Playmaker, attacking midfielder when necessary, infallible from the spot, born in Colombia but called up by the Spanish national teams: the latest jewel in the Nerazzurri house
Does the penalty weigh? Don’t worry, because there will always be Dilan Zarate who will raise his hand and say: “Mister, I’ll take care of it”. And this is the first news, that Inter is hiring a spot kick specialist. A sort of mini Calhanoglu born in Colombia, raised in Spain and exploded in Italy. The role is the same as that of Hakan: short playmaker all about phrasing and geometry, also an interior midfielder if necessary, even wanting to risk playing as an attacking midfielder because ultimately his nature is to invent. Zarate, 18 years old (2007) and a star of Carbone’s Primavera, is one of those who always want the ball, even if under pressure because they have already imagined the play to be made. For the series: give me the ball, then I’ll think about it.
The margins for improvement
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Before the house specialty, a couple of asterisks. First: much of the potential is still unexpressed, and here lies the second good news for Inter. As soon as he arrived in Milan (summer 2023), he was ready to go in fourth gear but constantly traveling at that speed would have been difficult for anyone. Translated: the Milanese version of Dilan started off at a high speed, then the exponential curve flattened out a bit. In short, the key word is “time”. Second asterisk: Zarate does many things well (perhaps too many?) and knows how to play in many roles (perhaps too many?). The next step is to understand what he wants to be when he grows up: midfielder? Mezzala? Or maybe he’ll end up hanging out on the trocar? Hence, the features. His lineage is that of the Inter version of Calhanoglu: he sets, takes penalties, dictates the pace, runs backwards if necessary, knows how to ‘break’ the game and is not afraid to do so. Foot speech: right or left changes little or nothing. This as a midfielder, while as a midfielder he knows how to transform himself into the classic box-to-box: here too he ‘breaks’ without any worries, and the great thing is that shortly after you can find him sixty meters ahead throwing himself into space without the ball. Physically he’s not really a Marcantonio (180 centimetres), but here the blood works in his favor: can’t I get there with the physique? I’ll add the South American garra and rest assured, there’s none for anyone.
Penalties: Zarate method
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Dilan Zarate, a real specialist. Dutiful focus on the last four, divided as follows: one in the Scudetto semi-final against Sassuolo, one in the Super Cup final against Cagliari, one in the championship again against the Sardinians and one in the Youth League against Liverpool. The common denominator? They were all decisive penalties. Two stand out. Last May he paved the way for Zanchetta’s Primavera, his last penalty in the semi-final against Sassuolo: a handful of days later the Nerazzurri would have risen to the top of Italy. At the end of August he transformed into Fabio Grosso: Arena Civica in Milan, Inter-Cagliari, Supercoppa Primavera final. The fifth, last and decisive penalty was signed by Zarate, the only one of these kicked by opening with the right foot. In short, his legs never tremble and indeed, when the ball weighs on him, he seems to know how to tame it as if he were a Super Santos in a match between friends on the beach.
History and… Inter
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Dilan was born in Cartagena de Indias, northern Colombia. His first kicks at the age of six at Club Expreso Rojo, another four and he packs his bags with his father towards Spain. There, a continuous rise: Gimnàstic de Tarragona, Tecnifutbol, Cornellà and finally Girona, where he remained just one season before the call from Inter. Milanese acquired in the summer of 2023, he signed the renewal until 2029 a few months ago. Those who experience him every day describe him as a good boy, always ready with a joke and well integrated into the locker room. Sometimes perhaps (too) hard on himself: someone who demands, knows what he wants and is willing to do anything. In short, one hit the head too and this is also not bad news. Some numbers. This year he has already played twenty matches across all categories, including the final quarter of an hour in Ospitaletto-Inter U23, round of 32 of the Coppa Italia Serie C: his debut among the greats. Three goals so far, numbers perfectly in line with those of the previous two seasons. In 2024-25 he split his time between Primavera and U18, closing the year by raising the scudetto to the sky. In 2023-24, however, he was a true workaholic: 39 matches between U17 and U18, and as a reward, his debut in the Youth League at a very young age.
National team and idols
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In all of this, the Spanish national team did not stand idly by and Paco Gallardo, selector of the U19, brought it with him for the SNS International Cup, where La Roja met Japan and Austria. All this despite a small physical problem suffered in the Youth League against Liverpool. And Colombia? He regrets it. “Did you fall asleep Colombia? Dilan Zarate, the boy from Cartagena, called up to the Spain under 19 team”, they write about him at home. They already experience it as a regret, meanwhile a Spanish media made him create his perfect footballer. Not bad tastes, those of the young Zarate: he chooses CR7’s right foot, Messi’s left foot, Vinicius’ speed, Kane’s shot, Kross’s pass, Neymar’s dribbling, Kanté’s resistance and Iniesta’s intelligence. They didn’t ask him who he would entrust the rigor of life to, also because he would probably have answered like this: Dilan Zarate.
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