let's rank soccer prospects!!

Too bad I no longer have the time on my hand to come up with a new list. There are so many new talents rising up right now, I bet only 5 from the first list would survive the update. Maachie, de Guzman, Biseswar, Jenner, Luirink and ofcourse Aissati.. the list goes on.

Some update on Anthony Mounier from Lyon :
scored again in Lyon 2nd team this week (3rd goal of the game, taking a rebound on the post) and created other scoring chances. Was involved in the 2nd goal of the game (his centering pass was deflected by a defenseman on his own goal).
At 18 he seems to find a place in CFA (4th level of play in France) and scoring a lot...
Report of the game in French :
http://www.olweb.fr/index.php?lng=fr&a=23645&pid=101002
I'll definitly keep an eye on him... ;)

Ok, I've decided to work on a new list with a more strict cut-off age of 20. Everyone born in 1985 and later is eligeble, everyone before that is not. That means that players like Robben, Huntelaar, van Persie, de Jong, Sneijder, van der Vaart, Heitinga, etc.. will all make room for a next generation. Most of you probably wouldn't know the half of them..

Ok, I've decided to work on a new list..It's great to see a new list up from you Ott! Too bad i have no time today to read the whole thing and tomorrow i'm leaving for more than a week..
i did notice though some surprising things for me as usual, like Babel, Afellay, Quincy and Goossens not being higher on your ranking.

This time i won't be able to complain about Farfan's position (actually couldn't even crack your last list in the end! :shakehead ) though thanks to the personal cut off you choose..maybe you did it on purpose? :naughty:
;)

I've watched the first hour of Barca-Celta.
Nice game, Celta played well (Placente among others) and exposed Barca defensive line to offside risks several time, but they hadn't luck on their side, as the stunning post hit by Baiano confirmed.
Awesome play by Iniesta on the second goal!

One player i really liked is David Silva, 19yrs old midfielder for Celta. Clever, mature beyond his age, good left foot, defensively intuitive, pretty quick, complete player..

anyone knowing this guy? More opinions?

It's great to see a new list up from you Ott! Too bad i have no time today to read the whole thing and tomorrow i'm leaving for more than a week..
i did notice though some surprising things for me as usual, like Babel, Afellay, Quincy and Goossens not being higher on your ranking.

This time i won't be able to complain about Farfan's position (actually couldn't even crack your last list in the end! :shakehead ) though thanks to the personal cut off you choose..maybe you did it on purpose? :naughty:
;)

To be frank, I wanted Farfán on the list I published this summer, but somehow he kept slipping my mind. I'd day he should float between 10 and 15 on that list.

Charles N'Zogbia has chosen to play for Congo.
What can I say? Disgusting.
Another name to be added to Taider, Chamakh, Assou Ekotto, Fae, Drogba, etc... and maybe Ben Arfa...
These guys are born in France, and taught football in french academies, for some of them are selected in french youth categories, and as soon as they reach 21 (before that for some) and think they don't stand a chance to play with the national team, they choose to play for the country of one of their parents.
With guys like Drogba, we see it's a big mistake. Some progress well enough that they would be with the national team right now.
Assou-Ekotto would be a contender for the left back spot, since only Abidal is there, and he's injured.
Fae could progress well enough to make the team once Vieira retires (though it IS a loaded spot in french football).

You could probably make a very good team out of these "traitors".

I've just posted the first part of my top 50 L1 prospects.
I'll add the second part as soon as I have a few hours.

I've just posted the first part of my top 50 L1 prospects.
I'll add the second part as soon as I have a few hours.Kudos to you for the hard work Evilo! :handclap: :yo:

I feel like the new overall (all positions together) list for the '83 cut off was really needed for France and it will be very interesting to read it! :) (asap)

As requested...


I think Wenger is planning on using him as a DM. I think he'd cracking trouble cracking the OM ranks with Fabregas and Hleb and I don't think they want to use him as a winger either.

Thanks for the write-up, it was a good read.

I've just posted the first part of my top 50 L1 prospects.
I'll add the second part as soon as I have a few hours.
Great work.
I don't agree on every thing, will try to do mine one day. Still, this top-25 is near mine so... :)

Great work.
I don't agree on every thing, will try to do mine one day. Still, this top-25 is near mine so... :)
Any comments will be welcomed...

Anyway, there's an article in today's L'Equipe Magazine about a young french-argentinian called Gonzalo Higuain, who's a River Plate midfielder.
He seems highly touted and has chosen the french nationality (he's born in France in 1987).
He's described as having very good technique and a big physical potential (1.86m for 77kg).
If any of you guys have infos or comments about this guy, it'd be great!

Le Tallec has scored for Sunderland.
For anyone who's seen the game, how did he look, and how was his goal?

Le Tallec has scored for Sunderland.
For anyone who's seen the game, how did he look, and how was his goal?

Apparently the goal was a shot that was going wide before being deflected in by a defender, but I haven't actually seen it yet.

Le Tallec has been Sunderland's best striker probably, but that really isn't saying much. I haven't seen much in him this year that suggests that he will ever really turn into anything special. He seems to have a talent for missing fairly easy chances.

Apparently the goal was a shot that was going wide before being deflected in by a defender, but I haven't actually seen it yet.

Le Tallec has been Sunderland's best striker probably, but that really isn't saying much. I haven't seen much in him this year that suggests that he will ever really turn into anything special. He seems to have a talent for missing fairly easy chances.
The weird part is that the guy rocks with the national selections, scoring in every game.
A very respectable (and knwledgable) coach of the U21 national team said he was still the talent of the future.

The weird part is that the guy rocks with the national selections, scoring in every game.
A very respectable (and knwledgable) coach of the U21 national team said he was still the talent of the future.

I just really haven't seen it with him in the Premier League at all. I won't go as far as to say that he looks out of place, but he just doesn't produce. I know that Benitez isn't high on him at all and I don't think that he has a future at Liverpool. He might be worth a look at a mid tier club to see if he can produce with some decent service, but I'm still not too hopeful for him. I remember him missing a couple absolute sitters this year.

I just really haven't seen it with him in the Premier League at all. I won't go as far as to say that he looks out of place, but he just doesn't produce. I know that Benitez isn't high on him at all and I don't think that he has a future at Liverpool. He might be worth a look at a mid tier club to see if he can produce with some decent service, but I'm still not too hopeful for him. I remember him missing a couple absolute sitters this year.

I agree with you. He's never really impressed me either considering all the hype. I think a move back to France may be just what the doctor ordered. He's still quite young and perhaps under the right manager he could realize his potential. At Sunderland he'll got playing time, but that's about it.

Well he doesn't get much playing time at all at Sunderland either. Same in St Etienne when he was loaned there. It seems he can't get some decent playing time anywhere.

He's never looked good when I saw him this season. He really has problems with the intensity of the pro game. When he touches the ball he just doesn't have time and space to stand around and he'll have to learn to cope with that ASAP. He also is not a good fit for the physicality of the EPL right now.

Jérémy Menez was exceptionnal yesterday against St Etienne (4-0 victory). He scored a goal, provoked a penalty and was just amazing, making soft accurate passes everywhere in the box for his teammates.
The critics were silenced yesterday for sure...

I think I'll be able to do a fresh Belgian list next week, I have some free time on my hands. It's about time because a couple of very interesting new players have broken through this season or are on the verge of breaking through.


The only problem is that I still can hardly watch any Belgian games this season so it's tough for me to judge. But I'll try as always :)

The only problem is that I still can hardly watch any Belgian games this season so it's tough for me to judge. But I'll try as always :)Great!
And you can easily watch English games btw.. :D

i'm still planning on re-writing the English prospects list by the way.

http://www.hfboards.com/showpost.php?p=4432842&postcount=79

Nasri: surprise to me to see a B for him. I see him more as an uncertain thing..
As for the physical side of his game, do you think he has good upside? Aside from the fatigue factor, do you think in single games he has showed some strength/power? And is he really fast? Once he looked pretty fast to me, early this year looked slow.. :rolleyes:

Diaby has much more upside than Mavuba imo, it’s surprising to see 8.5 for both. On the other hand Rio is a surer thing, but the B- you gave to Diaby sounds encouraging. Speaking of him, after Auxerre awful start and then impressive rally I have been wondering about how much he contributed to it before being sold.. ?
Speaking of Rio, i’ve been pretty disappointed when watching..i fear I placed him too high in my overall list.

I noticed you put Arnold Mvuemba ahead of Rodriguez for the ’85 class in your July’s list, but I can’t find him in the top 25 now. Forgotten or fallen?

I would never place Berthod ahead of Gourcuff.

Waiting for the other 25 guys to complete your top 50! :)

Nasri: surprise to me to see a B for him. I see him more as an uncertain thing..
As for the physical side of his game, do you think he has good upside? Aside from the fatigue factor, do you think in single games he has showed some strength/power? And is he really fast? Once he looked pretty fast to me, early this year looked slow.. :rolleyes:
No, I think it's a safe bet to think Nasri will be a star. For the physical side, it's hard to say. I think he's still fragile, but he's so young. That will come hopefully. And yes in single games, he's shown strengh.
As for his speed, yes he's fast, especially with the ball. He can be damn fast. Maybe you saw him early on during the Intertoto games, where he was playing too much.


Diaby has much more upside than Mavuba imo, it’s surprising to see 8.5 for both. On the other hand Rio is a surer thing, but the B- you gave to Diaby sounds encouraging. Speaking of him, after Auxerre awful start and then impressive rally I have been wondering about how much he contributed to it before being sold.. ?
Diaby has more upside, in the sense that he can be a more complete player. However, Mavuba can be the best pure defensive midfielder in the game.
Diaby didn't play enough in Auxerre to know if he had any impact, but he played well in the games he played. He was sold because Auxerre has like 4 quality defensive midfielders (Cheyrou, Mathis, Violeau, Berson) and 2 very good two way midfielders (Kahlenberg and Lachuer). That said, they shouldn't have sold him.


