17-year-old Jordi Mboula scored an amazing solo goal for Barcelona’s Juvenil A, their U-19 team, against Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Youth League on Wednesday.
We need your help: Can anyone come up with a hashtag for Jordi Mboula's (@FCBMasia) wonder goal? pic.twitter.com/ubvB2oFx6v
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 22, 2017
This kid on Besiktas' U-12 team scored a goal. It was pretty cool.
Pretty, pretty, pretty good goal from the @Besiktas U-12s pic.twitter.com/uSH4vwZKZI
— Planet Fútbol (@si_soccer) January 26, 2017
19-year-old Frenchman Ousmane Dembele was highly coveted by almost every club around Europe following his breakout season with Rennes in the French Ligue 1 over 2015-16. Like so many others of late, he was attracted to Borussia Dortmund’s track record in developing young players and letting them play regardless of age.
Martin Odegaard made his debut for Heerenveen on January 14 by coming on as a last-minute substitute in his side’s 2-0 victory over ADO Den Haag. On Sunday, he was given an extended runout against PSV Eindhoven in a match featuring two clubs near the top of the Dutch Eredivisie.
Those who seek sustenance on unfounded transfer gossip and rumor mill nonsense will now need to look beyond Christian Pulisic for nourishment — the 18-year-old American attacker has extended his deal with Borussia Dortmund until 2020.
Perhaps watching fellow Scandinavian prodigy Martin Odegaard struggle for minutes at Real Madrid while youngsters like Christian Pulisic, Ousmane Dembele and Emre Mor flourished at Borussia Dortmund was all 17-year-old Swedish phenom Alexander Isak needed to see. Sweden’s youngest ever goalscorer has opted to join BVB over Real Madrid for a fee of €10 million.
2016 was a year of endless football action. We witnessed Euro 2016, the Copa America Centenario, World Cup qualifiers and the Rio Olympics to go along with the usual domestic and continental club competitions.
We also saw a host of youngsters taking center stage with their respective sides due to the corresponding opportunities. With that being said, here are five youngsters poised to have a breakout year in 2017.
21-year-old winger Yasin Ben El-Mhanni made his Newcastle United debut in the FA Cup on Wednesday, but what made the story truly remarkable was that El-Mhanni was already a household name amongst those who frequently watch football freestyle videos on YouTube.
Going into Sunday’s match against Everton, Pep Guardiola was faced with the dilemma of having neither of his preferred midfield options available for selection. After Ilkay Gundogan’s cruciate ligament injury in December and Fernandinho’s suspension, the unlikely pairing of Pablo Zabaleta and the once discarded Yaya Toure were left to enact the Guardiola philosophy.
Christian Pulisic scored another goal for Borussia Dortmund in a friendly over the Bundesliga winter break, notching the opener in his sides 3-0 victory over Belgium’s Standard Liege.
For Pulisic, it was his second goal in two games following his strike against PSV Eindhoven last weekend.