In our time, football players are knocked out earlier in adult football.
Jude Bellingham, Gavi, Pedri, Musiala. The list can be very long. Sports prowess in our years has reached such a level that the younger generation, who have just graduated from school, compete on equal terms with adult players, fight them physically and tactically. If in the last 3 years 4-5 18-year-old players have grown to the world level, and in the 10s there were 15-20 of them, in the 00s there were even fewer of them.
Michael Owen took off quickly by winning the Ballon d’Or
At the age of 17, the Englishman signed a professional contract with Liverpool, and six months later, in May 1997, made his debut for the main team in a Premier League match, in which he scored the ball and became the youngest player in team history to score a goal. Already in the following season, he opened the scoring with his own goals in European competitions – Celtic suffered in September. And a couple of months later, Michael scored a hat-trick.
His take off was brilliant. Owen quickly became an Anfield favorite and was nicknamed the ‘golden boy’. Despite the injuries suffered in 1999 and 2000, he manages to return to action and have an exceptional 00/01 season. The Englishman was able to regain his form, which was before the injury. Thanks to his two goals against Arsenal, the Reds win the FA Cup, and also win the League Cup and the English League Cup Uefa, and at the start of the following season they beat reigning England champions Manchester United and Champions League holders Bayern, having acquired two Super Cups at once. In both matches, Owen scored crucial goals.
Magnificent performances did not go unnoticed, and at the end of 2001 Michael was awarded the Ballon d’Or. At the age of 22, the Englishman managed to become a world-class star and win many trophies for his team. However, as often happens, he chose the wrong path of career development, made a mistake with the transfer and his further fate was not the best. Injuries, painkiller games and pressure from the English public prevented.
Wayne Rooney once became the most expensive teenager in the world
During his time at Everton, Rooney became the most promising player in England, and possibly the world. At 16 he made his Premier League debut, later becoming the youngest player to play for England, the youngest international goalscorer and also the youngest participant in the European championship.
For the main Everton team, Rooney played for only 2 years. In 2004 he was bought by Manchester United, as the Mancunians understood that it was impossible to pass a talent of this level. The transfer cost £30 million, a record fee paid for a teenager. Transition was met with both criticism due to the high cost and high expectations, which Rooney met with a margin.
Already in the first season, Rooney scored 17 goals and helped the team win the Premier League title. He managed to quickly become a key player in a stellar team. The Englishman spent 13 years in the team, tried on the captain’s armband and also became a legend of the club.
Robben made some mistakes in the early stages of his career but later found his club
Arjen’s debut came at the age of 16. As a Groningen player, he managed to establish himself early and become a footballer in the main team. In the early stages of his career, Robben was often given playing time. Thus, at the age of 16, he took part in 18 matches of the season, and already in his first full season as a base player, which happened in 2001-2002, Robben scored 10 goals.
The young talent’s performance did not go unnoticed and he started the next football year as a player PSV. After spending just 2 years at the Eindhoven club, he was quickly spotted by London’s Chelsea, who bought the now 20-year-old winger for €18m. Years in the Premier League were crumpled, he failed to gain a foothold in the team, but Florentino Perez turned his attention to the winger. However, it did not work out in Real Madrid either, and Robben moved to Monaco, where he showed himself to the fullest.
The start of Fabregas’ career proved to be very rapid, despite the competition
Cesc moved to London’s Arsenal from La Masia in 2003 for €3m. At that time, the Catalan was only 16 years old. That same year he made his Gunners debut in a League Cup match against Rotherham aged 16 years and 177 days. He subsequently became the youngest goalscorer in Arsenal’s history, first overall and then in the Premier League. He also became the youngest player to score in a Champions League match.
Fabregas’ rise was very rapid. Next to him were such legends as Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, Gilberto Silva, Patrick Vieira. However, young Cesc managed not to get lost against the background of players of this stature and loudly declare himself. There were still many players of the “invincible” generation on the “gunners” roster, but it was obvious that their time was running out, and the team needed new leaders. Fabregas has become such. In his second season, he made 33 Premier League appearances, even though he was only 17 at the time.
Already at the age of 21, Fabregas tried his hand at captaincy, taking over the armband from William Gallas in 2008. Then there was a return to Barcelona, a move to the camp of sworn enemies Arsenal – Chelsea and a systematic summary until the end of the career. Now Cesc plays in Serie B for local club Como.