Speaking of Rio, i’ve been pretty disappointed when watching..i fear I placed him too high in my overall list.
No, I disagree. I think he's been good. He didn't start too strong, but in the last two months, he's been a monster. I don't remember where he stands on your list, but he should be a top 50 prospect.


I noticed you put Arnold Mvuemba ahead of Rodriguez for the ’85 class in your July’s list, but I can’t find him in the top 25 now. Forgotten or fallen?
Well in july, I had seen few minutes of Rodriguez, so I was just guessing for him. Since then he's shown to be absolutely awesome.
I'm VERY high on Mvuemba, very high, but I have to admit he's played so few (and not impressive either) this year to be in the top 25. So no he's not forgotten, I have him around 30 or so I think.


I would never place Berthod ahead of Gourcuff.
Well, Gourcuff has somewhat higher potential and could be a very nice offensive midfielder. However, Berthod brings plenty of things that Gourcuff doesn't (character, leadership, experience). Berthod has the right mindset to be a very good pro. Gourcuff is a bit soft. Berthod is a sure thing, Gourcuff is not quite.


Waiting for the other 25 guys to complete your top 50! :)
I'll try to do it this weekend or maybe tomorrow...

Evilo :
I couldn't say anything but this : I agree with all your last comments.

I'm working on a little list, I think I'll do it by positions, it's easier for me as I don't have the same knowledge as you. :)

A young guy named Akpa-Akpro (Toulouse) is tearing it up. He has 3 goals in his first 2 L1 games, and he was impressive (especially his speed) in both games. He can basically do anything at full speed (dribble, shoot).
I'll keep an eye on him in his next games, but he could be a big news (well he already is).

especially with the ball. He can be damn fastThat’s what I liked the one or two times I saw him last year..and his ability to see and make the play going full speed with the ball.Maybe you saw him early on during the Intertoto games, where he was playing too much. At least one time it was intertoto, with him going in as a sub in the last 20 minutes or so and looked slow.
I’ve seen him only one more time (it was probably ligue1), again entering as a sub.. I’ve catched 4 or 5 Marseille (part of) games this season and he was never a starter, appearing only in two. It seems he doesn’t play only the times I could watch him :dunno:

I don't remember where he stands on your list, but he should be a top 50 prospect. He was #34.
Personally i think i bought too much of your hype on him..i should have done that on Ribery instead!
Also, others’ negative comments on Sissoko suggested to me to not put the African higher than I already did, so I had him at #38..i think I should have followed more my feelings there and put Sissoko ahead of Mavuba.
Anyway, I feared you were more disappointed by Mavuba this year, it is comforting to see you are still that high on him.


Oh, i think I forgot to say it is really disappointing seeing that Meghni is failing once again to keep a regular starter spot… i guess sooner or later we will have to accept that he is not going to be a star despite his talent.

That’s what I liked the one or two times I saw him last year..and his ability to see and make the play going full speed with the ball.At least one time it was intertoto, with him going in as a sub in the last 20 minutes or so and looked slow.
I’ve seen him only one more time (it was probably ligue1), again entering as a sub.. I’ve catched 4 or 5 Marseille (part of) games this season and he was never a starter, appearing only in two. It seems he doesn’t play only the times I could watch him :dunno:
He's been bothered by a few injuries as well (like yesterday). Still OM likes to play with a lot of defensive midfielders, and since Ribéry is a semi god right now, Nasri has a hard time finding playing time.


He was #34.
Personally i think i bought too much of your hype on him..i should have done that on Ribery instead!
Also, others’ negative comments on Sissoko suggested to me to not put the African higher than I already did, so I had him at #38..i think I should have followed more my feelings there and put Sissoko ahead of Mavuba.
Anyway, I feared you were more disappointed by Mavuba this year, it is comforting to see you are still that high on him.
Mavuba was definately overhyped (his national selections helped) because he was spectacular early. But he's not a guy that has an infinite potential since he has close to zero offensive potential, that much is clear now. But then again, in pure defensive midfielders, there aren't many better prospects than him.
Ribéry was hyped by me here last year when he was with Metz, but still I didn't forsee his superhuman clutchness, so I think he took most people by surprise even the early fans like me.
As for Sissoko, I think I remember fairly well that I told everyone he was a damn good player to get for Liverpool, even though most weren't satisfied with the transfer. Even in his Auxerre days he was impressive.
Sissoko is more mature than Mavuba right now, but I'd take Mavuba down the road, when he has enough experience.


Oh, i think I forgot to say it is really disappointing seeing that Meghni is failing once again to keep a regular starter spot… i guess sooner or later we will have to accept that he is not going to be a star despite his talent.
Yep, very disappointing. I still don't find a legitimate reason as to why he can't establish himself in Sochaux. He isn't injured (well a few minor ones, but nothing like the previous years), he just doesn't play good enough. When you compare with Menez, who's 3 years younger, it's just amazing to see Jérémy being so dominant so young.

Beli, about your list
http://www.hfboards.com/showpost.php?p=4542543&postcount=80

A few comments :
- you're VERY high on Lischsteiner! I mean, you put him before Assou, Taiwo and Veigneau? I'm surprised by this (this doesn't mean you're wrong BTW, and I like Lischsteiner a lot).
- I see Kaboul as having better upside than Faty, but your list is nice (though Thicot and Paillot should go up quickly).
- Fae>Bourillon for me. In fact I'd say Bourrillon doesn't belong on the list.
- You rank Gourcuff as DM? He's a two way, but more of an OM, don't you think? Mvuemba on the other hand is definately a DM, not an OM.
- I'm not that high on Taider.
- you wouldn't take Briand over Jussie?

Beli, about your list
http://www.hfboards.com/showpost.php?p=4542543&postcount=80

A few comments :
- you're VERY high on Lischsteiner! I mean, you put him before Assou, Taiwo and Veigneau? I'm surprised by this (this doesn't mean you're wrong BTW, and I like Lischsteiner a lot).
- I see Kaboul as having better upside than Faty, but your list is nice (though Thicot and Paillot should go up quickly).
- Fae>Bourillon for me. In fact I'd say Bourrillon doesn't belong on the list.
- You rank Gourcuff as DM? He's a two way, but more of an OM, don't you think? Mvuemba on the other hand is definately a DM, not an OM.
- I'm not that high on Taider.
- you wouldn't take Briand over Jussie?

All players are very close IMO.
*I like Lischsteiner because he's always fighting, he's a warrior. I was impressed by his motivation in CL. He's the lone player of the 4 to have CL experience that's why I ranked him higher. Assou is fast but I don't like his passes and sometimes his attitude, so I'm worried. Taiwo has a great shot, that's all... defensive zone coverage isn't solid and he thinks too often shooting instead of passing. Still, he had a BIG impact with Marseille (and it's hard!) so young so definitly a keeper (but he plays in Marseille and it's not an advantage for a career...). Veigneau has a good upside but he was awful in the last game I saw : bad choices, bad passes. But it was only 1 game...
*Kaboul and Faty WILL be French national team defense for a long time. I ranked Faty 1st because of his experience and the fact he's already a L1 regular and Rennes captain. Biggest leader IMO. Kaboul didn't play a lot at this point because of injury.
*Fae takes too many yellow/red card to me... but I think you're right, I should have put him higher.
*Gourcuff and Mvuemba, I must admit I didn't see them play a lot so it could be a bad position. My bad... ;)
*Taider is a good one, not a lot of incredible skills but steady and reliable.
*I wouldn't take Briand over Jussie. I'm still not impressed by Briand at this point, but he's a young guy with some interesting skills (speed, good passes). Today Jussie is better. Still, it's a pretty close race between the 2 and Briand should have a better upside.

*I like Lischsteiner because he's always fighting, he's a warrior. I was impressed by his motivation in CL. He's the lone player of the 4 to have CL experience that's why I ranked him higher. Assou is fast but I don't like his passes and sometimes his attitude, so I'm worried. Taiwo has a great shot, that's all... defensive zone coverage isn't solid and he thinks too often shooting instead of passing. Still, he had a BIG impact with Marseille (and it's hard!) so young so definitly a keeper (but he plays in Marseille and it's not an advantage for a career...). Veigneau has a good upside but he was awful in the last game I saw : bad choices, bad passes. But it was only 1 game...
You list Lichtsteiner on the left side. Has he been playing there lately, or is this a mistake?

You list Lichtsteiner on the left side. Has he been playing there lately, or is this a mistake?
It's a mistake. He plays on the right.

It's a mistake. He plays on the right.
I now understand why I failed to my driver licence exam!! :biglaugh:
Seriously, I put him in the wrong column... I'm going to correct it. :)

EDIT : corrected. I also changed the Gourcuff-Mvuemba thing.

I would like to add a comment on Briand : he's talented... but there's one fear to me :
I HOPE he won't be another Maoulida-Kapo-Bamogo-Sorlin kind of player... We had a lot of these guys, scoring with the U-23 national team and failing to reach expectations older. I think it's going to be the same for nearly all the players of this list, because of injuries/bad career move/poor commitment to the game.
Maybe Briand will prove me wrong and become a Govou/Malouda type of player, would be a good thing. But... :dunno:

I see Briand as more of a center striker than a winger, as he's been played as lately.
I could see him develop into a *sort of* Henry.

As for Sissoko, I think I remember fairly well that I told everyone he was a damn good player to get for Liverpool, even though most weren't satisfied with the transfer. I was not referring to you.. i was talking about comments made before my list came out, probably made by the same 'most' though. ;)

Reply for Sinama Pongolle from the other thread :
I didn't include in my rankings the French players from other leagues than Ligue 1 or Ligue 2.
French prospects currently in England/Spain/Italy... will be ranked by the posters from these countries I think. :)
Sinama has a BIG talent but, like Le Tallec, Meghni and others (I was thinking about the Dalmat brothers, who used to live in the same town as me), have a slow development because of their instability. They should have stay a little bit longer in France to develop their skills and earn playing time...
I don't think we have many guys who left as a young age in other countries but still managed to become star players. All the players (Henry, Viera...) had at least 1-2 seasons in French elite with playing time.
2 exceptions are Frey and Zebina but how many guys lost their careers like that?!

