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Premature move for Swiss prodigy Ben Khalifa?
The Swiss Super League is certainly not the strongest in the world but it’s a fairly safe bet to say that it beats the German fourth division. So why has 18-year-old Nassim Ben Khalifa, one of Switzerland’s most exciting prospects, swapped the former for the latter?
Last year, Ben Khalifa hit the headlines when he led the attack in the Swiss team which surprised everyone by winning the world under-17 championship in Nigeria.
He was runner-up in the vote for the best player of the tournament and also scored four goals. Back home, he was a regular first-team player in his debut professional season for Grasshoppers, scoring eight goals as he helped them finish third in the table.
In the midst of all this, German Bundesliga outfit VfL Wolfsburg stepped him and snapped him up for the 2010-2011 season. Yet they appear to have little intention of fielding him any time soon. Ben Khalifa told Swiss media this week that he is fifth or sixth in the strikers’ pecking order and would have to fight for his place with Edin Dzeko and Grafite, the two players who have topped the Bundesliga scoring charts in the last two seasons.
For the time being, this means that Ben Khalifa is turning out for the reserve team VfL Wolfsburg II, who play in Regional League North, the fourth tier of German professional football. This has also had a knock-on effect with his Switzerland career — having made his full international debut against Austria in August, Ben Khalifa will be with the under-21 team this weekend rather than travelling with the seniors for the Euro 2012 qualifier in Montenegro.
Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld says he made the decision due to Ben Khalifa’s lack of match practice.
It hardly seems like a move forward. Yet the story is typical of many promising young players from Latin America, Africa and the smaller European nations. They move abroad to a bigger league in their late teens, get shunted into the reserves and are barely heard of again.
Serie A coaches gang up on the kids of today
The coaches of the three biggest Serie A clubs recently indulged in what has always been one of the favourite pastimes of the older and wiser — picking fault with today’s youngsters.
Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho kicked things off when he criticised 19-year-old forward Mario Balotelli’s approach in training and suggested that footballers of his age were more interested in Ferraris and Bentleys than getting on with the job.
“It’s probably a generational problem,” Mourinho said. “At the moment it’s very difficult to find a player who’s 19 or 20 and thinks like a man.”
Reporters asked Juventus coach Ciro Ferrara what he thought, but if they hoped to stir up another Mourinho-versus-the-rest-of-Italy row, they were disappointed.
“I agree. It’s a problem of values,” Ferrara said. “Things have changed a lot and the purely sporting side often drops down to a secondary level.
“A young player becomes a star after just a few matches in Serie A. Million-euro contracts arrive and thoughts immediately go to the national team. It’s difficult for them to keep their feet on the ground.”
For once, I agree with Mourinho. The amount of money some of these kids make is ridiculous but it would be cynical to ask them not to behave as any other teenager would in their position. The heart of the problem lies elsewhere. Football has become a money-spinning industry with the same double standards that apply in other spheres of life: the rich get richer and the poor can’t even afford to watch their teams in action anymore. It is no longer a fan’s game in the top leagues, given the ticket prices and the cost of fan merchandise. Last time round I was at Old Trafford five years ago, it was packed with “I am so posh and you are not” glory fans who were there to take photos of each other, the bulk of them left with 10 minutes remaining and United 3-1 up against Everton, they didn’t bother to stay as the visitors scored to set up a dramatic finale and their fans easily outsang the home crowd. I suspect it’s even worse these days.
Macheda highlights Serie A’s impatience with youth
Serie A clubs are understandably upset about English sides scooping up youngsters such as Federico Macheda from their academies.
Lazio President Claudio Lotito cried foul after the 17-year-old, a product of the Rome club’s youth system, scored a stunning winner for Manchester United against Aston Villa in his Premier League debut on Sunday.
He has a point. After doing the hard part of nurturing the players’ talents, wealthier foreign sides can step in and enjoy the benefits. It’s not the best way to encourage clubs to invest in their academies and FIFA and UEFA are looking at tightening the rules on the transfer of under-18s.
But Lotito’s annoyance is only justified to a certain degree as, if Macheda had stayed at Lazio, it seems unlikely that he would have got the chance United boss Alex Ferguson gave him to hit the headlines at such a tender age.
“I doubt an Italian team would have made the move Ferguson did,” respected Italian sports writer Italo Cucci told Rai television.
Indeed, while Serie A clubs are good at producing young players, they are frequently criticised in Italy for not giving them the chance to shine.
Whats Italy waiting for? Football in Europe is a multi cultural sport. Why blame united when Inter, Juve, AC or Roma could have signed him? To saytht English clubs will ‘snatch’ them up is rubbish. Isnt Balotelli from Inter 19 yrs old?
If you look closer at United they have so much youth on the side that comes from their academy. If you have talent in your academy and you dont do what sir alex did with Macheda (give him a chance), expect to lose him.
What then of all the rumors circulating that names like Johny Evans, Wellbeck, both da silvas and Frazier cambell are highly sought after? Inter is desperate to sign Evans, and Anderson…
Stop pointing the finger!
How did United’s Macheda get away, asks Italy
Most Manchester United fans had no idea who Federico Macheda was before the Italian netted a stunning stoppage-time winner against Aston Villa on Sunday.
The 17-year-old’s goal could ultimately be the one that sealed the Premier League title for United.
He has been scoring regularly for United’s youth and reserve teams since joining the club in September 2007 after developing through Lazio’s youth system. Born in Rome, he signed professional forms last August and is regarded as one of the most promising young prospects of Italian soccer.
what irks Italians is that he is plying his trade in England. AC Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani has said it is a scandal that young Italian players can get hoovered up by big European clubs.
Remember Italy striker Giuseppe Rossi first appeared at United before finiding his way to Villarreal.
FIFA and UEFA want to do something to protect under-18 players and keep them at their local clubs. The trouble is that until they sign professional contracts, the ownership of young footballers is complicated.
Before everyone goes too crazy, the guy scored one goal. Yes it was a special one, but please one goal is not enough to create a law about the purchase of under-18 players, though I can see it happening as a knee-jerk reaction.
