Monza soccer club focuses on youth development: ‘Our badge of honor is promoting young players to the first team’

MILAN, Italy, Sept. 19, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Investing in youth development to nurture future stars for the first team is AC Monza's strategy as they enter their third consecutive season in Serie A. The club is committed to promoting young talents from its academy. This summer, the Monzello Sports Center was inaugurated and named after Luigi and Silvio Berlusconi. The state-of-the-art facility boasts eight fields—four of which are synthetic—where not only the first team and Primavera squad train, but also the club’s youth teams. The training center, which includes three gyms, is located just steps away from the U-Power Stadium, where AC Monza plays its home matches. “Having such a complex is crucial, and the stadium has undergone an incredible renovation as well,” Mauro Bianchessi, Director General of the Youth Sector, told LaPresse. “We have everything we need to work calmly and effectively to develop players.”

The results of Monza’s long-term strategy are already starting to show. This season, reserve goalkeeper Andrea Mazza has secured a stable place in the squad coached by Alessandro Nesta, the former Milan and Lazio defender and Italian national team player. However, Bianchessi aims to go further, continuously rejuvenating the roster with players from the youth sector year after year. “Today, the sole purpose of the youth sector is to produce players for the first team,” he emphasized. “By the end of next season, our badge of honor will be to add another player to the first team.” 

Matteo Pessina, who came up through Monza’s youth ranks and returned to the club after stints with Milan and Atalanta, is now the captain of the first team and stands as the perfect example of the club's new policy. “We hope to develop the ‘next’ Matteo Pessina in-house and keep him here. As of today, our best players are all under contract and deeply connected to this club,” Bianchessi continued. He then added: “We are working to build both future players and a future captain from within.”

Monza is also paying attention to women’s soccer. This season, the club introduced its first women’s team, competing in the Promozione league. “It’s a choice to invest in the local area, and both the men’s and women’s teams are progressing side by side,” explained Bianchessi. “The goal is to do well and hopefully win the league in the first year,” he added.

For more information:
Press Office LaPresse - ufficio.stampa@lapresse.it

A video accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/898df280-8508-4df8-af8e-cdaf7515b2fe