The best thing for Le Tallec and Sinama is to leave definitly Liverpool and stay in a team 2-3 years as a regular. They are still young and I still hope the best even if i'm worried for their future now... Look at Alou Diarra : he definitly left Liverpool and, after a few years with Bastia and Lens, is now a French National regular and was pretty impressive, I think he will be in Germany for the World Cup. He didn't make the same mistake as his former Le Havre teamates...

OK, I've posted the last part of my top 25.
Given the amount of work it has asked me, don't expect me to change the profiles next update (I'll probably just change the order).

I just watched on TV the game between Monaco and Nice in "coupe de la Ligue" and it was a very good game.
A lot of plays, rythm, some good scoring chances and great saves, and a wonderful shot by Vieri off the crossbar.

Nice won the game at 88th with a header by young brazilian midfielder Ederson on a good pass by Roudet. Both players were on the field for about 5 minutes...

One player impressed me a lot : 19-year old Nice goalkeepe Hugo Lloris. Tall and calm, very good in air, good positionning, fast, nice shot... I'll follow this young guy who was on the Euro U-19 championship team. I'm putting him in my rankings, as he won every "coupe de la ligue" game this season. Lone blunder was his 1st game in French Cup vs Brest (4-0) but the team was awful this day and he wasn't helped.

EDIT : didn't see you already ranked him 37th Evilo. ;)

Yep, I'm high on this guy. He's a future very very good goalie.

I added the top 5 L2 prospects.
http://www.hfboards.com/showpost.php?p=4432842&postcount=79

There's a guy that's making some noice these days.
He's from Rennes (again!) and comes from well-known INF Clairefontaine. His name is Jires Ekoto, he's an 88 born striker, and he's scored 5 goals in 5 games (3 starts) with Rennes' reserve (in the 4th division). He's also the best scorer in the U18 league.
He's fast, he has a huge shot and he has good technique.
Now he's training with the pros in Rennes and there's talk he could be on the bench soon.

I'm just going through a German soccer site and one name pops out that I never heard before.

What can the Dutch posters tell me about Peter Niemeyer (FC Twente Enschede)?

He's already 22 and not a prospect anymore but he's highly rated by this German site.

I'm just going through a German soccer site and one name pops out that I never heard before.

What can the Dutch posters tell me about Peter Niemeyer (FC Twente Enschede)?

He's already 22 and not a prospect anymore but he's highly rated by this German site.

Decent midfielder. I know that Feyenoord were after him for a while, though I never really understood why. Decent player with good offensive insticts.

Anyway, Anouar Diba of NAC (22) is enjoying his breakthrough after making his debute 4 years ago. He just scored twice vs Feyenoord, including the equallizer, earning NAC a point. He already scored one of the nicest goals of the year a few weeks ago. He isn't young enough for my list (my cutt off date is 1986) but definitely deserves a mention. He's a stud in the making..

Benoit Costil has had two visits with Chelsea recently, it may be worth noting.

Benoit Costil has had two visits with Chelsea recently, it may be worth noting.
Please no.....:cry:

I hope he won't make such a mistake.
French youngsters who left before 18 or even before 22 to England or Italy had so few success... Su much promising players killing their careers for a spot in a 2nd level team instead of being patient with a good role in France, learning the job...

In the same kind of news, ManU is following N'Gog very closely... :(

Anybody want to do a mini profile on Sergio Aguero for me?

Anybody want to do a mini profile on Sergio Aguero for me?I wrote something about him in the past already.. in this thread i think. I hope this is one of those lucky moments when the research function works properly (for example not finding only things from the last month or so..)

So any German fan here willing to make a certain Italian poster here look like a fool regarding a certain Hamburg SV player?

So any German fan here willing to make a certain Italian poster here look like a fool regarding a certain Hamburg SV player?:joker:

:joker:

And as I type this, VdV just recorded a goal and an assists in UEFA Cup action. His goal, which was, ofcourse, another beauty..

Care to provide more insight than just a joker there, gringo? ;)

Can't find the full list Helicecopter published more than year ago.. Anyone still has it (or a link)?

Can't find the full list Helicecopter published more than year ago.. Anyone still has it (or a link)?link to the thread:
http://www.hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=89635&page=2&pp=50

link to the list:
http://www.hfboards.com/showpost.php?p=2869972&postcount=65

link to the thread:
http://www.hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=89635&page=2&pp=50

link to the list:
http://www.hfboards.com/showpost.php?p=2869972&postcount=65

Thanks alot..

What a year can do.. That list wouldn't look anything like if there were to be a current one.

And as I type this, VdV just recorded a goal and an assists in UEFA Cup action. His goal, which was, ofcourse, another beauty..

Care to provide more insight than just a joker there, gringo? ;)I was laughing because of your pretty cheap attack on me about VDV. Like if i said in the past VDV sucks or whatever.. The one having to provide more insight was you, cause this quote:
"So any German fan here willing to make a certain Italian poster here look like a fool regarding a certain Hamburg SV player?" could suggest things i never said.. ;)

btw, speaking of VDV you forgot to mention the play of the year he delivered some games ago:
passing the ball back to a keeper who is NOT in the net and failing to recover his own pass-to-no-one despite the advantage he had on the opponent that eventually scored on the play. :bow:

:sarcasm:

I was laughing because of your pretty cheap attack on me about VDV. Like if i said in the past VDV sucks or whatever.. The one having to provide more insight was you, cause this quote:
"So any German fan here willing to make a certain Italian poster here look like a fool regarding a certain Hamburg SV player?" could suggest things i never said.. ;)

btw, speaking of VDV you forgot to mention the play of the year he delivered some games ago:
passing the ball back to a keeper who is NOT in the net and failing to recover his own pass-to-no-one despite the advantage he had on the opponent that eventually scored on the play. :bow:

:sarcasm:

Missed that one.. sounds pretty funny..

I'm sure those 50 players of his age group who are ahead of him wouldn't have made such a gigantic brainfart.. :sarcasm:

Yeah, that was quite a bad play by him, especially since his goaltender told him moments before to wait with the free kick until he's near the goal. Somehow he forgot that when the ball came back to him. ;)

As for not recovering on that play, he simply couldn't. Sure, he had a lead, but he didn't notice right away that his keeper wasn't in net, unlike his opponent, who was already at full speed once van der Vaart noticed it.


Apart from that, I didn't notice any glaring mistakes since his return. He gets better with every game, only his shot isn't quite where it was before the injury.

I was laughing because of your pretty cheap attack on me about VDV. Like if i said in the past VDV sucks or whatever.. The one having to provide more insight was you, cause this quote:
"So any German fan here willing to make a certain Italian poster here look like a fool regarding a certain Hamburg SV player?" could suggest things i never said.. ;)

btw, speaking of VDV you forgot to mention the play of the year he delivered some games ago:
passing the ball back to a keeper who is NOT in the net and failing to recover his own pass-to-no-one despite the advantage he had on the opponent that eventually scored on the play. :bow:

:sarcasm:
I saw that play.

One of the best plays all season :D.

Anybody want to do a mini profile on Sergio Aguero for me?http://www.hfboards.com/showpost.php?p=3864598&postcount=1210

No profile there, but still..

Missed that one..

http://www.bundesliga-blog.de/2006/03/04/video-rafael-van-der-vaart/

Here you go :)

http://www.bundesliga-blog.de/2006/03/04/video-rafael-van-der-vaart/

Here you go :)

Hehe.. quite funny indeed..

Must have been since the surgery though, he looked way slower than usually..

Must have been since the surgery though, he looked way slower than usually..

Yep - but Gomez isn´t a slow guy, too.

http://www.hfboards.com/showpost.php?p=3864598&postcount=1210

No profile there, but still..

Was watching a world football magazine show last night and they featured him. Initially struck me as being very much in the Saviola mould - small, good balance and awareness and a good finisher. He even has the same physical appearance as him, but I think he's stronger and more determined, and doing more at a younger age. Showed good dribbling and finishing off both feet in the clips they showed.

He's a confident lad and wants to play in England, he mentioned Liverpool and Chelsea, but he's 17.

Aisaitti and Medunjanin both with two magnificent goals this weekend. The former controlled the ball on his chest in a huge crowd before lifting the ball over the keeper. Medunjanin shot it straight into the upper corner from 25 meters out.

http://www.bundesliga-blog.de/2006/03/04/video-rafael-van-der-vaart/

Here you go :)
:eek:

marvellous ! :D

http://hfboards.com/showpost.php?p=5064114&postcount=81

http://hfboards.com/showpost.php?p=5064114&postcount=81

Added grades..

You have to second guess the french coaches that can never trust the youngsters.
When I see exceptionnal talents like Messi and Fabregas getting huge playing time, and Benzema and Ben Arfa getting very rare playing time, it sickens me.Does that happen outside of Lyon as well? When you buy Carew and especially Fred (and for that money) you know Benzema at 17/18 is not going to play unless the other two get injured..

They were just as good as 17 year old players, why would they suddenly be worlds apart at 18? They were not as good as 17yrs olds. And I don't want to restart the old discussion about Messi vs Ben Arfa.. i'm a fan of Ben Arfa as you know, but Messi at 17 dominated the U20 like no one else has ever come close since i've been monitoring it.

Does that happen outside of Lyon as well? When you buy Carew and especially Fred (and for that money) you know Benzema at 17/18 is not going to play unless the other two get injured..

They were not as good as 17yrs olds. And I don't want to restart the old discussion about Messi vs Ben Arfa.. i'm a fan of Ben Arfa as you know, but Messi at 17 dominated the U20 like no one else has ever come close since i've been monitoring it.
Yep, but at 17, the "fantastic four" (Menez, Nasri, Ben Arfa and Benzema) were considered among the best players of their generation.

