12 Young Stars To Watch for at the World Cup
- By Joseph Schoenbauer
1. F - Lionel Messi – Argentina – The 18-year old is already receiving world wide recognition for his sleight frame, left foot and mazy dribbling ability that naturally draws comparisons to the man that has an entire religion named after him, Diego Maradona.
2. F - Robinho – Brazil – Despite a few rocky games for Real Madrid in his first season in Spain, Robinho still showed off the step-overs and other mesmerizing moves he became famous for at Santos, where his skills reminded the fans of none other than the King of Brazil, Pele.
3. M - Frank Ribery – France – Born in 1983, Ribery opened eyes all throughout France this year with his performances for Marseille as an attacking midfielder, just as Zinedine Zidane did years ago. For France, he is being groomed as Zizou’s replacement, but come this World Cup they may well be lining up alongside each other.
4. F – Emmanuel Adebayor – Togo – Having just turned 22 years old, the former Monaco front man led Togo and all other African players in goals scored in World Cup qualifying with 10. A January move to Arsenal and a coaching change at Togo has increased the possibility of him performing with self belief at the World Cup this summer.
5. F – Park Chu-young – South Korea – Lee Dong-gook has gone down yet again with an ACL injury, meaning South Korea will be deprived of their starting center forward for the second consecutive World Cup. In 2002, Ahn Jung-hwan stepped up to lead the attack. This time around, it may be FC Seoul’s 20 year old Park Chu-young, Asia’s Young Player of the Year in 2004.
6. M - Hedwiges Maduro – Holland – Receiving praise from both the coach of his former club, Danny Blind of Ajax, and national team coach, Maduro has responded by being a highly influential part of Holland’s 3-man midfield that qualified easily for the World Cup ahead of rivals Czech Republic.
7. M – Julio Dos Santos – Paraguay – Having provided the spark in midfield throughout Paraguay’s qualifying campaign, Dos Santos’s name quickly started popping up as European club teams looked on. Tall, strong, and with excellent vision, the comparisons with the man who he will be replacing at Bayern Munich, Michael Ballack, will be inevitable.
8. M - Sulley Muntari – Ghana – The young central midfielder has gained invaluable experience with Udinese over the past several years, especially as he played a large part in Udinese successfully qualifying and competing in Europe’s most competitive competition, the UEFA Champions League.
9. M - Cesc Fabregas – Spain – One of Arsenal’s greatest performers in the second half of the season, the newly turned 19-year old was instrumental in Arsenal’s run to the UEFA Champions League final, leading the midfield which defeated Real Madrid, Juventus, and Villarreal along the way. His short passing and control in tight spaces is first class, and he visibly grew in confidence as the year progressed.
10. D - Sergio Ramos – Spain – The ex-Sevilla player can fill in at right back or central defense, where he has played regularly for Real Madrid all season after making his much-publicized 27 million euro move to the Spanish capital. A strong tackler, Ramos has also been able to find the back of the net a number of times from set pieces both for Real Madrid and Spain.
11. F – Theo Walcott – England – The youngest player going to the World Cup at age 17, Walcott made waves when he signed for Arsenal in the January transfer window for what could rise to 12 million pounds. Eyebrows were raised again when the usually predictable Sven Goran Eriksson selected him to go to Germany despite Walcott never having played for England’s full national team, or even Arsenal’s first team, for that matter. The English press, in typical breathless form, has even compared him to the likes of a young Ronaldo.
12. M – Andres Iniesta – Spain – Another product of Barcelona’s youth system, Iniesta came into his own this year at the end of the club season, starring as a defensive center midfielder, and forced his way into the Spanish National team ahead of the likes of Ruben Baraja. He controls the pace of the game with his excellent passing and ability to hold onto the ball, and his quick feet allow him to join the attack with ease.
Other notables:
M - Niko Kranjcar – Croatia
M - Luis Valencia – Ecuador
M - Lee Ho – South Korea
M - Hamed Namouchi – Tunisia
F- Eddie Johnson - USA