Stefano Pioli made the bold decision to field a side with a lot of youthful influence during last night’s win against Cagliari in the Coppa Italia, and it paid off in a big way.
La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) recall this morning that the goal to make it 3-0 early in the second half was scored by Chaka Traorè, who turned 19 on 23 December, but San Siro screamed as if he were a club legend.
His goal came after a run down the left from Alex Jimenez, 18 years old, while Jan-Carlo Simic – the same age – certainly did not look out of place at the back. The 57,000 fans in the stadium applauded with conviction as they saw the kids do well.
Pioli took from the Primavera and Milan now have more resources and alternatives. In defence, where Simic now rotates regularly with the starters, and in the left lane, which he shifted from Theo-Leao to Jimenez-Chaka.
The picture was completed in the last part of the match: Kevin Zeroli and Davide Bartesaghi came on, youngsters having already made their senior debut.
The highlights of Traoré’s night are condensed between the fifth and 26th minute of the second half: Chaka scored his first goal as a Milan player, then earned the applause of the stadium at the moment of the substitution with Leao. Rafa hugged him and lifted him up, with both smiling.
Traore’s debut in Serie A came on 10 April 2021 with Parma and funnily enough it was against Milan. He came close to scoring with his head, but it was Leao who scored and he has since become a big admirer, almost a big brother figure.
Destiny was just around the corner, because a few months later Traorè would sign for Milan. Under Ignazio Abate he grew in the Primavera, with Pioli he became a first team option in less than two months. He made his debut in the Champions League against Dortmund, then Frosinone in Serie A and Cagliari in the Coppa Italia.
Meanwhile, Jimenez divides his time between Primavera and the first team. He is a natural right-back, but Abate successfully diverted him to the opposite flank, then Pioli brought him to the bench six times having been impressed with what he saw.
The opportunity presented itself yesterday and in the stands were his parents Roberto and Leticia, brother Roberto Jr and Samuel, an agent and friend who works for Eugenio Botas, Jimenez’s representative.
