4 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MARCO PELLEGRINO

A summer of great change at the Rossoneri sees another arrival, in defence, Marco Pellegrino. Born in 2002, the Argentine, of Italian origin, has his best years ahead of him. Let’s get to know him a bit better with some facts and anecdotes. 

FROM THE CALAMAR TO THE ROSSONERI
Marco Pellegrino isn’t the first player to join AC Milan directly from Platense: there was Giuseppe “José” Cafaro, the goalkeeper of Catanzaro origin but emigrating to Buenos Aires with his family. He only had one appearance in Rossonero, in a Coppa Italia Derby in the 1973/74 season. The Buenos Aires club, back in the Primera División following a long stay between the 70s and 90s, has also seen Claudio Borghi and former AC Milan rival, David Trezeguet walk through its doors. 

THE ‘TITAN’S’ PROTÉGÉ
It was Martin Palermo, now Platense coach after a long career mainly at Boca Juniors, who had faith in Marco Pellegrino, giving him his first team debut on 14 March 2023 in a match that ended 1-1 at Vélez Sarsfield. Palermo, top-scorer in Boca Juniors history and the oldest scorer for Argentina in a World Cup crossed paths with AC Milan in the final of the 2007 Club World Cup.

MARCO IS THE 25th
Before Pellegrino, there have been 24 Argentinians at Milan, amongst them another recent arrival: Luka Romero. Marco is the first Argentine defender since Mateo Musacchio, who together with José Chamot is the Argentine with the third most appearances in the Diavolo shirt (75). Andrés Guglielminpietro (78) and Ernesto Grillo (95) lead the way in this regard. 

BETWEEN THE RACKET AND THE BALL
The first sliding-door moment in the new Rossonero defender’s career came at the age of 14. At this point, Marco Pellegrino preferred football to tennis, despite being a very promising tennis player. When he was 13, tennis-player Marco was the focus of an Argentine TV report looking for the future Juan Martín del Potro. His destiny, however, was football and, now, AC Milan.

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