By hailing young players as world beaters there is a real danger all the hype will get to them.
AC Milan’s Brazilian teenager Pato has scored four times since joining at the start of the year and already he has been compared to Andriy Shevchenko and Brazilian Careca among others.
Inter’s 17-year-old striker Mario Balotelli scored a great double in Wednesday’s 3-2 win at Juventus in the Italian Cup and the papers are now full of how amazing he is.
But for all the success stories (Messi, Rooney, etc), there have been an awful lot of talented youngsters who have struggled to reach their potential because of high expectations.
Brazilian winger Denilson was the most expensive player in the world when he moved to Real Betis in 1998 but now who remembers him? Arsenal’s Theo Walcott was included in England’s last World Cup squad before he’d even played for the Gunners. Now the 18-year-old has ‘hit the wall’ with Arsene Wenger worried he has not progressed as he hoped.
There is one recent case where fans and the media did not hype up a young player.
Cristiano Ronaldo was seen as a showboater, a fancy dan with strings in his hair when he first joined Manchester United.
Now the 22-year-old is arguably the best player on the planet, wowing Old Trafford with another stunning brace against Portsmouth on Wednesday to give him 19 league goals for the season.
If we don’t let youngsters grow at their own pace, we risk spoiling the future for all of us, not just the player.
Mark Meadows, Milan
PHOTO: AC Milan’s Pato reacts during the Italian Serie A match at Reggina, Jan.30 REUTERS
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2 comments so far
Let Pato and co grow like Ronaldo - Reuters Soccer Blog
Another blog on how the media put too much pressure on young talent.
- Posted by pligg.comYeah it is another article on how the media put too much pressure eon young talent but Mark has a point.
- Posted by Betting Blue BoyThere are so many players out there who could have broke through and enjoyed a full career at the top but due to a mixture of their own personalities coupled with the media spotlight, the pressure gets to them and they fade away into mediocrity.
Enough is enough, supporters do want to know about the young talent coming through and who could be the next Messi etc but surely over exaggeration is rife within the press at large and should be cut down otherwise as the author suggests the footballing World could stand to miss-out on witnessing other geniuses grace the pitch.