And Menez is playing fairly regularly, Nasri as well (though not as much as I'd like). But when Carew sucks so much as he's sucked lately and Fred hasn't scored a lot either lately, then why not using Benzema? Because he's young and Milan is a big name opponent?
Nobody's saying he should be the savior. But he's already the best natural scorer on the team (and that's saying A LOT).

They're cautious. Don't want to burn him too soon.
How many youngsters became bust because they were rushed?
:dunno:

They're cautious. Don't want to burn him too soon.
How many youngsters became bust because they were rushed?
:dunno:
With that amount of talent? Very few.
Rooney? Owen? Messi? Kompany?

If a player's good enough, he'll produce.

http://hfboards.com/showpost.php?p=5064114&postcount=81

Apparently Hamburg is rumoured to be interested in Moussa Dembele, alongside some Dutch clubs like Alkmaar and Feyenoord.

Apparently Hamburg is rumoured to be interested in Moussa Dembele, alongside some Dutch clubs like Alkmaar and Feyenoord.

Yeah, saw that. Schalke 04, Real Madrid as well..

Moussa Dembele is a smart kid though, he wants to play at this level for at least 2 more years before he will consider leaving to a bigger league. He won't rush himself. Though HSV isn't that much of gigantic step ahead, it could happen.

AZ seems to hold the best papers so far.

Apparently Hamburg is rumoured to be interested in Moussa Dembele, alongside some Dutch clubs like Alkmaar and Feyenoord.

I've also heard about PSV being interested.

Amazing how far he's come in such short notice. He went to Willem II when he decided to leave GBA because he wasn't guaranteed first team football at Anderlecht... I knew that would turn out a bad move for Anderlecht. But on the other hand I think it's clearnow he made the right career move because he wouldn't have been on the pitch a lot in Anderlecht anyway.

Although one has to wonder what will happen to him when he goes to a club like Hamburg... I hope he'll stay another year.

Belg; Who's Defour? Ajax might have gotten his signature..

Belg; Who's Defour? Ajax might have gotten his signature..

Steven Defour is a midfielder from Genk, I think we already talked about him here some time ago but I can't find the relevant post through the search engine.

Anyway, he's come in this season at 17 years of age and has basically been Genk's best player. He turns 18 next week and is really an elite talent. Great passing, great running ability and defensively responsible. He should become an elite midfielder/playmaker, really very impressive player, he's also shown maturity beyond his years, he rarely makes stupid plays or something like that.

Not sure if he should already go to Ajax though, he's virtually assured of playing 90 minutes week in week out on a good team in Genk...

Steven Defour is a midfielder from Genk, I think we already talked about him here some time ago but I can't find the relevant post through the search engine.

Anyway, he's come in this season at 17 years of age and has basically been Genk's best player. He turns 18 next week and is really an elite talent. Great passing, great running ability and defensively responsible. He should become an elite midfielder/playmaker, really very impressive player, he's also shown maturity beyond his years, he rarely makes stupid plays or something like that.

Not sure if he should already go to Ajax though, he's virtually assured of playing 90 minutes week in week out on a good team in Genk...

Thanks, I knew he was a familiar name..

But another midfielder/playmaker.. Just doesn't make sense when you have the two biggest talents since van der Vaart waiting to break through at that position..

Here's the piece:

Ajax gaat het toptalent Steven Defour strikken, zo meldt VP op basis van Belgische media. De Amsterdammers zouden een driejarig contract overeengekomen zijn met de middenvelder.

De 17-jarige Defour staat te boek als een van de grootste talenten van zijn land. De middenvelder heeft bij RC Genk nog een contract tot medio 2009. Ajax wil 1 miljoen euro voor hem op tafel leggen, maar de Belgische club wil meer geld zien.

Mocht Ajax er daadwerkelijk inslagen om Defour te contracteren, dan troeft het een groot aantal buitenlandse topclubs af. Zelfs de scouts Chelsea, Bayern München en Barcelona kwamen hem al eens bekijken

F - A player possessing little potential who has a mountain to climb just to reach the outermost boundary of that potential. :confused: btw, that was meant to be an ‘E’ I think..?

Robben should not be elegible for the Dutch lists anymore as he has played way more than 20 games in EPL since leaving the Netherlands. Same for Van Persie.


I have some problems related to the players you used as examples to define the grades :D

Bergkamp together with Ronaldinho and Van Basten and one tier above Henry .
Henry below Bergkamp and together with Terry.
Xavi a an irregular on good team or a regular on an ok team?
Vennegoor above average and Cruz average?


As for the lists, I found the ones made by positions or years to be easier to make but a bit confusing for the reader.

Some things:

-There are some unknown characters (from your previous lists as well) there, most notably (by their rankings) Anouar Diba (MF - NAC - Holland) 7.5C and Marvin Emnes (MF/S - Sparta - Holland) 7.5C
What’s up with them?

-What happened to Murat Yilderim?? (15th overall for '85 cut-off, only 26th among midfielders now)

-Personally I’m surprised to see Vonlanthen given a lower potential than De Ridder.
Still I have seen De Ridder only once…

-Aisatti went from 1st overall at the end of december to 7th among midfielders, behind Anita, Sarpong and Medujanin !?? :help:
Btw, on top of your last overall list: “That said, I wanted a stronger cutt-off age. Due to this I've missed to mention plenty of potential gems who I will mention seperately at the bottom.”
I guess the cut-off age was ’85 ;
as for the potential gems at the bottom?

-Judging by your lists ’88 looks like another good year for Holland. Do you think that class will be better than all the previous 5? (83, 84, 85, 86, 87)

:confused: btw, that was meant to be an ‘E’ I think..?I just copied/pasted that from HF's criteria.. Here's my own definition:

A - Lock to reach potential
B - Very likely to reach potential
C - Has a few hordes to overcome first
D - Has multiple hordes to overcome
E - Needs a change of scenery
F - Skill is there, other factors lacking.


Robben should not be elegible for the Dutch lists anymore as he has played way more than 20 games in EPL since leaving the Netherlands. Same for Van Persie.I strictly went by age..


I have some problems related to the players you used as examples to define the grades :D

Bergkamp together with Ronaldinho and Van Basten and one tier above Henry .
Henry below Bergkamp and together with Terry.
Xavi a an irregular on good team or a regular on an ok team?
Vennegoor above average and Cruz average?It's not so much that Bergkamp is as good or in fact better/worse than van Basten and Ronaldhino, but because of the fact he was such a very rare player. Hence once in a decade player.. Plus, I don't think Bergkamp is that much worse than van Basten. Not sure why I have Vennegoor above Cruz though, IMO they are both average/slightly above average. Same with Xavi, I did those very fast as you can probably tell..


Some things:

-There are some unknown characters (from your previous lists as well) there, most notably (by their rankings) Anouar Diba (MF - NAC - Holland) 7.5C and Marvin Emnes (MF/S - Sparta - Holland) 7.5C
What’s up with them?Diba (22 - PIC (http://www.bnr.nl/blobs/anp/19983.jpg) ) is enjoying his official breakthrough season with NAC. He was always known for being a huge talent but he never quite showed it, until this season. He's a very skillfull and all-round midfielder. He's scored 4 goals, but all 4 were beauties, in fact I believe 2 ended up being goals of the weak. Add 4 assists and you have very respectable stats for a 22 year old playing on a relatively poor team. Easily a future Dutch international if not for the immense depth at midfield. Will probably earn himself a few calls in a year or two I think. Here's a link of the highlights NAC-Feyenoord, including two of his goals; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUSuJpVUI3Y&search=Eredivisie

You'll also see my former teammate Jenner (22 - also NAC) with 7 scissors before scoring the 2-3

Malvin Emnes (PIC (http://files.datawire.nl/uploads/images/h6_WNT4Sv3uHS9hfMZUjUg/727-oPHmMoJofqseZd_hba4RWg.jpg) ) is yet another member of the >17 squad who have been so succesful the past few years. Highly gifted, fast, and a joy to watch. Only 16 but has already managed to play in 8 Ere Divisie games this season. Definitely one to keep an eye out.. Same goes for Zaalman (PIC (http://files.datawire.nl/uploads/images/L_XigdtrbZeuJ-wDOKxIkg/727-zH8SpGNZJoOdsXGClO_IIw.jpg)) . They are a poor man's version of Anita/Sarpong.


-What happened to Murat Yilderim?? (15th overall for '85 cut-off, only 26th among midfielders now)Murat won the award as the top youth player in the Ajax system in 2003, and that's quite an accomplishment. However, he's yet to make any noise since. He's been with the selection the whole time but has yet to make his debute. Still only 19, so lots can happen, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him being loaned out. He's got nothing to prove in the youth anymore, but until he does anything or at least make his debute in the big boys league, I have a hard time placing him. Though a 6D is an awfully low grade come to think of it. A 7.0/7.5D would be more appropiate. You don't find many defensive midfielders more skilled than Murat.


-Personally I’m surprised to see Vonlanthen given a lower potential than De Ridder.Still I have seen De Ridder only once…
De Ridder was a highly touted youth international who felt he was too good for Ajax, and joined one of many abroad clubs interested. He's holding his own in La Liga even though he's not always playing. Scored a crucial goal last week as well. I still see him as a poor man's Christiano Ronaldo. Vonlanthen isn't even a regular for NAC, even though he impresses me whenever he plays. I have Vonlanthen as the safer player to reach his upside, but de Ridder's potential is just a tad higher IMO.

Here's a great compilation of de Ridder in case you want to know more about him seeing as you've only witnessed him once:

http://www.footballclips.net/daniel_de_ridder

EDIT: After revising this footage again, I want him back at Ajax. He's one of the better wingers Holland has to offer. I think I was too down on his first grade. An 8.0D/E Seems more appropiate. Too bad he has such an ego.

-Aisatti went from 1st overall at the end of december to 7th among midfielders, behind Anita, Sarpong and Medujanin !?? :help:You have to consider the fact that when I ranked him first, there were no van der Vaarts or Sneijders as I had a much stronger cut off age.

