7 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT SERGIÑO DEST

Having arrived at Milanello on the last day of the transfer market, Sergiño Dest is the addition wanted by the Rossoneri management to strengthen the squad for the current season. The 21-year-old full-back has already collected plenty of experience in top-level football, both at club and national level. Let's discover the 7 most interesting facts about him: 

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF DUTCH GIANTS
Dest was born in the Dutch town of Almere, about 30km from the centre of Amsterdam, just like the Rossoneri legend Frank Rijkaard. Also from Almere's football team comes another dutch national who also was a key figure in our recent history: Clarence Seedorf. 

MULTIETHNIC BACKGROUND
Exactly like these two Dutch champions in Milan's history, Dest also has a Central American origin. Sergiño, in fact, is the only son of a Dutch mother and a Surinamese-American father. 

THE AMERICAN DREAM
His dual citizenship - Dutch and American - confronted Sergiño with a difficult choice. The heart decided for him, opening the doors to the USA, the national team with which he made his Under-17 debut in the World Cup in 2017. The close-knit group and the welcome he received in the American dressing room tied the defender to the destiny of the American football movement, whose project and future growth he has embraced. Since making his senior national team debut in 2019, Sergiño has made 19 appearances for the United States.

YANKEE PIONEER
After becoming the first American player in Barcelona's history, Sergiño Dest is set to become the second yankee ever to wear the AC Milan shirt. Before him only the parenthesis of Oguchi Onyewu, the former Standard Liege defender.

THE MARKO AWARD
The 'talent of the year' award - achieved in 2020 by Sergiño with Ajax - was dedicated by the Lancers themselves to the Dutch ex-Milan striker. The award, voted for by the Dutch club's staff, has seen numerous talents explode into international football over the years and pass through the Ajax talent-rich academy, with former Rossoneri player Urby Emanuelson among the winners in 2006.

BETWEEN CULTURE AND MUSIC
Between Amsterdam and the US national team, to which we can add the Catalan parenthesis, Sergiño has had to deal with many cultures, each with its own peculiarities. Dest has stated that he particularly enjoys the climate on Spanish soil, acclimatising to the Italian climate will therefore be a formality. The music chapter underlines the defender's American origin: superstar Drake is his favourite artist.

IDOLS AND INSPIRATIONS
His idol is Ronaldinho, as is the entire team that won the World Cup in 2002 with the Brazilian team. Among the many stars of that Brazil team were two other former Rossoneri like Kaká and Ronaldo. Having grown up like many boys with the imagination and unpredictability of Brazilian talent, Sergiño has admitted in interviews that he also appreciates and is inspired by legends from other sports, including Muhammad Ali.

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