then Dimarco and Gabbia. Two of the three goals were scored by the sons of the derby: DNA doesn’t lie.