Candidates to Win the FIFA Best Young Player Award
Written by Victor Perez
April 2, 2014
We are just two months away from the upcoming FIFA World Cup and already people like me can’t bare the thought of waiting any longer to see the ball rolling on June 12, 2014. As an appetizer for our undeniable hunger I have compiled a list of three players that will battle for the FIFA Young Player Award, an illustrious trophy given to the best 21 and under football players. Before we start, keep in mind some players will turn 22 years old during the tournament, therefore will not be eligible (ex. Gotze). Warning! Predicting playing time was a factor in choosing my candidates as some players may get more playing minutes than others.
We’ll start off the contest with the box-to-box Italian midfielder Marco Verratti from the wealthy French club Paris-Saint Germain. Named countless times as the successor of Italian maestro Andrea Pirlo, Verratti has proven he can live up to the hype by registering 8 assists so far in every one of his previous competitions. What’s that? His numbers are too low? Don’t let that fool you since Verrati’s main goal in the pitch is to recover the ball before the attackers get a chance to reach the defense and if that wasn’t enough he also elegantly distributes the ball fluidly to give his team a better tempo of controlling the game. The only downside to him not winning the award is the fact that he’s not a starter for the national team compared with the other two on this list, which may hurt his chances in the long run.
The second player on this list is the towering goal scoring machine Belgian Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea football Club. Recently coming from an injury, the young Belgian starlet already tallies 13 goals and 8 assists in all competitions on loan with FC Everton. Not only are his goals vital for Belgium’s race for the title, but also his great stature (6 feet and 3 inches tall) allows him to hold the ball in order for his teammates to get in better position or possibly look for a foul close to their opponent’s area. If that doesn’t convince you, he combines his large size with sharp technique in order to beat off defenders with a single sprint! Without a doubt Lukaku will be leading the front line alongside teammate Christian Benteke this summer.
Saving the best for last, as they say, our final entry is French midfielder Paul Pogba from Italian Giants Juventus FC. Considered as a huge steal, Juventus acquired Pogba for free from English club Manchester United and now his current value is 45 million Euros, yes you read correctly 45 million! What makes Pogba such an expensive player? If you go back to the second paragraph, I talked about Marco Verratti and his great influence to the club, well Pogba offers even more quality. His current numbers with Juventus are 8 goals and 12 assist, an astonishing mark for a box-to-box midfielder. An important member in the heart of the midfield for both club and country, Pogba’s weaponry consist of long shots with both feet, remarkable technique, playmaking abilities, tackling, and great stamina, an impressive and terrifying arsenal. Like Verratti, he also controls the flow of the game as soon as he receives the ball or recovers it to give various options to his teammates in the attack; with either a through ball or long pass. Standing at 6’2’’ he also takes advantage of his size very much like Lukaku to win the ball or burst with speed when needed. His strong showings have earned him a place in France’s line up since debuting and he hasn’t lost his strength since then.
These are my top picks for the prestigious award, even though there are other impressive players going to the tournament I still think these three will not disappoint and give us a good show. Besides being talented players, each of their National Team is quite stacked with quality players which can help bring the best in them without the pressure of handling the team alone. As the World Cup draws near keep an eye on these three for they’ll make their names known in the global stage.