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.
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.
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.
Here’s a player to keep an eye on: 19-year-old Italian youth international Riccardo Orsolini. Orsolini plays his football for Ascoli in the Italian Serie B. According to his extremely vague Wikipedia page, the boy has got “excellent dribbling” abilities. You’re goddamn right he does.
Celtic’s Karamoko Dembele, the 13-year-old prodigy who made headlines when making his debut for Celtic’s U-20 side, has triggered an international arms race between England and Scotland as both countries look to secure his services at the youth level.
On May 23, 2015 Martin Ødegaard became the youngest player ever to play for Real Madrid. Just 5 months and six days after his 16th birthday, the young Norwegian talent came on for Madrid’s current superstar Cristiano Ronaldo in the 57th minute, and the hype surrounding him began to build to a fever pitch.
57' Last Substitution for Real. OUT @Cristiano In Odegaard. He makes his first appearance with the team
Liverpool fans were probably the only people who really cared who Ben Woodburn was before this season started, but they were very excited about him.
After the youngster scored against Leeds United in the EFL Cup Tuesday, though, the cat's out of the bag. Woodburn, at 17 years and 45 days old, broke the record held by Michael Owen (17 years and 143 days) for youngest-ever Liverpool goalscorer.
Here are the match highlights:
Down a goal and with only 10 men on the pitch, Fiorentina looked to their promising American youngster Josh Perez to help level the score against Inter Milan on Monday. The USA youth international made his Serie A debut for the Viola in the 75th minute. He almost made an immediate impact.
For some, this moment would get the best of them; youngsters often look skittish and lack confidence in their club debuts. However, this was not the case for the young American, who skillfully collected the ball on the top of the box and cut onto his left foot as he shaped to shoot.