Stars of the Future - Part 1

In this series of articles, we take a closer look at some of the players that have the potential to be top quality players in the future. I have tried to avoid the more commonly mentioned players as everybody already knows about them. The likes of Jack Wilshere, Romelu Lukaku and Josh McEachran have already been discussed to death in the press, whereas hopefully some of the following players will be new to people.

Chuks Aneke


Chuks Aneke is considerd to be one of the best players in the Arsenal youth academy. Neil Banfield, the head of Arsenal reserves, claimed that he had already reached technical perfection at the age of only 14. He provides the creative spark in the reserve side that scored at will last season and at 1.91m tall, he is an imposing presence in the midfield.

He has already played for England at U16, U17 and U18 level, and it would be no real surprise to see him continue to progress through the levels and one would expect to see him maybe making his full debut in the Carling Cup next season.

Kenneth Zohore


The Danish striker made his debut at only 16 years and 35 days old, making him the youngest player in the history of the Danish top flight. With trials at both Chelsea and Inter Milan already, he looks to have a promising future in the game.

Aged only 17, he is already over six foot tall and a strong physical presence. With nine goals in 13 matches for the Danish U17 side, he has already shown that he has a knack of scoring goals and he plays well in the target man role, creating space and chance for others.

He scored his first senior goal recently against Lyngby Boldklub, making him the second youngster scorer in the Danish top flight and his appearance against Barcelona in the Champions League made him the third youngest player in that tournament.

He has admitted that his dream is to play for Chelsea and if he continues his current progress, it would hardly be surprising if he ultimately reaches his goal.

Luc Castaignos


Already described as the next Thierry Henry, the young Dutchman has been on the rise for a couple of years. Joint top-scorer at the European U17 Championships in 2009, he made his debut for Feyernoord this season and has already grabbed nine goals in his first 24 games to add to his 22 goals in 31 games at U17 and U19 level for the Netherlands.

Despite being over six foot tall, he has electric pace and is a natural finisher meaning that he has all the attributes to become a world class striker. Already linked with most of the big European clubs, he has announced that he will move to Inter Milan in the summer, where he will hope to continue his development.

Eric Lamela


Eric Lamela is one of the most promising players to have come through the famous River Plate youth academy in recent years. Despite only being 18-years old, it was six years ago that River Plate had to fend off approaches from Spanish giants, Barcelona. They reportedly offered to pay Lamela’s family over €100k per year to move the 12-year old to Spain.

He made his debut for River Plate late last year, but the Argentinean club have already had to reject a €12m offer from AC Milan, demanding at least €25m for the youngster. He usually plays as an attacking midfielder or winger and has drawn great praise for his dribbling skills as well as his ability to score from distance. Furthermore, he is the first choice set piece taker, despite being only 18-years old. As far as weaknesses go, he lacks that extra yard of pace and needs to work on his aerial ability, but these will come with age and further training.

Despite his tender age, he is already one of the most talented players in South America, and despite his pledge to remain at River Plate until he has won a major trophy, his resolve will undoubtedly be tested as the giants of European football come knocking.

Thiago Alcantara


The young midfielder is considered to be the best player at Barcelona’s famous La Masia youth academy, and the natural heir to Xavi. Still only 19 years old, he has made eight appearances for the Barcelona first team and scored his first goal last season against Racing Santander. He has been described as Spain’s biggest talent by Fernando Hierro.

He has all the attributes that you would expect from a Brazilian at Barcelona – great vision, a wonderful range of passing and an eye for a goal. If he lives up to the hype, he will become one of the world’s very top midfielders and will slot perfectly into the centre of the Barcelona midfield.

Edwin Cardona


The young Colombian midfielder has proved that he is a real talent with seven goals in seven games at the South American U17 Championships in 2009. He has also impressed in this season’s U20 Sudamericano for his club where he has notched up four goals in six games – an impressive tally for a midfielder.

Like many South Americans, he enjoys running at players with the ball, but also has an excellent eye for a pass and is the set piece expert for both club and country. In an underperforming international side at U20 level, he is proving the standout star, even in the match against the impressive Brazilians. It would be no surprise to see him promoted to the full international side before long, and a move to Europe may not be much further away.

Gary Gardner


The younger brother of Birmingham midfielder, Craig Gardner, Gary was the star of the Aston Villa academy until his development suffered a setback when he tore his ACL last year. He has recently returned and played a starring role in the 10-1 victory against Arsenal reserves. It was also revealed that Rafa Benitez tried to take him to Inter Milan over the summer.

