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A risky game The future is bright for these 26 would-be superstars
Nii Lamptey, Gustavo Neffa, Enzo Scifo... what do these three have in common? At some point, when they were very young, they were hailed as the next big thing in world soccer. The other thing they have in common is that they all failed to achieve their immense potential. Predicting future performance can be very difficult. Some, like those mentioned above, fade away as quickly as they arrived. Others, like Ronaldo, Gianluca Vialli, Ryan Giggs and Diego Maradona become world famous at 16 and lived up to the billing for the rest of their career. It's a risky game, but I've spoken to a number of scouts and agents and come up with a short-list of future stars.
These are the 26 players who, experts say, are destined for stardom. It may be fun to come back to this in five years and see how many made it. In addition to talent, I used two criteria:
Many of these guys might be unknown to you. If they do make it, please remember -- CNNSI.com was the first to tell you about them. GoalkeepersIker Casillas (Real Madrid/Spain/20) - Starts for Champions League holders and should be a regular for Spain for a long time. Sebastien Frey (Inter Milan/France/20) - Top goalkeeper in Serie A last season, only Fabien Barthez keeps him out of French national team. Veniamin Mandrykin (Alania Vladikavkaz/Russia/19) - Has been a starter for two seasons, should move to a top European league this summer DefendersEdevaldo Grimaldi (Perugia/Italy/16) - Eclectic all-purpose defender, mature beyond his years. Nils-Erik Johansson (Bayern Munich/Sweden/21) - Outstanding in the air, a natural leader, should become a Bayern regular next season. Thiago Matias (Palmeiras/Brazil/18) - Big, strong, capable on the ball and with a good head on his shoulders, he's being compared to Aldair. Phillippe Mexes (Auxere/France/18) - Protoypical modern defender, covers a lot of ground, will probably join Roma next season. MidfieldersHaruna Babangida (Barcelona/Nigeria/18) - Natural winger who likes to cut inside and has been compared to Finidi George. Yossi Benayoun (Maccabi Haifa/Israel/20) - Scores tons of goals from midfield, is also a penetrating passer and a talented dribbler. Michael Carrick (West Ham/England/19) - Tall, elegant, all-purpose midfielder, has the ability to open up opposing defenses. Joe Cole (West Ham/England/19) - Looks more Brazilian than English, creative, superb dribbler with a lovely touch. Samuele Dalla Bona (Chelsea/Italy/20) - Big and strong, yet extremely gifted player with a fearsome long-range shot. Mahamadou Diarra (Vitesse Arnhem/Mali/19) - Outrageously talented offensive midfielder, expected to move to big club soon. Landon Donovan (Bayer Leverkusen/United States/18) - Developing slowly since going to Germany, needs to harness his considerable talent; also plays as a forward. Emre (Galatasaray/Turkey/20) - Smart, talented and unselfish, can only continue to improve with age. Pontus Farnerud (Monaco/Sweden/20) - Great vision and physical presence, elegant passer who already plays like a veteran. Darren Fletcher (Manchester United/Scotland/16) - Right-side midfielder already drawing inevitable comparisons to David Beckham. Antonio La Fortezza (Bari/Italy/18) - Vicious, aggressive busy ball-winner in the Roy Keane mold. Mourad Meghni (Bologna/France/16) - Product of France's Clairefontaine academy, highly reminiscent of Zinedine Zidane. StrikersAdriano (Flamengo/Brazil/19) - Tall, old-style centerforward, good in the air and on the ground, still relatively raw. Antonio Cassano (Bari/Italy/18) - Outrageously talented and wonderfully creative, he's a faster, more incisive version of Francesco Totti. Gaetano D'Agostino (Roma/Italy/18) - Scouts say he already has one of the best left-footed shots in the world, and he has yet to make his first-team debut. Romano Denneboom (Heerenveen/Holland/20) - Natural goalscorer, needs time to mature further and harness his considerable skills. Konan Cedric Axel (Lecce/Ivory Coast/17) - In addition to having a great name, he is a superb athlete with excellent technique. Wolfgang Mair (Tirol Innsbruck/Austria/21) - Quick, intelligent left-side winger, considered Austria's greatest talent since Toni Polster. Jermaine Pennant (Arsenal/England/18) - Electric winger with dazzling skills and blistering pace, should soon break into the first team. Based in London, Gabriele Marcotti writes a weekly column on international soccer for CNNSI.com.
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