Arsenal's star-in-waiting is ready for the big time

	Attacker Carlos Vela will be the key player of the Mexican team that takes the field at the Under-20 World Cup in Canada. Bob Martin/SI

Reprinted from SI Latino

Salamanca plays at the Helmántico, an 18,000-seat stadium that has rarely been filled to capacity, even when the club was playing the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona back in the late 1990s in La Liga.

It was no surprise, then, when only 5,000 turned out on April 1 to watch the game against Ponferradina, even though the home team desperately needed a win to secure its place in the Spanish second division and avoid the threat of relegation.

Salamanca jumped ahead with two first-half goals born out of the playmaking abilities of its Mexican phenom Carlos Vela -- including a brilliant through-ball assist to his attacking partner Braulio. The 18-year-old Aztec wunderkind also had a hand in the ensuing third goal, and was looking for his own score with electrifying runs and left-footed shots.

With 30 minutes left, Ponferradina got a goal back. Yet in the 81st minute, with the score 3-1, Salamanca looked to make it a blowout: Vela used a quick burst of speed to reach a pass inside the Ponferradina box; he flew by the goalie, pushing the ball toward his left and peering at the empty net as the end line loomed near. But then he hurried his shot.

"I didn't have an angle," Vela says in the Helmántico dressing room the day after the game. "I was coming at full speed, dribbled to one side and took a shot. Some days everything finds the back of the net, and some days it doesn't."

Salamanca would pay dearly for Vela's missed opportunity -- on the very next play a Ponferradina counterattack cut the lead to one. The equalizing score came at the last minute of the match, when goalkeeper Tete was caught off guard by a curving cross that landed inside his far post.

Salamanca learned a lesson that day: The game has not been won -- even when you have a three-goal lead -- until the final whistle. Vela also learned something valuable: Inside the box, he has more time than he thinks to make the shot.

Arsenal, which owns his rights, sent the Cancún-born youngster to Spain to give the finishing touches to his footballing education, betting that some day he will be a star in the Premier League. Mexico also has a lot of hope riding on Vela, who began to draw comparisons to legendary Mexican striker Hugo Sánchez when he became the top goal scorer at the 2005 Under-17 World Cup.

"Besides being a lefty like me, he has a similar technique, especially in how he shoots," says Sánchez, who currently coaches the Mexican national team. "There aren't many forwards in the world with his talent. I hope he succeeds and is spared the pressure of trying to match what I've done."