Still, Aisatti is a 17 year old stud who's managed to get the better of Andrea Pirlo in a CL Semi Final. That right there is reasoning enough for him to be ranked first. But the top midfielders are so extremely close that they could all swap places without me complaining. Sarpong and Anita (and Biseswar) are and have always been the higher regarderd prospects, so it was only a moment of awaiting their debute's before they'd skyrocket on the list. Not many 16 year olds break through with Ajax, only Seedorf if I'm not mistaken, and Seedorf at the time was regarded world's top 16 year old.

Aisatti, Anita, Sarpong and Biseswar are 16/17 year old talents who hold the future of Dutch football at midfield, ranking them was harder than anything. I've ranked them based on potential first and foremost, and in that I think Anita and Sarpong have the advantage over Aisatti. Though Aisatti is a very safe player already, a much safer bet to reach his upside ofcourse. Spaking of Aisatti, he scored a beauty 2 weeks ago. He entered the box, controlling a pass on a his chest before lobbing it over the keeper, all this in a very, very crowded space.

Here's the vid: http://www.zshare.net/video/aissati-second-goal-2006-wmv.html

Speaking of Sarpong, here's the only internet-media I could find of him. It's a nice action vs Feyenoord (yes, he's got plenty of responsibilities from the get go);

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1jzq9ZIXTM&search=Sarpong


Btw, on top of your last overall list: “That said, I wanted a stronger cutt-off age. Due to this I've missed to mention plenty of potential gems who I will mention seperately at the bottom.”
I guess the cut-off age was ’85 ;
as for the potential gems at the bottom?Yeah, I know. My computer crashed since and I had to buy a new one. So all info got lost. Most of them (if not all) are mentioned in this thread though.


-Judging by your lists ’88 looks like another good year for Holland. Do you think that class will be better than all the previous 5? (83, 84, 85, 86, 87)I think it's the best age group of all the ones I listed. If you cheat and add Anita I think it's a landside win. Anita has the potential to be a top 5 player some day, he's that good. People have been saying that ever since he made the youth forget about van der Vaart.

And here's a vid of Boussafa's hattrick:
http://www.zshare.net/video/boussoufa-hattrick-vs-c-brugge-wmv.html

BTW; It's been a while since you published the top 100 list, any thoughts of coming up with a new one?

Quite the coincidence; Anouar Diba with another beauty a few minutes ago.

EDIT: heh, and Emnes with his first goal of his career. Youngest goalgetter of the season. The game winner as it stands now as well.

Leonardo, the one Frolov 6'3 used to always rave about, seems to have found his game in Breda (NAC). With 7 goals and 4 assists in 12 games he's among the top in points per game. I already rated his upside a 9, which stands for superstar, but he's got long ways to go, hence the D or E. Once named in the same breath as Robben, van der Vaart and the likes..

Indeed, "used to" ;)

Now that's what I call impact.
Sébastien Grax gets injured and his team suffers 7 straight losses, and is on verge of relegation.
He comes back tonight, his team wins away from home and he scores after coming on the pitch at the 76th. :yo:

And here he goes again. One week later, Grax comes in at the 60th, and it took him 2 minutes to give a wonderful assist for one his teammate.

Lyon is sending 8 players on 26 for the preliminary selection for U-19 European Championship (May 14th to 21st).

Goalkeepers Johan Hartock et Rémy Riou
Defensemen Aurélien Brugniaud et Sandy Paillot
Midfielders Romain Beynié et Anthony Mounier
Forwards Hatem Ben Arfa et Karim Benzema.

Good academy isn't it? :)

Lyon is sending 8 players on 26 for the preliminary selection for U-19 European Championship (May 14th to 21st).

Goalkeepers Johan Hartock et Rémy Riou
Defensemen Aurélien Brugniaud et Sandy Paillot
Midfielders Romain Beynié et Anthony Mounier
Forwards Hatem Ben Arfa et Karim Benzema.

Good academy isn't it? :)

Try beating this one:

Dutch National team starting line up 1998:

GK - Edwin van der Sar (Ajax product)

LB - Arthur Numan (went through Ajax system, judged not good enough)
CB - Jaap Stam (went through Ajax system, judged not good enough)
CB - Frank de Boer (Ajax product)
RB - Michael Reiziger (Ajax product)

LM - Edgar Davids (Ajax product)
CM - Philip Cocu
RM - Clarense Seedorf (Ajax product)

ST - Patrick Kluivert (Ajax product)
ST - Dennis Bergkamp (Ajax product)
RW - Marc Overmars (Ajax product)

Most of the bench were Ajax products as well..

But the thing is not all of these guys were produced the same year.

Evilo, did you notice Mounier? I told you he seemed to be good at the beginning of the season... I noticed his name often in CFA reports. And here he is... :)

Evilo, did you notice Mounier? I told you he seemed to be good at the beginning of the season... I noticed his name often in CFA reports. And here he is... :)
Saw that, nice.
I'm very high on Ben Arfa, Benzema, Riou and Hartock and Paillot obviously.
It's a bit crazy to think Lyon has two of the three best french 87 goalies (and among the best in the world for Costil).

Soccer prospects are ovverated imho. The "prospects" thing works better in hockey i think ;)

I've forgotten and/or missed a few, so I updated this list a bit:

http://hfboards.com/showpost.php?p=5121991&postcount=83

I keep on updating that one from here on.

since he's around, any chance our resident Slovakian knows much about Miroslav Stoch, a young lad from FC Nitra who's recently signed with Chelsea? All I can find out is that he's a striker who can also play off a front two, and had a good u17 Championships.

If you've got any biographical details (dob, place of birth etc) it'd be fantastic.

He is 16 years old, born in a small village.

Is only 168 cm big or about 5'7 so he aint big. He says about himself (there was an article in the biggest newspaper here a week ago) that he has good skills and aint a bad header.

He has only signed a school contract with Chelsea.

He isnt that known here as soccer prospects here are UNKNOWN unless playing in the top League, which he wasnt.

And here he goes again. One week later, Grax comes in at the 60th, and it took him 2 minutes to give a wonderful assist for one his teammate.
I missed an update last week, but it's worth updating for the last two weeks.
So let's sum it up :
Grax is injured, his team loses 7 straight games. On the brink of relegation, Grax comes back 20 minutes from the end and scores a goal to give his team a win.
The week after, he comes in 20 minutes from the end and gives his teammate a wonderful assist.
The week after (last week), he comes in at the 60th and scores a goal.
This week, he comes in at the 65th and scores the tying goal for his team.

Sébastien Grax is carrying his team on his back and he's only 21 years old. He'll finish with close to 10 goals even though he missed a few months of competition, and he's only a substitute now as his injury isn't fully healed.
At this rate, this guy will outscore my most optimistic predictions (regular 15 goals scorer).

U17 Euro championships, and the highly touted Krkic (who's playing with older guys in this competition) is flying above the rest.
If this guy develops well, Eto'o can say goodbye to Ronnie's passes. Because this guy is going to rock.

Gambardella finals (U-18 french cup) will be Lyon-Strasbourg.
Lyon reaches the finals for the 2nd time in a row... Goals by defenseman Paillot and midfielder Pied, who just entered on the pitch.
Final will be on May 27th just before France-Mexico.

Another note, youngster Gregory Bettiol (Lyon) scored his 19th goal in CFA (4th level) with Lyon 2nd team.

OMG, Manu Fischer is incredible!
A hat trick at half time right now in the U17 Euro.
Man Germany has quite a talent on their hand!

OMG, Manu Fischer is incredible!
A hat trick at half time right now in the U17 Euro.
Man Germany has quite a talent on their hand!

Yeah I'm watching right now. I didn't even know about him a while ago. Everybody was just talking about Kroos all the time.

What team is he playing for?
All his three goals were absolute class.
One with some really nice dribbling, one with a splendid touch for a lob, and one with perfect timing with the header.

VfB Stuttgart.

He scored 7 goals in the last 4 games:
http://www.dfb.de/dfb-team/jugend/u17/maenner/archiv/2005/at05.html

This is the current roster:
http://www.dfb.de/dfb-team/jugend/u17/maenner/spieler/right.php

He's very impressive.

Lennon, Walcott, and Rooney, all named in England's World Cup squad, were in my top three when I started in my list of players born 1/1/86 and later and currently playing in England. I've not had the time to finalise it and post it (still) but I hope to before the World Cup.

BF, this guy has been selected for the Toulon tournament : Frédéric Boszak. Apparently, he plays for La Louvière.
Do you have any scouting report on this guy?

BF, this guy has been selected for the Toulon tournament : Frédéric Boszak. Apparently, he plays for La Louvière.
Do you have any scouting report on this guy?


He Standard property IIRC loaned out to La Louvière. Has been in U-18 and U-19 selections before. He got some playing time late in the season but I haven't seen him play personally so I can't really give you a scouting report other then him being a midfielder.

Here's a compilation of three 89 talents : Dos Santos, Walcott and Adu.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuDX2j7XpLk&search=walcott

I seriously hope Barca can hang on to Dos Santos. I'm tired of Arsenal and other teams stealing our youth. ;) Luckily, we have an embarassment of talent coming through the youth ranks. Keep a close eye on Verdu, Calvo and Krkic in a few years.

Krkic is awesome.

Krkic is awesome.

Yes, he is. Another proud product of La Masia.

PSG sensation David N'Gog (16 year old) is set to make his L1 debut tomorrow.
Here's PSG's group :
GK : Cousin, Alonzo
Dmen : Ateba, B.Mendy, Badiane, Dramé, Rozehnal, Kantari
Mf : E.Cissé, Haddad, M’Bami, Rothen
St : Ragued, Bueno, NGog, Pancrate

And Folly (Southampton) will play for Togo at the WC :shakehead

End of the season, coaches are giving youngsters plenty of playing time, and L1 becomes an offensive league. We've seen dozens of goals from youngsters the past few weeks, and there should be some more tonight.
The incredibly talented Haddad for instance is a starter for PSG tonight.
His coach has accepted a loan for next season to Valenciennes, so he'll get some time to prove himself there. Let's hope he does as well as Grax has done this year.

