10. Carlos Vela – 19, Mexico, Arsenal
He’s finally back in England after being on loan in Spain for two seasons. Breaking into the starting XI will be difficult with their crop of strikers, but their expectations are high. Along with dos Santos, there’s good reason for Mexico to have high aspirations for the future.
9. Theo Walcott – 19, England, Arsenal
Dubbed as England’s “Wonderkid, he’s made his mark throughout English program. In 2006, he became the youngest player ever to score for the England U-21s. That year, he also became the youngest player to make an appearance for Arsenal in European competition.
8. Anderson – 20, Brazil, Manchester United
A crafty midfielder with tremendous pace. A star-studded Man U lineup has made things difficult for him to break into the team’s starting XI.
7. Karim Benzema – 20, France, Olympique Lyonnnais
Had a breakout season last year with Lyon, scoring 26 goals and has started off strong in the 08-09 campaign. He’s quickly becoming a staple on the French national team.
6. Alexandre Pato – 19, Brazil, A.C. Milan
At 17, he was linked to a number of top clubs in Europe, but decided on A.C. Milan with a transfer fee of 22 million euros. Made his debut in January for the club and is expected to take over the team’s primary striker in the coming years.
5. Bojan Krkić – 18, Spain, Barcelona
The reason why Gio was allowed to leave for England. He’s a star in making with Barcelona, teaming up with Messi as the future of Barcelona’s attack. In 2008, became the youngest player to play for Spain’s national team in 70 years, at 17 years-old.
4. Giovanni dos Santos – 19, Mexico, Tottenham Hotspur
Just too many bodies in Barcelona allowed the promising Mexican star to leave for Tottenham during the summer. Last summer he finally broke into the first team in the Nou Camp and made 16 starts, showing why he is the future of Mexico’s national side.
3. Sergio Agüreo, 20, Argentina, Atlético Madrid
This kid just knows how to score. He became the highest paid player in Atlético’s history in 2006. Showed at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2006 how bright his future is as he captained the Argentine team to yet another U-20 trophy.
2. Cesc Fabregas – 21, Spain, Arsenal
A flat out playmaker in the midfield. It’s no wonder why he was starting for Arsenal when the 2004-2005 campaign kicked off. Finally had is coming out party at Euro 2008 where his play created a number of opportunities for Spain’s attack as they took home the title.
1. Lionel Messi – 21, Argentina, Barcelona
What he lacks in size he surely makes up for in all other areas. He’s arguably the best and most creative player in the world at the moment.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Top Ten Best Footballers 21 and Under
Posted by uisjmc mitchell at 1:57 PM
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2 comments:
Where is the love for Sotiris Ninis?? The kid is 18 years old and was called up by the Greek national team to play in a friendly this past May.
He's been playing on Panathinaikos since he was 16 years old!
I know you know that Panathinaikos is one of the 2 major club teams in Greece along with Olympiakos.
He played nine games with the Greece U-19 team in the UEFA championships in Austria and was named "one of the best 11 players."
He won Greek footballer of the year for 2007 and is the youngest player ever to be named captain of Panathinakos.
Watch out for this kid, because in the next 4-5 years he'll be a big name player playing in the EPL or Serie A
This post makes me feel uneasy.
Not because of the list or anything, but simply because I'm 21 and am already starting to feel obsolete.
The same thing happened the other night when I was watching the Clips-Lakers (outside of class) and they said that Andrew Bynum had just celebrated his 21st birthday last Monday.
And I was like "holy hell, Bynum's been in the league for three years now." He's almost a veteran.
And now I feel like I have to work harder and get my life in order because time seems to be running out.
I don't know if this happens to anyone else. Maybe I'm just crazy.
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