Federico Dimarco has faced no shortage of gifted attackers in his career at Inter Milan and with Italy, but asked to name the single hardest opponent he has ever played against, the left wing-back did not hesitate: Lamine Yamal.
"If I had to think of the toughest opponent I've ever faced, I'd say Lamine Yamal," Dimarco said in an interview carried by Inter's official matchday programme ahead of the club's Serie A opener against Monza, and reported by the Israeli outlet ONE.
The remark carries extra weight given the numbers. Dimarco has come up against the Barcelona and Spain teenager three times, including Inter's dramatic 4-3 Champions League win over Barça in last season's semi-final second leg, and restricted Yamal to just a single goal across those meetings. Even so, he said the Spaniard was the most unsettling attacker he has encountered.
Dimarco also used the interview to play down his own individual honours. He was voted Serie A's Most Valuable Player last season after also setting the division's single-season assist record, but he brushed off the achievement as a new campaign begins. "Winning the MVP award last season doesn't count anymore — we start from zero," he said, adding that the assist record had crept up on him rather than being a target he set out to chase.
According to ONE's report, Dimarco pointed to Inter's Coppa Italia triumph as the most emotionally significant trophy of his career to date, above any individual prize.
He also touched on his footballing influences growing up, naming Brazilian great Ronaldo — "il Fenomeno" — as his childhood idol, alongside former Inter forward Diego Milito.
The comments arrive as Inter prepare to open their 2026/27 Serie A campaign at home to Monza, with Dimarco again expected to be a key figure down the left flank for a side aiming to build on last season's run to the Champions League final.