Yoann Gouffran played his last game of the season yesterday with Caen in L2 action. With his team needing to win by 5 goals to get promoted to L1, the guy scored twice (a lob and a volley top corner) and hit the cross bar once. His team finished with a 3-1 victory that wasn't enough. He's finished the season with 8 goals as an 18 year old for his first pro season, and not often a starter.
He's showing a lot of poise and should develop into quite a striker down the road.

In other news, Mvuemba won't play in the Toulon tournement (he's injured) and will be replaced by Haddad.

French selection for the Toulon tournament :
GK: Hugo Lloris (Nice), Alexandre Martinovic (Sochaux)

D : Florian Marange (Bordeaux), Baptiste Martin (Auxerre), Olivier Veigneau (Monaco), Peter Franquart (Lille), Carl Medjani (Metz), Yassine Moutaouakil (Châteauroux), Cédric Cambon (Montpellier), Guillaume Rippert (Valenciennes), Younes Kaboul (Auxerre).

M: Djamel Abdoun (Ajaccio), Rudy Haddad (Paris SG) (left last game with injury?), Didier Digard (Le Havre), Yohann Cabaye (Lille), Jonathan Lacourt (Lens)

F: David Gigliotti (Monaco), Boszak Frédéric (La Louviere/BEL), Rudy Carlier (Strasbourg), Abdoulaye Balde (Amiens)

Here's the Dutch squad for the U21 EC later this month, obviously, Huntelaar will now suit up for them, as well as Vlaar and Castelen. Ryan Babel, Johnny Heitinga, Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie are with the big team but would've been eligeble. Phenom Quincy-Owusu Abeyie, who made noise at the WC U21 in 2005, is not included. At that tournament, Owusu had one of the best games for a youngster I have ever seen. Wizard Haris Medunjanin also did not get the call. He was elected to play in the Toulon tournament however, together with Emnes and Schilder.

Goal: Remko Pasveer (FC Twente), Kenneth Vermeer (Ajax), Michel Vorm (FC Den Bosch).

Defense: Edson Braafheid (FC Utrecht), Urby Emanuelson (Ajax), Arnold Kruiswijk (FC Groningen), Gijs Luirink (FC Groningen), Dwight Tiendalli (FC Utrecht), Paul Verhaegh (Vitesse), Ron Vlaar (Feyenoord), Ramon Zomer (FC Twente).

Midfield: Ibrahim Afellay (PSV), Ismail Aissati (PSV), Nicky Hofs (Feyenoord), Stijn Schaars (AZ), Demy de Zeeuw (AZ).

Attack: Fred Benson (Vitesse), Romeo Castelen (Feyenoord), Patrick Gerritsen (FC Twente), Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Ajax), Collins John (Fulham), Daniël de Ridder (Celta de Vigo).

Possible line-up:

---------------- Huntelaar -------- John ----------------
de Ridder -------------------------------------- Castelen
-------------------------------- Afellay --------------------
------------------ Aisatti -----------------------------------
Emanuelson ---------------------------------- Braafheid
---------------------- Vlaar ----- Luirink ----------------
--------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------- Vermeer ------------------------


Outstanding team if I say so myself.

And here's the Toulon squad:

Goal: Job Bulters (AZ), Tim Krul (Newcastle United).

Defense: Dustley Mulder (RKC Waalwijk), Mark Otten (Excelsior), Gianni Zuiverloon (RKC), Henrico Drost (sc Heerenveen), Royston Drenthe (Feyenoord), Ryan Donk (RKC Waalwijk), Robbert Schilder (Ajax), Frank van der Struijk (Willem II)

Midfield: Wout Brama (FC Twente), Kemy Agustien (Willem II), Kees Luycks (AZ), Jeffrey Sarpong (Ajax), Haris Medunjanin (AZ)

Attack: Eljero Elia (ADO Den Haag), Prince Rajcomar (FC Den Bosch), Otman Bakkal, Tim Janssen (beiden FC Eindhoven), Marvin Emnes (Sparta Rotterdam)

Lots of commotion surrounding this squad, as 16 year old phenom Vurnon Anita is not on it. Coach said: "Vurnon is a great young kind with a heck of a future ahead of him. But we feel that experience will be crucial in this tournament."

Anita was voted U17 tournament MVP in Portugal last year.

Keep an eye out on Sarpong and Medunjanin.

Interesting.
Here is the U21 french selection :

Gardiens de but
Jérémy Gavanon (Clermont Foot)
Steve Mandanda (Le Havre)
Simon Pouplin (Rennes)
Comments : no surprise here, Mandanda should be the starter, he’s very very good. In any case, Pouplin has proven this year with Rennes that he’s a number one goalie in the making.

Défenseurs
Lucien Aubey (Toulouse)
Jérémy Berthod (Lyon)
Grégory Bourillon (Rennes)
François Clerc (Lyon)
Gaël Clichy (Arsenal)
Jacques Faty (Rennes)
Bakari Sagna (Auxerre)
Jean-Michel Badiane (PSG)
Comments : Badiane replaced the injured Zubar. This team has a lot of experience from CL games (Berthod, Clerc, Clichy) and some very good CBs as well.

Milieux de terrain
Lassana Diarra (Chelsea)
Julien Faubert (Bordeaux)
Mathieu Flamini (Arsenal)
Yoann Gourcuff (Rennes)
Rio Mavuba (Bordeaux)
Jérémy Toulalan (Nantes)
Comments : The defensive midfield is crowded (Diarra, Flamini, Mavuba and Toulalan). Gourcuff is a magician.

Attaquants
Bryan Bergougnoux (Toulouse)
Jimmy Briand (Rennes)
Yohan Gouffran (Caen)
Anthony Le Tallec (Sunderland)
Florent Sinama-Pongolle (Blackburn)
Comments : Le Tallec has scored seemingly in every qualifying game. Gouffran has been impressive this season, and Briand is emerging fast.

Possible line up :
------Le Tallec---Gouffran-------
------------Gourcuff------------
---Mavuba----------Toulalan---
-------------Diarra----------
Clichy—Faty—Aubey—Clerc
-------------Mandanda----------

Ibrahim Afellay will not make the U21 EC squad afterall, as his injury still affects him too much. Medunjanin will replace him.

In Toulon, Holland will face Colombia in 90 minutes on Eurosport..

British Eurosport is showing the entire Toulon tournament, not sure about the rest of Europe.

British Eurosport is showing the entire Toulon tournament, not sure about the rest of Europe.

In Holland they do, too..

Holland/Colombia just underway.. First time Holland was invited since 2001 when Johnny Heitinga was named tournament MVP.

Here are some Dutch born and educated talents who the Maroccan coach convinced to come and play for them:

- Mounir El Hamadoui (Tottenham - previously Feyenoord)
- Moubarek Boussafa (Anderlecht - previously Ajax)
- Ali Boussabon (Feyenoord)
- Said Boutahar (NEC)
- Said Bakkati (Heereveen)
- Nordin Boukhari (Ajax - now Nantes)
- Tarik Sektioui (AZ)
- Khalid Sinouh (RKC Waalwijk)

Ismael Aisatti and Ibrahim Afellay (both PSV) are still contemplating.

Now I realise the Dutch have a lot of depth, but Boussafa and Hamadoui would actually have shots at cracking the team someday. Afellay already did at times, and Aisatti would be a lock.

Here are some Dutch born and educated talents who the Maroccan coach convinced to come and play for them:

- Moubarek Boussafa (Anderlecht - previously Ajax)


I wish :D

I wish :D

Anderlecht, Genk, Brugge, Gent.. Één pot nat! ;)

In other news, Holland U21 is playing an exhibition game vs Germany U21 in preparations for the EC later starting this month. Holland up 1-0 on an Emanuelson shot. Huntelaar not playing very well. Good to see de Ridder play live again. Also interesting to see Nando Rafael play in the wrong colors..

Holland vs France now.. Sarpong is starting! I'm thrilled..

Holland doesn't seem to take it very seriously though as they seem to rest its best defenders and are playing with 5 different players in comparison to the previous game.

You're talking about the Toulon tournament?
I expect France to lose very early if the coaches continue to play all the worst players and rest the best.
I'm not sure what their goal is... :huh:

You're talking about the Toulon tournament?
I expect France to lose very early if the coaches continue to play all the worst players and rest the best.
I'm not sure what their goal is... :huh:

Same here. I don't get our coach, either. He didn't even take Blind, Hasselbaink or Anita with him. But at least Sarpong is playing..

This is the lineup France COULD send :
---------------Lloris----------------
Moutouakil-Kaboul-Medjani-Marange
-------Digard-------Veigneau------
--------------Mvuemba-----------
----Gigliotti-------Baldé------
Only 5 of these obvious players played in the first game, and one was out of position...:shakehead

We do seem to have a record of white people starting. I've counted at least 3 on our side!

Man U are close to signing Kerlon, he of the seal dribble fame.

http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news;_ylt=AoLodXL9qUk7xmWZPuIv4YMmw7YF?slug=manche stersouza&prov=st&type=lgns

I'm very excited to see him in action next week.

Man U are close to signing Kerlon, he of the seal dribble fame.

http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news;_ylt=AoLodXL9qUk7xmWZPuIv4YMmw7YF?slug=manche stersouza&prov=st&type=lgns

I'm very excited to see him in action next week.

Speaking of Brazillian talents; PSV and Ajax were believed to be the most likeliest destinations for 11 year old phenom Chera, untill his parents, including Chera himself, decided to stay for a few more years.

11 year old?
Stupid world... soccer is really falling on his head... :(

11 year old?
Stupid world... soccer is really falling on his head... :(

No kidding..

Huge, huge talent though, even already at the age of 11..

Nice goal by Agustien vs France, btw. Though a pretty uninteresting game in general. Fair result..

I'll correct what I wrote earlier : Kaboul is injured, Haddad as well, and Ricardo Faty and Maurice-Belay (both should be starters) were called on to replace them.

