5 youngsters to watch out for in Euro 2012
Hear ye Hear ye, the Euros are here.
Finally, after a brief sabbatical, football is back with a bang. All the prominent leagues had rather interesting finales. The Barclays Premier League saw Manchester City seal the title on a dramatic final day. The La Liga saw Real Madrid finally win the bragging rights, and the Bundesliga marked the continued meteoric rise of Borussia Dortmund. Chelsea finally realized Roman Abramovich‘s dream, by winning the coveted Champions League. The attention now shifts to a mouth-watering Euro 2012, co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine. After all, it is transfer season and this tournament is the perfect opportunity for various clubs to scout talents. If last World Cup saw the emergence of the likes of Luis Suarez, Thomas Mueller and Mesut Ozil, then who knows what the Euros might churn up?
Mario Götze
The immensely talented Dortmund midfielder has struggled with injuries this season, and will definitely be raring to be back on the pitch. The Germans already have a world-class midfield lineup, with the likes of Kroos, Schweinsteiger, Reus, Ozil and several other superstars. Joachim Löw has several options to choose from and hopefully Götze will make his mark in the tournament. Götze‘s campaign will definitely be an arduous one, as Germany are in the Group of Death with the likes of Netherlands, Portugal and Denmark, but as the saying goes,
“When the going gets tough, the tough get going“.
Transfer scouts might be disappointed, as the youngster has pledged his alliance to Dortmund by signing a contract extension.
Yann M’Vila
Arsene Wenger’s scouts will be extra vigilant, when France take on England in the opener. An injury scare did threaten to brutally cut-short M’Vila’s campaign, but thankfully it was not as serious as it was presumed to be. Hopefully M’Vila should make the cut. as this 6-foot tall defensive midfielder has a lot of hopes riding on his shoulders. The French defense does seem to be its Achilles heel and its upto this young Rennes player to step up and deliver the goods.
Alan Dzagoev
Most of you might have a tough time pronouncing his name now, but hopefully once this tournament is over, his name might be on everyone’s lips. Euro 2008 saw the emergence of Andrey Arshavin, and this year looks promising for the Russians as they already managed to demolish Italy in a morale-boosting 3-0 victory. Dzagoev‘s market value might soar after the Euros, as several top clubs will be monitoring him. Having been put in the most open group against the likes of Poland, Greece and Czech Republic, Dzagoev might turn out to be the trump card for the Russians.
Christian Eriksen
The English football team will never forget Eriksen, as this youngster’s man of the match performance grabbed several eye-balls and this time around, the stage is set perfectly : “A Group of Death”. More of such eye-catchy performances against any of the biggies like Germany, Portugal or Netherlands, could propel this wonder-kid into the élite list . Having already been named Dutch Football Talent of the Year in 2010-2011, this creative midfielder will be on every scout’s radar. Who knows a major upset might just be on the cards. You have been warned, Germany, Netherlands and Portugal.
Kevin Strootman
Yet another ‘Group of Death’ nominee, Strootman is already being linked to Premier League giants Manchester United. With the likes of world-class midfielders Wesley Sneijder, Afellay and Van der Vaart in their ranks, coach Bert van Marwijk might have a tough time selecting his starting 11, as we all know he is an admirer of this youngster. Having already established himself as a regular starter for PSV, this talented youngster will be hoping for a place in the international lineup as well.
Apart from these players, young guns like the Greek live-wire Sotiris Ninis and defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos, England’s very own Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Phil Jones, Ukrainian Andriy Yarmolenko, Italian bad boy Balotelli and the upcoming youngster Fabio Borini, Spaniard Jordi Alba, Polish goal machine Robert Lewandowski and the German pair of André Schürrle and Holger Badstuber will be hoping to make an impact in this tournament.