Closely compared in style and ability to Jack Wilshere, the two have played together at the heart of the midfield through all the youth ranks for England and it is surely only a matter of time until they link up again at senior level. He is expected to make his debut for Villa next season once he has fully recovered from his injury and is certainly a player to watch closely.

Lucas


The young attacking midfielder only made his debut for Sao Paulo last season, but by the end of the year, he had established himself as one of the first names on the team sheet. He picked up four goals and four assists in his 22 matches last season and was one of the star players at the South American U20 Championships earlier this year.

He loves to have the ball at his feet and run at defenders, whilst he also has great composure in front of goal. He has already caught the attention of Europe’s elite and it would be no real surprise to see him making the move to one of the big clubs in the coming years.

Juan Manuel Iturbe


The young Argentinean has already been compared to both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo at the age of only 17. He has made seven appearances for Paraguayan club, Cerro Porteno, but has already agreed a deal to move to Porto on his 18th birthday in June with rumours that it may be a stepping stone on the path to replacing Ryan Giggs at Manchester United.

The winger was one of the stars of the South American U20 Championships earlier this year and appears to be very comfortable with the ball at his feet and has an eye for a pass. Whether he can live up to the high expectations remains to be seen, but the move to Portugal should be the first step on his rise to the top.

Jean-Marie Dongou


The young Cameroon striker has been rapidly progressing through the Barcelona youth system. At only 15-years old, he has become the first player since Lionel Messi to represent Barcelona in three different age groups this season and is regularly playing against players three years older than himself.

He is lightning fast, powerful and a natural finisher and looks to be the next great hope of Cameroonian football. He has already scored well over 100 goals in the past couple of years at youth level and hit a stunning 20 goals in 14 days last month in the matches that he played in.

Whether he can continue his progression remains to be seen, but he has an excellent opportunity at one of the best clubs on the planet.

DW

What does the future hold for England?

England went into the World Cup with the oldest squad in the tournament, with an average age of 28.7. Opinions were mixed with some claiming that there was plenty of experience in the squad, whilst others claimed that the squad was simply too old. As we all know, England were immensely disappointing, and at times looked slow and pedestrian in their football. Similarly, if we look at the 4 oldest teams in the competition – England, Brazil, Australia and Italy – they were all fairly disappointing when compared to pre-tournament expectations.


Now, let us look at the youngest teams in the tournament – Ghana, North Korea, Germany, Cameroon, Spain and Chile. These teams all had an average age of under 26. Four of these teams progressed to the second round, three were in the quarter-finals, two in the semi-finals and obviously Spain won the overall tournament. Now whilst this is by no means conclusive proof, there seems to be a suggestion that the younger teams performed better at these championships. Indeed, if we look at the style of play of these teams, Spain played their usual quick pass-and-move style, Germany played an attractive fast-paced attacking game, whilst Chile were one of the best teams to watch in the entire tournament, even out-playing Spain for a significant portion of their contest.

The Germans had no fewer than six players who won the U21 European Championships in 2009 in their squad for the 2010 World Cup, as well as three players from the current U21 qualifying side. These players included the majority of their critical players – goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, defenders Jerome Boateng, Holger Badstuber and Dennis Aogo, midfielders Sami Khedira, Mesut Ozil, Thomas Muller and Toni Kroos and striker Marko Marin.


So maybe this all suggests that it is time to jettison some of the older players from the squad and refresh the ranks with some younger players. Joe Hart will almost certainly come in as the first-choice keeper for the Euro 2012 qualifiers, replacing the ageing David James, and the now-questionable Robert Green. After impressing last season for Villa and England, James Milner will be pushing for a permanent position on either the right-hand side or the centre of England’s midfield. Having made it into the provisional 30-man squad, Theo Walcott, Adam Johnson and Michael Dawson are likely to press for a more permanent role in the squad, whilst those that just missed out, including the likes of Gabriel Agbonlahor, Ashley Young, Phil Jagielka and Gary Cahill will be pressing for a position.

Emile Heskey has already announced his retirement from international football. It would be no surprise if the likes of Matthew Upson and Jamie Carragher were to follow in losing their spots in the squad. The biggest potential exclusion from the Euro 2012 qualifying squad could be former skipper, John Terry. Whilst he is an excellent defender, he lacks that extra yard of pace and he is potentially a disruptive influence on the squad. Combined with his attack on Capello during the tournament, it would be no major shock if his international career was coming to a close.

