You may recall back in January when Barcelona U-10 phenom Michal Zuk signed a brand ambassador contract with adidas. It was an unprecedented show of financial support for such a young player still years away from first-team experience, but his highlights speak for themselves.
As it turns out, the rest of Zuk’s Barcelona U-10 team is every bit as talented as he is.
It was a great weekend for teenage homegrown players in Major League Soccer as two academy products — Toronto FC’s Ayo Akinola and the Philadelphia Union’s Brenden Aaronson — marked their first starts with goals.
Akinola is a 19-year-old who’s recently been called-up for the U.S. pre-U-20 World Cup training camp in Spain. The Detroit-born forward appeared in four matches as a substitute for Toronto last year, totaling only 45 minutes.
However, on Sunday he was given his first start, went 85 minutes in the 3-2 win over New England and scored his first goal.
Chelsea’s youngest star, Callum Hudson-Odoi, has officially received the call to join England’s national team. The 18-year-old will be the youngest player on England’s squad for a pair of Euro 2020 qualifiers, joining the stacked attack of Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling.
Hudson-Odoi has quickly become a fan favorite in London, and supporters are hoping he’ll be a big part of a potential Chelsea transformation next year.
Chances are, you’re somewhat familiar with the Marcus Rashford story. It’s well known that he’s a local lad, having joined the Manchester United academy system at the age of seven.
His astronomical rise at the club is also well documented. He made his first team debut for United at the age of 18 while the side was stalling under the leadership of Louis van Gaal. However, in the space of a few days, a star was born.
18-year-old Canadian phenom Alphonso Davies scored his first Bundesliga goal for Bayern Munich on Sunday, coming on as a substitute in the club’s 6-0 hammering of Mainz 05 at the Allianz Arena and completing the scoring.
A James Rodriguez hat-trick alongside goals from Robert Lewandowski and Kingsley Coman had given Bayern a 5-0 lead when Davies came on for David Alaba in the 59th minute.
Be sure not to blink or you might miss the fancy feet of 11-year-old Tottenham academy standout Ramell Carter. In this Instagram video, he shows off his skills while taking multi-tasking to the next level.
Trend meets trend: Another U.S. national team or youth prospect makes the jump to Major League Soccer as Sporting Kansas City signs a talented, young player off the radar of most clubs. That's what we got today when Sporting officially announced that Gedion Zelalem had signed from Arsenal. The 22-year-old joins Kansas City for the 2019 season, with club options for two additional years.
A big storyline from Major League Soccer’s opening weekend was the debut of 16-year-old LA Galaxy phenom Efrain Alvarez. The Los Angeles native was an academy product before becoming a revelation in the USL last year, scoring 12 goals and adding three assists in 17 appearances for the club’s reserve team, LA Galaxy II.
Take away the knowledge that, at 15 years and 253 days, he’s the youngest international footballer in Norway’s history and, at 16 years and 157 days, the youngest debutant in Real Madrid history, and you’re left with a more appropriate picture of Martin Ødegaard: A 20-year-old playmaker that immediately passes the eye test with his sublime technical skills and game-changing flair.
Earlier this week, 13-year-old Olivia Moultire made headlines when turning pro by signing an endorsement deal with Nike and a representation agreement with Wasserman Media Group. This is an unprecedented move in the women’s game — and really a rarity in all of sport given how young she is — but it’s certainly not without parallels on the men’s side.