“The youth gets together his materials to build a bridge to the moon, or, perchance, a palace or temple on the earth, and, at length, the middle-aged man concludes to build a woodshed with them” – Henry David Thoreau.
The vicious King Cobra is called the same during its youth stage as when it is an infant.
However, the name suits it better when it grows to its full potential. Similarly young footballers who possess top quality skills and have huge potential to become the best, to one day achieve this dream.
So let’s take a look at the next big things in football, players who will soon possess the world class tag (if they haven’t already).
5. Jack Wilshere
Wilshere currently plays for one of the biggest clubs in England – Arsenal.
He has the privilege of wearing the famous number 10 jersey for Arsenal and also stars in the England national side.
Wilshere is known for his speed, movement, vision and has been described by his boss as having ‘Spanish technique, but an English heart’.
With a host of individual awards to his credit, Wilshere is one of the rising stars of football and will one day be ranked higher than most of the other stars and will eventually make the step to become a world-class player.
4. Mario Gotze
At the age of 19 the young German featured in the UEFA Euro 2012 tournament.
He scored his debut goal for Germany in 2010, thus becoming the youngest from his nation to do so.
This player is only 20 at the moment, and has already tasted success – two Bundesliga titles in 2010-2011 and 2011-2012.
He has four individual awards to his name and is currently playing for one of the best German clubs currently, Borussia Dortmund, who he has a high chance of leading to European glory this season.
Mario Gotze’s style of play is that of an attacking midfielder who excels with creativity, speed and technical skills.
He is one of the hot picks of European football and is destined to achieve greater heights in the future.
3. Christian Eriksen
21 years old and the heart and soul of Ajax football club, Eriksen is the second runner-up on this list.
He has already won Eredivisie Player of the Year and was also named the Danish Player of the Year and Young Player in Netherlands in 2011.
He has 24 goals and 45 assists for his club and has scored two goals for his national side.
With 10 individual awards so far and showing his magical style of play in Europe, he was attracted by many clubs especially Manchester United but eventually declined the offer, stating loyalty over money.
2. Eden Hazard
The Chelsea and Belgium superstar has already become one of the most popular footballers in the world at the moment.
Hazard, who moved to Chelsea from Lille, was named as Ligue 1 Player of the Year twice.
He has 58 goals and 55 assists in his club career which is mind blowing. Apart from this, Hazard has 33 international caps and has even scored two and assisted nine times for Belgium.
The stats reveal his ability and if you are still not impressed, he has 11 individual awards and two club titles.
Playing as attacking midfielder and sometimes as a winger, this lad is an extraordinary talent.
Having dumped the Manchester clubs for Chelsea, it shows that he has very strong decision-making skills.
People have drawn comparisons between him and Messi and he was listed as number 58 in the 100 best footballers in the world by the Guardian.
1. Neymar
Who else other than the Brazilian – Neymar. He is the most popular young footballer currently and surprisingly does not play in Europe.
He has already been hailed as the next best player after Messi and Ronaldo.
Neymar has scored 126 goals in his club career and 17 goals for Brazil in only 22 matches. He has six titles for his club and has won as many as 37 individual awards.
He earns a whopping $11 million annually and is tipped to make a move to Spain – Real Madrid or Barcelona.
Neymar’s breakthrough moment came in 2011 where he won the FIFA Puskas Award, overcoming the likes of Lionel Messi and Wayne Rooney.
His style of play is quite similar to Ronaldo and Ronaldinho and is currently hailed as one of the best playmakers in the world.
Having achieved so much in a short span of time, the future looks bright for him. Bright may be an understatement, perhaps, Neymar will go down in history as ‘The Guy Who Ended Messi’s Run’.
Honourable Mentions
– David Alaba (Bayern Munich)
– Jano Ananidze (Spartak Moscow)
– Christian Tello (Barcelona)
– Isco (Malaga)
– Paul Pogba (Juventus)
– Raphael Varane (Real Madrid)
– Oscar (Chelsea)
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