So, who will be the star of the U21 Euro championships?
Gourcuff, Huntelaar, Quaresma, Pazzini, Rafael?
Man, you could build a WC team with these youngsters.

France U-21 just won vs Croatia 1-0.
Toulalan, who just signed with Lyon and had just 1 goal in 94 L1 games, scored... :)

He's scored a few beauties with the U21 selection already.

I think he can work his shooting... he can be better and better, the basics are there.

Toulalan is a quiet midfielder but can have a Steven Gerrard impact on a team (not at his level of course but you see my point). He has a potential for shooting IMO...
Perfect replacement for Diarra, same workhorse in midfield, tireless worker and quiet leader.

Yes he has a nice shot, but he could use it more IMO.

Toulalan has the rare ability, like Vieira used to have, to turn around a game on a single tackle. The guy seems to always get away with the ball. He seems to never lose a challenge. He's a physical freak, even though he's no particularly physically impressive. He's calm, he's tireless.

Simply put : one of my favs.

Clichy won't play the U21 Euro championships. He'll get surgery this summer. To replace him, Olivier Veigneau (Monaco) has been called up from the Toulon tournament.

Trochowski (Hamburger SV) is also out for the U21. Imo he's the most talented player of the whole squad and the #10 so that really is extremely bad news. :cry:

Trochowski (Hamburger SV) is also out for the U21. Imo he's the most talented player of the whole squad and the #10 so that really is extremely bad news. :cry:

Yeah, he impressed me quite a lot. Your Captain (RB I believe) even more so..

Columbia scores within 14 seconds vs France.. (!)

http://hfboards.com/showpost.php?p=5121991&postcount=83

List updated to 109 'prospects'. No write ups, but if curious, I'm happy to try and give a write up at request.

Columbia scores within 14 seconds vs France.. (!)
France wins 3-1 and are through to the semis.
Still surprised to see the starting lineups...

Semi's are today I believe.. Holland kicks off at 6..

Semi's are today I believe.. Holland kicks off at 6..

Holland beats Portugal, through to the final.

Lol, I won't comment on the ref's decision not to give a clear penalty to Portugal in order to give them a free kick outside the box (and the foul was clearly inside the box).
Anyway, nice counter attack for that 1-0 goal.

Lol, I won't comment on the ref's decision not to give a clear penalty to Portugal in order to give them a free kick outside the box (and the foul was clearly inside the box).
Anyway, nice counter attack for that 1-0 goal.

If he didn't go down as theatrical he might actually have gotten it. Seemed like the ref hesitated whether it wasn't a dive and thought he'd satisfy both parties if he'd place it outside the box. It was just inside it though and probably should have been a penalty.

Bad game in general. The Dutch have talent but are far from a team. 7 Yellow cards, including one red is laughable.

Ah well, I don't think you should take this tournament all too seriously.

I'm starting to love Drenthe (LB - Feyenoord).

This tournament is extremely interesting when it's the U21 selections playing. Right now, it's a mix of the U20 and the cast off the U21 Euro championships.

Yes the frenchman Da Costa went down and I thought it was a dive before seeing the replay.

I guess it's about time for an annual update from me. If not just to get in-depth myself. Been busy with military service for the last 6 months and haven't been able to keep up that well.
I'll watch the U21's and hopefully have something done by the end. Although of course I've already made plans that make it impossible for me to watch the game tonight. :shakehead

France won another Toulon tournament in an uninteresting final against Holland. They won in the penalty shootout.
Boring tournament this year, and I haven't seen a future star (they're probably all at the U21 Euro anyway).

France won another Toulon tournament in an uninteresting final against Holland. They won in the penalty shootout.
Boring tournament this year, and I haven't seen a future star (they're probably all at the U21 Euro anyway).

That game didn't deserve a winner..

I'd say Drenthe (LB - Feyenoord) and Sarpong (Ajax) definitely have star potential. Drenthe showed a lot, Sarpong not so much.

Who were given the awards to?

Ricardo Faty was (logically) elected MVP.
He was clearly the best player of the tournament and if I had to put money on one player of this tournament becoming a future all-star player, I'd put all my money on him. Roma stole him for nothing from Strasbourg and if they give him some playing time, they'll be happy with him.
I found China's #10 and playmaker very good, but that's about it from the games I saw.

Ricardo Faty was (logically) elected MVP.
He was clearly the best player of the tournament and if I had to put money on one player of this tournament becoming a future all-star player, I'd put all my money on him. Roma stole him for nothing from Strasbourg and if they give him some playing time, they'll be happy with him.
I found China's #10 and playmaker very good, but that's about it from the games I saw.

Faty didn't stand out much in both games vs Holland. Guess this is just bad luck on my part.

Either way, I know Ryan Donk was voted finals MVP. I also noticed Sarpong receiving an award but whatfor?

Also, anyone else but Drenthe being defender of the tournament is a joke.

Last three tournaments were won by France, and last three MVPs were three DMs (no surprise, as it's France's deepest position) : Mavuba, Mvuemba, Faty.
Last 10 MVP awards :
2006 : R. Faty
2005 : Mvuemba
2004 : Mavuba
2003 : Mascherano -> C. Ronaldo was in that tournament
2002 : Pinga (Brazil)
2001 : Chara (Columbia) -> Heintiga, Mexes, Cisse played in this tournament
2000 : Moreno (Columbia) -> Maresca played that year
1999 : Pereyra (Argentina) -> Luyindula and Dalmat played.
1998 : Riquelme -> Silvestre and Heskey played.
1997 : Henry -> Luccin and Landreau played

Faty didn't stand out much in both games vs Holland. Guess this is just bad luck on my part.

Either way, I know Ryan Donk was voted finals MVP. I also noticed Sarpong receiving an award but whatfor?

Also, anyone else but Drenthe being defender of the tournament is a joke.
Faty didn't play the first game I think. Since then, he's been the best player of the tournament, winning nearly every ball in midfield and being good enough technically to launch the attacks.
Donk did win man of the match in the final.

For the complete 2006 awards :
MVP : Faty (France)
Most elegant player : Chen Tao (China's #10 I was talking about)
Most courteous player : Schilder (Holland)
Best goalie : Lloris (France)
Special price : Da Costa (France, erhhh I mean Portugal)
Best scorer : Gigliotti (France)
Best play : Agustien (Holland)
Fair Play : France

Guess this is just bad luck on my part.
So I guess you couldn't cope with the fact Aissati was sucking "monkey balls" against Lyon and Ukraine yesterday? :D

So I guess you couldn't cope with the fact Aissati was sucking "monkey balls" against Lyon and Ukraine yesterday? :D

If that's what you want to hear, sure. Just take in mind that Aissati was coming off two injuries on both occasions. He shouldn't even have played yesterday but still fairly did well. I really don't get his so called suckieness last game. He instantly created danger the first minutes he was on the pitchs (right from the start of the 2nd half).

Either way, I find it rather comical that these players have yet to prove themselves to you. You seem to miss and/or ingore their good games.

That said, this team needs tweeking. I found myself switching channels a lot during the Ukraine game.

2001 : Chara (Columbia)

I didnt know Chara is that good :).

I never said Aisatti sucks in general. I was just disappointed by him every time I saw him (-> which is rarely).
I don't ignore the good games, I simply missed them.
As I said, I've seen PSV maybe three or four times this year, and he either didn't play or he sucked (games against Lyon).
I don't blame a 17 year old for sucking against Lyon in a CL matchup. That's to be expected in fact when you see the physical toughness of these two games.
As for his game against Ukraine, as I said, I watched from the 55th to the 85th. Since the game was boring, I simply watched Aissati and Huntelaar the whole 30 minutes. As I said, Aissati made one pass out of the 30 minutes and missed everything else, including a weak weak shot in the stands.
That said, I'm fully aware he was coming off an injury, and as I previously said, I'm eager to watch these guys play much better tomorrow.

I didnt know Chara is that good :).
Yep, switched countries, switched sport,... what next, switch gender? :eek:

Yep, switched countries, switched sport,... what next, switch gender? :eek:
Got younger by 3 years in order to compete.
No wonder teams want to give him 7 million per year :D.

Back on topic though: What happened to the 99 winner Pereyra?

I never said Aisatti sucks in general. I was just disappointed by him every time I saw him (-> which is rarely).
I don't ignore the good games, I simply missed them.
As I said, I've seen PSV maybe three or four times this year, and he either didn't play or he sucked (games against Lyon).
I don't blame a 17 year old for sucking against Lyon in a CL matchup. That's to be expected in fact when you see the physical toughness of these two games.
As for his game against Ukraine, as I said, I watched from the 55th to the 85th. Since the game was boring, I simply watched Aissati and Huntelaar the whole 30 minutes. As I said, Aissati made one pass out of the 30 minutes and missed everything else, including a weak weak shot in the stands.
That said, I'm fully aware he was coming off an injury, and as I previously said, I'm eager to watch these guys play much better tomorrow.

Fair enough. Can't say I really disagree.. Both guys played way below par but had perfectly solid excuses. I'm just hoping Huntelaar will get some assistence from his wingers tomorrow. He received *zero* crosses. The only way they could deliver it to him was through the middle, and while Huntelaar can really hold balls, it's hard creating much of anything with two 6'5 tanks on your neck.

Huntelaar is a striker who knows where to run and when to run. He spots openings, dives into them and then usually scores. But when no one is sending him those passes, he becomes half as succesful. Pranjic used to be the one for Heereveen, Sneijder used to be the one for Ajax, Afellay used to be the one for young Oranje. Not coincidently did all those player lead their teams in assists. Huntelaar was Europe's leading scorer during the qualification series with Afellay behind him.

Instead of a half-injured Aissati, you could also watch the Vlaar/Luirink/Emanuelson trio at the backend. They've impressed me alot. The rest of the team really sucked "monkey balls" and I'm not sure whether they will improve proven Foppe's stubborn tactics. This team lacks more creativity than a Balkenende coup..

