Every season , every tournament sees the emergence of new talent in the big stage. As the old ones hang up their boots , it’s time for the stars of tomorrow to take up their places in the world stage. The Scholeses and the Pirlos are gone and the spotlight is now on the next Peles and Maradonas. Showing potential at a younger age is one thing and then going on to fulfill it is a different thing altogether. Many players with the proper talent and potential haven’t been able to outshine others. While a handful few go on to reach their full potential by virtue of hard work and perseverance.
We have formed a dream U 22 team of players from all over the world. Here it goes :
GK – Donnarumma
Age – 19
Nationality – Italian
Club – A.C Milan
Our choice for the best young goalkeeper is the most obvious: Gianluigi Donnarumma.
He played for the academy of Club Napoli before joining A.C Milan at the age of 14. At Milan he became the second youngest keeper to ever debut in Serie A and the youngest Italian player to play in a Serie A. He has a large frame which gives him a physical advantage but the best aspects of his goalkeeping are his reflexes and shot stopping abilities. However, he needs to up his distribution game.
Honourable mention – Andriy Lunin ( Leganes on loan from Real Madrid)
RB – Trent Alexander Arnold
Age – 20
Nationality – English
Club – Liverpool
An academy graduate from Liverpool, he is the most promising right back in world football. His main strengths are his control, endurance, pace and dribbling abilities. His brilliant passing ability, set pieces and range makes him a very complete attacking minded right back.
Honourable mention – Aaron Wan Bissaka ( Crystal Palace)
CB – Matthijs De Ligt
Age – 19
Nationality – Dutch
Club – Ajax
De Ligt joined the Ajax Youth Academy at the age of 9 from his local club Abcoude. He has established himself as the most sought after young Centre back in the world. His game reading ability, defensive positioning makes him a rock at the back while his passing range and accuracy helps him play out from the back. He has all the traits needed to be a complete modern day Centre Back.
Honourable mention – Eder Militao ( FC Porto)
CB – Dayot Upamecano
Age – 20
Nationality – French
Club – Rb Leipzig
A product of Valenciennes FC, Upamecano joined Rb Leipzig in 2017 from Rb Salzburg. He was nominated for the 2018 Golden Boy award. His physique combined with his maturity and tactical intelligence sets him apart from most other defenders of his age. He is also good in the air and pretty quick for a Centre back.
Honourable mention – Issa Diop ( West Ham United)
LB – Kieran Tierney
Age – 21
Nationality – Scottish
Club – Celtic
Kieran Tierney graduated from Celtic’s youth academy and had a breakthrough season in 2015-16 when he became the first choice left back of the club. His pace, passing and crossing ability, long rangers and dribbling makes him one of the best left backs of his age group.
Honourable mention – Marc Cucurella (SD Eibar on loan from Fc Barcelona)
DM – Ruben Neves
Age – 21
Nationality – Portuguese
Club – Wolverhampton Wanderers
Ruben Neves is an academy graduate of FC Porto. He joined Wolverhampton in 2017 where he has proved himself to be one of the best midfielders of the Premier League. He has remarkable vision and passing range, good in shielding the ball and attempts to recover possession as soon as it’s lost. He is a threat from direct free kicks and has scored a few stunners from quite a distance.
Honourable mention – Sandro Tonali ( Brescia)
CM -Frenkie De Jong
Age 21
Nationality Dutch
Club – Ajax
Frenkie De Jong joined Jong Ajax (Ajax’s reserve team) in 2015 from Willem II. He has already secured a big money move to Barcelona where he will be joining from the summer of 2019. He is a press resistant midfielder, his ability to glide across the turf along with his passing ability and positioning makes him essential in Ajax’s game.
Honourable mention – Matteo Guendouzi ( Arsenal)
AM – Kai Havertz
Age- 19
Nationality – German
Club – Bayer Leverkusen
Kai Havertz has been at Leverkusen since the age of 11 and became the club’s youngest debutant in 2016 and goal scorer in 2017. He is versatile, intellingent, an extremely good passer of the ball with decent off the ball positioning. He is being dubbed as the next Mesut Ozil for his silky passing and guile.
Honourable mention – Houssem Aouar (Lyon)
LW – Ousmane Dembélé
Age – 21
Nationality – French
Club – FC Barcelona
Being only 21 and having already won the World Cup , the DFB Pokbal , the LaLiga and the Copa del Rey surely does speak volumes about this boy’s talent. Add to it , he was bought by Barcelona for a record fee of €105 million , becoming at that time the second most expensive footballer. He has a direct approach to the game and loves taking on opponents and going past them. He even made it into the Bundesliga Team of the Year for 2016-17. What makes him unique is his ability to score goals with both feet.
Honourable mention – Vinicius Jr ( Real Madrid)
RW – Kylian Mbappe
Age – 20
Nationality – French
Club – Paris Saint Germain
The 20 year old French wonderkid has become a household name all over the world in a matter of years. Belonging to the academy of AS Bondy , he moved to Monaco and made his debut at the age of 16 , helping the club to win their first Ligue 1 title in seventeen years. He then moved to Paris Saint Germain in a deal which made him the highest paid teenager. The best defenders in the game are scared of Mbappe’s pace and he has surprisingly good finishing abilities for a 20 year old. Many have described him as a player who possesses maturity way beyond his age. He was instrumental in France winning the World Cup and ended up being the second highest goal scorer of the tournament. Also , he became the second teenager after the great Pelé to score in a World Cup final and his impressive performances saw him become the Best Young Player of the tournament.
Honourable mention – Jadon Sancho ( Borussia Dortmund)
ST – Marcus Rashford
Age – 21
Nationality – English
Club – Manchester United
The 21 year old striker has a knack of scoring goals in debut matches. He has scored on his debut in the UEFA Europa League , the Premier League , the League Cup , the Champions’ League and also on his international debut. Being a part of Manchester United since the age of seven , he has been the only constant in the club at period of turbulence with changes in management. He has always come up with goals at crucial moments. He has pace , power , great dribbling abilities and a freekick technique similar to that of Cristiano Ronaldo. At such an young age , he has already made more than 150 appearances for United , finding the back of the net an impressive 42 times.
Honourable mention – Luka Jovic ( Eintracht Frankfurt)
This is our team , comprising players whom we think will make it big in the years to come. Some have already made a name for themselves, playing in some of the biggest European clubs. The others are still rising through the ranks. And pretty soon , they will become household names across the world.
– Sanmitro Chatterjee and Supratim Roy
The Sport Catalogue 