Football Special Report: Champions League's Most Promising Youngsters
The UEFA Champions League is a window for a football fan to witness some of the greatest young talents from all over Europe that one doesn't normally gets to see week in week out. Teams from far and wide participate in the competition and display their talents.
With the big teams securing their qualification to the next round with a match or two to spare, the managers give chances to their youngsters to experience how it is to play at the highest level. Just like Barcelona played a side full of youngsters in their
last group game.
The first phase of the Champions League is over and as the competition heads for a two month winter sabbatical, here is a compilation of some of the most promising youngsters that we have seen this year in the Champions League. The sole criterion for the
compilation of this list was the player’s age, his skill and talent.
This is a list of players under the age of 21 meaning that the likes of Messi and Marko Marin, no matter how wonderful they are, will not be featuring on this list.
The list goes as follows, in no particular order:
Marko Arnautovic (Werder Bremen) (Age 21) - Forward
Werder Bremen may have finished at the bottom of Group A but in the midst of this ignominious feat, they uncovered two priceless gems in their team, Marko Marin and Marko Arnautovic. Marin is now 22 years of age and has caught the eye of all the leading
clubs in Europe and will soon be making a move towards greener pastures. While Arnautovic is still 21 years of age and the youngster enhanced his reputation in this year’s Champions League with some stellar performances. He spent last year on loan at Inter
Milan but in the presence of super stars, he did not get many chances in the first team and left his then parent club FC Twente to move to Germany with Bremen.
Since signing on for Bremen, he has seen his reputation rise meteorically and his indefatigable performance against Inter on the final match day was a glaring testament to his burgeoning talents.
Gareth Bale (Tottenham) (Age 21) - Leftback, Winger
His stellar performances in the group stages have made him a household name across Europe. Only at the age of 21, he ran riot at the Giusseppe Meazza bagging a hat-trick for himself and then in the return leg, he did the same again, playing havoc with Inter’s
defence to guide his side to a memorable win over the defending champions.
The boy has pace, vision, foresight and a pin-point final pass along with a deadly left foot that can bag in some goals.
There will be no shortage of offers for the young Welshman in the coming transfer window but Harry, as sure as h**l, will not let his ace go for cheap.
Diego Contento (Bayern Munich) (Age 20) - Leftback
He is already a German U-21 international and is following the footsteps of the likes of Mesut Ozil and Thomas Meuller, and if he continues to perform like the way he is currently performing, there is no denying the fact that he soon will be a German international
giving Phillip Lahm a worry or two for his spot in the side.
Jack Wilshere (Arsenal) (Age 18) - Midfielder
Arsenal have bulk loads of youngsters in their ranks but none more promising than this 18 year old Englishman who has already established himself as a first team regular for Arsene Wenger’s side. He plays in the centre of the midfield and has a godly reading
of the game along with the ability to pick up that killer pass that tears the defences into shreds. Only at the age of 18, he is giving established defenders headaches and if Cesc decides to leave for the sunshine of Spain, Wenger should not worry because
right under his nose is blossoming the next Zinedene Zindane.
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