Inter Quiz | Guess the player: Sebastiano Esposito

MILAN - His eleven appearances this season have brought one goal, one penalty earned and most importantly, bucketloads of key experience for the future. AlthoughSebastiano Esposito only turns 18 on 2 July this summer, he’s already started to make his mark on Nerazzurri history in the 2019/20 season.

The stats on Sebastiano Esposito

On 21 December, as he converted that penalty against Genoa, Esposito wasn’t just scoring the first Serie A goal of his career. At the age of 17 years and 172 days, and on his first start in a Nerazzurri shirt, he became thesecond youngest Serie A scorer in Inter’s history: behind only Mario Corso (17 years and 97 days), and in front of Mario Balotelli, Aldo Campatelli and Roberto Cesati.

Esposito has made eleven appearances this season: five in the league (two as a starter), three in the Champions League, two in the Coppa Italia and one in the Europa League. His return has seen one goal and one penalty earned in the Champions League, with one of his best moments this season. Esposito was steaming towards the Borussia Dortmund goal before being brought down, and although Lautaro failed to score the resulting penalty, the Nerazzurri went on to win that game 2-0. Our young forward born in Castellammare di Stabia has also come close to more goals in the league, his most memorable effort being a cracking volley which flew just past the post in our 2-2 draw with Parma.

In his eleven appearances he’s taken a total of seven shots, four of which have been on target, and made six key passes.

The facts on Sebastiano Esposito

Sebastiano Esposito’s first Nerazzurri goal came against a goalkeeper who, just like him, grew up in the Nerazzurri Youth Sector: Ionut Radu. The story of that penalty was heartwarming, as Romelu Lukaku passed over the ball to our young centre-forward to take. At the end of the match (won 4-0 by Inter), Esposito ran over to hug his mother, Flavia, on the side of the pitch. A mixture of tears and unforgettable joy for the entire Esposito family that night.

Born in 2002, Esposito never had the chance to watch Ronaldo “El Fenomeno” live at Inter. He was a great admirer of Francesco Totti’s football while growing up, but he loved Diego Milito more than anyone else: “I’d like to be just like him: a complete striker, he was just incredible.”

Esposito’s dream Nerazzurri eleven would be an ultra-attacking 4-2-4, with one small doubt about the defence: “Handanovic in goal; Maicon, Samuel or de Vrij, Materazzi and Zanetti in defence; Stankovic and Brozovic in the middle; then a four-man attack of Milito, Ronaldo, Lautaro and Lukaku.”

Sebastiano Esposito is closest in the dressing room with... Borja Valero: “It happens from time to time that I invade his space, I miss that, just as I miss his advice and his football on the pitch.”