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April 26th, 2007

Barcelona discover the new Leo Messi

Posted by: Simon Baskett
Tags: Uncategorized

Bojan Krkic, kneeling second from left, poses with the Barcelona team before their friendly in CairoI recently mentioned that Zinedine Zidanes son Enzo was winning plaudits playing for one of Real Madrids youth teams. Fair enough, you might say, to be talking about the heir to the Frenchmans throne now that he has retired, especially if it is his son.

The Catalan press, however, have gone one better, saying they have already found the successor to Barcelonas 19-year-old Argentine forward Lionel Messi.

The player in question being 16-year-old prodigy Bojan Krkic. Krkic, the son of a former Red Star Belgrade player who moved to Spain in 1988 to play for Catalan side Mollerussa, scored on his debut for the Barca first team in this weeks 4-0 win over Ali-Alhi in an exhibition match in Cairo.

The youngster has scored 10 goals since being promoted to Barcelona B earlier this season. He is reported to have scored over 500 times since joining the Barca youth ranks as an eight-year-old and will be in action for Spain in next months Under-17 European championship in Belgium. Does that mean he’s already halfway to doing a Romario?

Oh yes, and Barcas 17-year-old forward Giovani dos Santos also played in Cairo. The  Mexican was, of course, dubbed the new Ronaldinho over a year ago…

Simon Baskett is a Reuters sports correspondent based in Madrid

2 comments so far

I can see why Barcelona aren’t that fussed about letting Saviola go to Madrid. They seem to have a whole load of Saviolas coming through. Haven’t seen Krkic myself, though. What’s he like? Centre forward, tricky winger, playmaker?

- Posted by jb

Bojan is a highly versatile forward. He dribbles like a winger, passes like a playmaker, and finishes like a forward. He is properly placed at center forward, but his lethal combination of a wide array of skills mean he is comfortable anywhere up front. His short passes and volleys are particulary technically sound.

- Posted by Brian Flannery

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