Pellegri: 'A dream come true'

By Football Italia staff

Pietro Pellegri is only 16 years old, so scoring a Serie A brace with his father on the Genoa bench is “a dream come true.”

This wasn’t his first goal, as Pellegri already found the net against Roma at the Stadio Olimpico back in April, when he had only turned 16 a month earlier.

He came off the bench this evening and twice clawed Lazio back only for Ciro Immobile to eventually win it 3-2 for the visitors.

“It’s a dream come true that I’ve had since I was a child. It was an important evening for me and my father,” Pellegri told Mediaset Premium.

His Dad, Marco Pellegri, is good friends with Coach Ivan Juric and was hired as their team manager this season.

Inevitably, the proud father couldn’t hold back tears as he hugged his teenage son on the touchline at Marassi.

“I have not left school, but this year I’ll have a private tutor to help me after my morning training sessions. My father has been following my career since I was little and it’s wonderful that he was so moved.

“He always took me to training, even in the cold and rain. He’s the one who keeps me on the right path in football, while my mother makes sure I study at school.”

There’s already a bidding war between Inter, Milan and Juventus for Pellegri and that is set to intensify further after this performance.

“My idol is Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He’s the best striker in the world.”

Remarkably, Pellegri was born in March 2001, by which time Ibrahimovic had already won his first senior cap for Sweden.

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