Jan-Carlo Simić scored on his Serie A debut for Milan and said he will ‘bring pastries’ to Milanello to celebrate with his teammates.
The 18-year-old was introduced in the first half of Milan’s 3-0 win over Monza on Sunday, making his first-ever appearance in Italy’s top flight. He scored his first goal at a senior level minutes before the break from a Rafael Leao assist, doubling the Rossoneri’s lead.
“It’s like a dream and I am happy because I want to help the team,” Simic told DAZN after the final whistle.
“It’s a nice thing, it’s the dream of every kid, but I am happy for the team. We wanted to win and having scored makes everything even nicer.”
Simic was expected to start for the Rossoneri a couple of weeks ago, in a home game against Frosinone as several Milan defenders were injured. Did he know he would make his Serie A debut today?
“My teammates have helped me a lot, like the coach and the staff members,” he said.
“They told me to be ready last week because I could play anytime. I was working very hard and now I am happy to have made my debut. To score it’s even better. I will continue working as I’ve done until now.
“The coach had told me last week that I could play, so I tried to be ready. When he told me to get in, I was ready, I had the right mentality. After the goal, I felt nothing. I didn’t even hear the fans shouting my name. After the goal, I was only focused on the game and making sure Monza didn’t score.”
Simic said he would give his parents the shirt from today’s games.
“They helped me so much always to have the right mentality,” the Serbian defender admitted.
“Family is the most important thing for a player. They say things to your face. I am happy, and they were happy too, so I am grateful to them.
“There are difficult moments sometimes, but they’ve always helped me and motivated me to work hard,” continued Simic, who also spoke about the support from his teammates.
“There isn’t just one. Everyone came to me, Oli [Giroud], Simon [Kjaer], Florenzi, everyone came to me. They told me to be calm because they would help me. Even the coach and his staff members. All the people on the bench, everyone was happy I made my debut, and everyone helped me.”
Giampaolo Pazzini, one of the DAZN pundits, asked Simic if he’ll have to pay for a dinner for his teammates after scoring on his debut; the Rossoneri defender replied smiling: “No, no, I only have to bring pastries.”
The 18-year-old concluded by revealing his role model: “Paolo Maldini was my idol, and it’s a dream for me to play for Milan. I watched many of his videos as a kid, and now the dream has come true,” he concluded.