No idea.
Some MVPs went on to have great careers (Henry, Riquelme and co...), some guys that weren't MVPs are also great players (Kaka and co), and then some just disappeared or didn't fullfill their promises.

As I said earlier, I did notice Emanuelsson, because he seemingly didn't miss anything during these 30 minutes.

Lloris is officially my new favorite goalkeeper. :yo:

Does the actual rankings topic still exist? I was looking for it last night but couldn't find it.

I've got some time off next week so should be able to get my English list done (much the same style as O=S's current 109 prospect list, and it's players born 1.1.86 and later) - would people prefer it as English players only or all qualifying players in England (which would include the likes of Rossi, Pique etc)?

Does the actual rankings topic still exist? I was looking for it last night but couldn't find it.

I've got some time off next week so should be able to get my English list done (much the same style as O=S's current 109 prospect list, and it's players born 1.1.86 and later) - would people prefer it as English players only or all qualifying players in England (which would include the likes of Rossi, Pique etc)?
http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=89635

I'd rather have an EPL list rather than a english only list.

Does the actual rankings topic still exist? I was looking for it last night but couldn't find it.

I've got some time off next week so should be able to get my English list done (much the same style as O=S's current 109 prospect list, and it's players born 1.1.86 and later) - would people prefer it as English players only or all qualifying players in England (which would include the likes of Rossi, Pique etc)?

All qualifying players in England is what we all have been doing so far. I'd suggest you to do the same if you'd like.

The '86 year cut off is a good one. I shall be updating mine quickly as well.

All qualifying players in England is what we all have been doing so far. I'd suggest you to do the same if you'd like.

The '86 year cut off is a good one. I shall be updating mine quickly as well.

How about 84'? 86 is awfully young, many guys of that age still haven't reached first team level yet

I think we're at 83 this year, and 84 starting this summer, right?

I think we're at 83 this year, and 84 starting this summer, right?As far as i'm concerned, right.

How about 84'? 86 is awfully young, many guys of that age still haven't reached first team level yet

It's 21 years of age though. It should remain a prospect list afterall.

it's players born 1.1.86 and later) - would people prefer it as English players only or all qualifying players in England (which would include the likes of Rossi, Pique etc)?Definitely the latter!
And possibly with an older age cut off.

Lloris is officially my new favorite goalkeeper. :yo:
Is this Hugo? From Nice?

Is this Hugo? From Nice?
Yes, it's him.
So quiet... very, very solid goalkeeper. :)

Re: Cutoff date. I'm including the 83's in my list as the season is not over yet. (WC hasn't even started!! Huhu).

I'd love to assist on an english list, if anyone needs some second opinions.

Lloris is shaping to be one heck of a goalie that's for sure.
Reminds me of Letizi in his first years (Nice time as well).

http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/w/bypa/yptw.html

Some interesting profiles on various youngsters present at the WC.

They miss the most obvious (besides Ronaldo and co) : Frank Ribéry.
If he gets playing time, he will tear it up.

I know that looking for your own favourite pet is the preferred tactic of you and several other posters here, but if you'd take a second to stop and look, you'd notice that this award can go to one of All players born on or after 1 January 1985 who play in the FIFA World Cup Germany 2006...

Yes and the link was posted a while ago in another thread, and back then, I did note that Ribery would be there if the list wasn't so restrictive.
And you might agree that Ribery being born in 84, he's a "youngster", right?

A youngster? Yes, I guess. An 84? No, an april 83.

(Coincidentally I think it was a year ago that you qualified Mido as "not young any more". He's also an early '83 birthday.)

Probably because Mido has played pro football for year, while it is only the second year that Ribery plays pro football.

Anyway, it was the Gambardella final yesterday evening, and Lyon was once again in the final, with Benzema, Paillot, etc...
However, they lost again, this time to Strasbourg, 3-1.
I laughed a bit because last year, everyone pointed that Lyon was not playing as a team, and many people were pointing at Ben Arfa. Well, Hatem was not playing this time, and Lyon still did not play as a team.
Benzema was the Lyon scorer.

Gourcuff yesterday in an interview tore up Rennes' development policy :
"We can see that Arnold Mveumba, who's an incredible player has had enourmous difficulties to play and have the coach's confidence. I know there's a lot of concurrence. But even a guy like Jimmy Briand didn't play much compared to his potential. Greg Bourillon as well. Faty was the same too. He played in the first part of the season. Then he didn't play. So it's not really easy to play for a youngster in Rennes."

I think a lot of this has to do with Boloni, who's really a defensive coach, but it's quite refreshing to see someone point out what a huge mistake Rennes is making by not playing its incredible prospect pool and thus forcing them out.
Gourcuff will leave, Faty as well, Mvuemba will probably leave too, Briand could do the same, Kallstrom is already gone...
This team could have been a dynasty (in french football at least) with an ambitious plan.
Instead, they'll let everyone become a star elsewhere.

Here's my report on the U-21 games between Canada and Brazil:

Canada:

I'm really impressed with Jaime Peters. He's at Ipswich Town, and he has tons of speed. Good technique, and he along with Will Johnson were the only Canadians interested in attacking. Johnson is a great passer and crosser...I see good things for him. Canada's keeper, Begovic, was also impressive. I think he plays for La Louviere in Belgium.

Brazil:

Kerlon was injured in the first game and did not play after that. The only time I saw him was during half-time where he was kicking it with other Brazilians. I really liked the two centre-backs, Anderson and Edson. They were both tall, and decisive with the ball. Good tacklers as well. There was one midfielder, who was left footed that controlled the midfield. He was hitting passes everywhere, even 20/30 yard passes across field. Didn't catch his name, it might have been Ji Parana.

English list (http://hfboards.com/showpost.php?p=5657031&postcount=84)

make any comments you like, I won't be offended/angry or anything, just want to get the list into a recognised and acceptable state.

Thanks for the list Juni, interesting. How come Paul Anderson (Liverpool) didn't make it? He seems to be doing pretty well for our reserves and we did win the FA youth cup this year, beating city in the final.


I promise to do a new Belgian list in a few weeks time, I've got exams until June 30th but I'll do them early july. It's been an awful long time since I've updated. Also because of those stupid pay TV people (they buy the rights for tons of money and then half of the country can't even get a subscription because the service is not yet available in their area :madfire: ) I can't watch nearly as much belgian football anymore these days which will make it much tougher to judge things.

I've not had any look at Anderson at all, I do know of him, just didn't remember to add him. He can go on my list of additions and will be in my next update, whenever it might be.

Thanks for your work Juni.
My comments :
- Pique is too low to my liking. I'd put him as a 8.5/B
- No L. Diarra? His upside is huge.
- Diaby will surprise you. His upside is extremely good. And with Wenger I think he has a high chance of reaching it. Think of Vieira with a lot more technical skills. He made my list at #11 in front of guys like Kahlenberg (well since then the dane has been even better, so he would be ranked higher), Grax, Briand or Gourcuff.

Lassana's an 85 born else he'd be in, I'm incredibly high on him.

Oops, my bad. Forgot your cutoff age was earlier than the others.

I agree with Diaby, I'd certainly have him ahead of Song. I'd give Diaby a 8 C and Song a 6 C.

Couple other comments.

I'd give Lennon a 9 C, it's easy to forget how inexperienced he really is, it's been amazing how good he's been already, but I think that he will get even better.

I was tempted to disagree with your Walcott rating at first, but he's still really too young to see how much of a star he will end up being, so I do agree with it now.

Nice job.

My list is a little delayed. But it'll be there.

Here are some of the players available to René Girard for next year's U21 team :
Gk : Mandanda, Lloris, Pouplin, Martinovic
Dmen : Clichy, Berthod, Zubar, Bourillon, J. Faty, Aubey, Kaboul, Ebondo, Congré, Medjani, Perquis, etc...
MF : R. Faty, Diaby, Gourcuff, Flamini, L. Diarra, Clément, Debuchy, Cabaye, Mvuemba, Meghni, Mavuba, N'Zogbia, etc...
St : Sinama, Le Tallec, Briand, Gouffran, Grax, Carlier, Gigliotti, Fauvergue, etc...
+ the fab four of the 87 generation : Nasri, Menez, Benzema and Ben Arfa.

Amazing depth, much better than this year.
The main players that lost their eligibility : Ribery, Toulalan, Gavanon, Badiane, Faubert, Bergougnoux, Didot, Alliadière, Mathieu.

Let's hope for an even better result.

Lyon won the title again... for the pro reserves team, winning 3-1 vs Rennes in the finals.
Bettiol scored his 24th goal of the season, best for CFA (4th level). Youngster Anthony Mounier scored 2 goals, making 8 for the season (as he played the whole start for the U-18).
I wonder if both will manage a few games with the pros next season. :)

18 year old Donavan Slijngard edges out 16 year old Vurnon Anita to win the 'Ajax talent of the year award'.

The last 7 winners include:

- Yilderim
- Vermeer
- Maduro
- Vermeer
- Sneijder
- Heitinga
- van der Vaart

Here's to see whether he becomes as succesful as his precenders.

O=S, any chance I can get a real quick and short report from you (or any other Dutch poster if they feel they can do it) on Nacer Barazite? Bio stuff, and just what type of player he is. Nothing overly detailed, just the skeleton details.

O=S, any chance I can get a real quick and short report from you (or any other Dutch poster if they feel they can do it) on Nacer Barazite? Bio stuff, and just what type of player he is. Nothing overly detailed, just the skeleton details.

Barazite is like 15 years old but already followed by some top European teams. I believe Arsenal are the frontrunners and are even offering his father a job within the organisation.

Fast, nose for the goal, nice blend of speed and technique, can fuction as a right winger or as a striker and will grow out nicely I think (1.85/1.90).

Barazite is like 15 years old but already followed by some top European teams. I believe Arsenal are the frontrunners and are even offering his father a job within the organisation.

Fast, nose for the goal, nice blend of speed and technique, can fuction as a right winger or as a striker and will grow out nicely I think (1.85/1.90).
Hey Ott, you and me suddenly have a huge post count... :D