This time, the Primavera skipping a turn surely bore that extra special flavour in the eyes of Federico Simonetto: “Not only did I just receive my first-ever call-up from the Italian national team; but I also made my debut for the U18s side in the two friendlies played in Romania. Mind you, this amazing feeling and huge satisfaction will have to serve as new starting points to push myself forward and keep working harder and harder to reach new personal and collective milestones as an Atalanta player”.
The 06s’ left-footed wing from Olgiate Comasco has been donning the black-and-blue colours since the summer of 2017: “I’m now entering my 7th season at Atalanta. While my football grounding started at roughly 4-5 years of age playing for Faloppiese, a club for a neighbouring town, I entered Como’s Youth System after a couple of years, where I stayed until Atalanta’s call-up. It was my father Claudio who passed his passion for football onto me: being a player himself, he rose through the ranks of the Como Academy all the way to the Primavera before making a name for himself in the Serie D and the amateur leagues, I guess it runs in the family. Also a striker in his days, he, unlike me, is right-footed though. I spent a huge part of my childhood playing football with him in our backyard, where he even fitted a fully-fledged set of goals. I still recall how my father pushed me to use my weak foot. Then, I found myself a new sparring partner for my backyard training; my younger brother Francesco: he’s ten and he now plays for FOR (Faloppiese Olgiate Ronago)”.
A passion for football was not the only thing that Claudio passed on to his son, though: seeing Federico’s feeling with the goal, he surely let him on a scoring family secret or two. Despite playing as a left-back, Federico made a name for himself in the previous season, scoring in double digits: “Scoring-wise, last season was my best up to date with 11 goals – 10 for the U17s and 1 for the U18s – to my name. Never before had I scored these many goals, not even when I was playing closer to the goal. Even though I used to play in the offensive trio back in the day, with a brief stint as a striker for Como; I don’t recall scoring so much. Sure, I was caught off-guard myself at first; but then I got the hang of it: oddly enough, my scoring streak started with a Cittadella own goal I favored; and to think I wasn’t even awarded the goal, mind you. From then on, something clicked and I just kept scoring. My teammates simply couldn’t help but dub me “bomber” in jest.
A little habit Simonetto has absolutely no plans to come off with: “At the beginning of the season I managed to score a goal in a training match against the First Team and it truly gave me an amazing feeling. Bakker’s speed and pace blew me away. Additionally, I had the chance to observe Ruggeri up close: being an Academy player himself, his journey is a tangible professional example and a true source of inspiration; being able to repeat what he has done would be a huge feat. I know the road ahead is long and entails much hard work, but I don’t lack a want for either growing or getting better”.