In the more distant future, things look promising for England. The U21 side was a losing finalist in the 2009 UEFA U21 European Championships, improving from their semi-final appearance in 2008. Similarly, the U19 team was a losing finalist in the 2009 U19 European Championship. The U17 side has recently won the 2010 U17 European Championships, beating a strong Spanish side in the final. This suggests that there are plenty of decent players coming through, but whether they will progress and be given the opportunity in the Premiership is a different matter.


So who are the potential future stars for England from these younger age groups? We take a quick look at 10 players who could become important players in the years to come.

1. Jack Wilshere – Arsenal (midfielder)

Jack Wilshere is only 18 years old, but is one of the most promising talents that England has produced for many years. One of the few English players at Arsenal, Wenger holds him in such high regard that he is seen as a potential replacement for Fabregas. A technically gifted player, he is excellent with the ball at his feet, and has been compared to Paul Gascoigne in terms of his potential ability.


2. Jack Rodwell – Everton (midfielder)

Jack Rodwell burst into the Everton team over the last couple of seasons as a talented midfielder. A former captain of both the England U16 and U18, he is expected to move back into a defensive role in the longer term, but his recent performances in the centre of midfield for Everton have led for calls for an opportunity at senior level.


3. Nathan Delfouneso – Aston Villa (striker)

Nathan Delfouneso has scored goals for fun at youth and reserve level in the past couple of years, and has continued that form at international level. Six goals in five games for the U17 team, ten goals in 22 games for the U19, including winning the Golden Boot at the 2009 U19 European Championships and a goal on his debut for the U21 team have showed his immense potential. His style, speed and technique have raised comparisons with the great Thierry Henry in the French media.


4. Tom Cruise – Arsenal (defender)

Despite sharing a name with the famous actor, Tom Cruise is proving himself as a good prospect for the future. He made his Arsenal debut last season at left-back against Olympiakos in the Champions League, and has impressed at youth level for England.


5. Ciaran Clark – Aston Villa (defender)

Ciaran Clark is a former England U18, U19 and U20 captain, as well as leading the Aston Villa academy and reserve teams to their respective titles. He impressed in the Peace Cup for Villa last summer against Juventus and Porto, and was man-of-the-match on his Villa debut last season against Fulham. A hugely talented central defender, he will be hoping to break into the Villa side this season.


6. Connor Wickham – Ipswich (striker)

Connor Wickham broke into the Ipswich squad last season, as well as starring for England U17 as they won the U17 European Championships. A brace in the semi-final as well as a goal in the final marked him out as a player to watch for the future. Arsenal and Tottenham are chasing the £10m-rated striker.


7. Josh McEachran – Chelsea (midfielder)

One of the stars of Chelsea’s youth Cup triumph last season, the young midfielder is one to watch for the future. A former England U16 captain, he was another star of the U17 title-winning England side earlier this year. Fleet of foot and with a great ability to read the game, he is a great prospect.


8. Conor Coady – Liverpool (midfielder)

The captain of the U17 winning England side, the young midfielder was the driving force in midfield alongside McEachran. Assuming he gets the opportunity to play first-team football in the coming years, he should be one to watch.


9. Jack Butland – Birmingham (goalkeeper)

Another U17 international, he began the tournament as the 2nd choice keeper. However, given his opportunity, he put in a series of excellent performances and retained his place in the team. Put in an excellent performance in the final in particular, and may be one to watch in a few years time.


10. Gary Gardner – Aston Villa (midfielder)

Played for England at U17, U19 and U20 level last season before a cruciate ligament injury ended his season early. The younger brother of Craig Gardner, he was scoring for fun for the Villa academy and reserve teams before his injury, and hopefully he can come back to fulfil the potential that he undoubtedly has.

the freaking future.

