Javi Serrano had his debut with the Atlético first team in a mythical setting, playing the last 15 minutes of the game against Liverpool at Anfield. The only 18-year-old from Madrid became the 37th youth squad to debut with the majors under the command of Simeone and, although he could not have the dream result, he showed his character and personality in the minutes he was on the pitch.
The youth squad, who has been defending the Atlético shirt since he was seven years old, was already one of the great highlights of the preseason. Javi Serrano was, along with Giuliano Simeone, the only youth squad to participate in the five preseason games, reaching 233 minutes and had already been chaining calls until he had his opportunity in the Champions League and against Liverpool, taking advantage of the losses of Kondogbia, Llorente and Lemar in the center of the field.
Serrano is a midfielder born in 2003 and international in the lower categories of the National Team, becoming a regular and wearing the U19 captain’s armband. He stands out for his work, recovery and ability to cover the field from the pivot, but also for his good level when breaking lines and looking for balls into space, as he demonstrated last weekend with his fantastic delivery for Giuliano to score the goal to defeat Pozuelo.
In total, the homegrown players to debut with Simeone have been: Saúl, Kader, Óliver Torres, Dani Aquino, Carlos Ramos, Héctor Hernández, Lucas Hernández, Keita, Iván Pérez, Nacho Monsalve, Thomas, Caio Henrique, Rober Núñez, Juan Moreno, Roberto Olabe, Keidi, Sergi González, Toni Moya, Antonio Montoro, Carlos Isaac, Arona Sané, Borja Garcés, Solano, Joaquín Muñóz, Víctor Mollejo, Montero, Camello, Rodrigo Riquelme, Darío Poveda, Manu Sánchez, Óscar Clemente, Germán Valera, Sanabria, Ricard, San Román, Mario Soriano and himself Javi Serrano.