It has been just 24 hours since Dimitris Keramitsis was christened into the Roma first-team and came as a change in the delay of the Serie A game against Cagliari and the 17-year-old Greek stopper has already had many whispering the name .

Among them is Corriere dello Sport, with the Italian newspaper going on to pay a lengthy tribute to how he became Jose Mourinho’s choice for the Jalorosi and worship him, stressing that for many he reminds him of his compatriot Costa Manolas, who he successfully wore the jersey of the Eternal City team for a period of five years.

In detail what CdS reports about Dimitris Keramitsis:

“Dimitris Keramitsis is the last diamond of Roma infrastructure to step onto Olimpico’s pitch. It was the 95th minute with Roma-Cagliari making it shaky 1-0 while Mourinho looked down the bench and to everyone’s surprise at the youngster Greeks looked up.

Surprised, he changes and takes the position of Maitland-Niles without being able to hide his emotion. Those who know him say that he has a very good character: he has self-confidence because he knows he is strong and because he knows where he wants to go. As is so often the case, behind this baby (who is 1 meter and 93 centimeters tall) lies an amazing story.

Because until a few seasons ago he was in Greece, in Thessaloniki, playing among amateurs. In no time at all, he went through complete anonymity during his start in Serie A.

From Greece to Italy to his Serie A debut

There were no intermediate steps. Not even PAOK. The team that brought him to Italy as an unknown was Empoli two years ago. But Keramitsis played very little in Tuscany during the first wave of the coronavirus. Last summer, Roma bet on him with their eyes closed.

In fact, the Greek was the one who signed the most important contract between the players who joined the infrastructure departments of the Jalorosi and those who brought him to Trigoria, Morgan De Sanctis and Simone Lo Schiavo, the man who discovered Felix Afena-Gian.

On paper, Keramitsis had to play with the K-18 and this was initially done, but Alberto D. Rossi immediately promoted him to the Primavera (youth team) as he was absent from his squad with injuries and penalties. Somehow, Keramitsis became Primavera’s axis of defense.

Keramitsis usually plays left of center and his favorite foot is right. There are many strengths: he knows how to put the ball on the ground, he is strong in the air and it is a very difficult task to pass it individually. It reminds many of Manolas.

Already in November he trained sporadically with the first team. “Mourinho studied him for a long time and had the courage to throw him into the fight against Cagliari.”