Like many other high school seniors (in California I guess), I went to visit college(s) this weekend. I visited my college of choice: UC SAN DIEGO!!! So I was anticipating all week for that weekend trip to get spring break STARTED!!! Well we left Friday evening. It was just my parents, my sister Bella, me, and Kingston. I wanted to take Kingston to show him the place before he turned it down. He turned it down anyway but at least we had a fun time. I dont think I would have been as entertained without him and his DS! Let me say I think I will forever suck at tetris. It was an interesting 8 hour trip there and then 8 hours back. Well we drove straight to SD. A couple hours in, we stopped at Dennys for dinner. Did you know there is a Denny's at every freaking rest stop!?!? I ate a french toast grand slam for dinner. On the way out, I missed a sensation. As we were walking out, a couple people were walking in and I walked out first and was looking at the ground for some reason but my sister and Kingston were like OMG did you see that after we walked a bit away. Apparently some old guy had a crazy handlebar mustache. I was sad to have missed it. Even my mom saw it.

We drove for hours and then stopped at a rest stop to rest but we were all restless so we drove to Mcdonalds near the school. We got to the school at like 7 am. It was pretty deserted. The campus was pretty big. I didn't fall in love with it at first but gradually it grew on me. I really liked the ERC program and SO MANY CHANCES TO STUDY ABROAD OMMMMGGG!!! It is a dream, though I am sure it is a hassle to have so many writing classes, but I was born to do it. I am really excited for the educational part (as nerdy as that is). I met up with Melanie and we toured the dorms a bit at ERC. I liked them. They were so quaint and cute. I love the community feel. I could totally fit in. AND EVERYONE WAS SO BEACH READY?!!? And Cafe Ventura was freaking BEAUTIFUL!!! I loved the clothing store. I bought one tee but I was ready to buy the whole store (though it is expensive). I met up with Maggie at the clothing store. We were so overexcited about the clothes, the little key chains, and all the knick knacks. I loved it.

After visiting UCSD, we went to LA or mostly Koreatown to eat and hang. We ate at a great soondobu place. I was so hungry and I was so full afterwards. They had the coolest bathroom. They even had a dental rinse thing. I sound like a hick for being so amazed. I realized a lot of places outside of Sacramento do not have paper towels though. They prefer those hand dry machine things. I guess it saves energy and waste. They also have lots of automatic hand soaps and toilets (though I've come across that before, don't worry I am not that much of a Valley Girl). We went to a little Korean mall. My sister and I bought cute cell charms and a Boys Over Flower calendar. Yes, we are fan girly like that. I enjoyed myself though. It was very refreshing to have fun in LA. I am glad I was not accepted into UCLA. I would have gone broke spending money in all those cute little ethnic towns and cool places. Damn, Im scared of my future self spending so much money on anything I think is worthy.

I didn't get to take many pictures as I would have liked.
We were too busy looking to capture moments.

Playing a little motion blur in the car



My parents walking onto the UCSD campus.



Kingston's back

ONE of the nice libraries at UCSD.
It has amazing architecture.



Just some of the food we got. Sorry this only shows kimchi.
They gave amazing banchan though.

I am pretty secure on my decision about UCSD and I am happy about it. I talked to my other friends about their college visits and they seem happy to go to their separate colleges too and I am happy for them. I am not sad yet about separating because all I can think about is the great possibilities out there for all of us and how happy we will be. I kind of already sense who I will remain close with. I won't be disillusioned too much by it.

The only sad thing to me is thinking about how my family will change. After two days, Sophie my baby sister looked different after our trip. Well one it was the first time we were away from her so she only ate very little so her cheeks evened out. But she seemed so much bigger to me in a way. I cannot imagine how she will look when I come back after like five or six months. And the same with the rest of my family. I don't know if I will be homesick or not. Probably very but I just can't imagine it. There has only been one moment in my life where I was away from my parents but at least I was with my siblings during that time. I think I can handle it (more than my father can). He is convinced I cannot live without him. He even proposes the family move to San Diego. When I leave I feel like my siblings and my mom will have to hold him down so he wont go after me. As funny as that is, it is touching. But my family is my family, they will always be there. I do not take them for granted. I just hope they will not lock me up for the time before I go. I want to savor my moments with my friends also because I know after this, we will never be ALTOGETHER again in the same way. It will always be separated after this. I don't feel sentimental in my heart about it yet.

But it is in the back of my mind.

But I don't want to be a Negative Nancy about it. I am a positive person and things always turn out right in the end, even though the boys around me don't always believe it. Why do I keep making friends with guys who are so pessimistic about life?

These songs have been stuck in my head. We made mix cds for the trip and we played these songs over and over again.

Lollipop - Big Bang & 2NE1

SORRY SORRY - Super Junior

---christina