In the football world, there is always talk about the most talented and promising football players who are expected to soon become the brightest stars of this sport. Since 2003, the most talented player in the world has been awarded the "Golden Boy" award, which is open to all footballers aged 20 or younger. But did all the players who received this award become the brightest stars in the football world? After announcing the winner of the 2017 "Golden Boy" award, Eurofootball.com decided to look into how the careers of all the players who have won this award have unfolded and who were the most famous players at that time who failed to win this title. Previous articles: 2003 - Rafael van der Vaart; 2004 - Wayne Rooney; 2005 - Lionel Messi; 2006 - Cesc Fabregas; 2007 - Sergio Aguero; 2008 - Anderson; 2009 - Alexandre Pato, 2010 - M. Balotelli, 2011 - M. Gotze. The rest of this article - next week. 2012: Isco Former team: "Malaga" Current team: "Real" Isco was born in Malaga, and in his childhood, he played for the local youth team "Atletico Benamiel." The talented player was quickly noticed by stronger academies of Spanish clubs, and at the age of 14, he joined the "Valencia" team. At the age of 17, the footballer participated with his age group national team in the U-17 World Cup, where Isco scored three goals. Meanwhile in his club career, he represented the "Valencia B" team, and he got his chance in the main team after coming of age. On November 10, 2010, he played a great match in the Spanish cup against "UD Logrones," scoring two goals, and just after ten days, he made an appearance as a substitute in "La Liga" matches against "Getafe." That year, having had five opportunities in the main "Valencia" team, the Spaniard spent most of his time in the B team, where he scored 15 goals. In the summer, the player got the opportunity to return to his hometown, and he took advantage of that when "Malaga" paid the noted €4 million buyout clause in his contract. In his hometown team, Isco quickly gained the trust of coach Manuel Pellegrini, and the first season for both him and the team was simply fantastic. Becoming an indispensable player in the "Malaga" club during the season, Isco finished the year having played 35 matches, in which he scored five goals and provided as many assists. Moreover, the team he represented had the best season in the history of the club and made it to the Champions League for the first time in history. Isco's contribution to his team's game was rewarded with individual prizes - he was initially named the most improved player in the "La Liga" championship, and later, surpassing significant competition, he was chosen as the 2012 "Golden Boy." In September, Isco made his Champions League debut with a bang - in the first match against "Zenit," he scored two goals and was named the best player of the match. In December, the footballer contributed a goal to the first victory in "Malaga's" history against Real Madrid, and with his excellent form, scouts from the strongest European leagues paid even more attention to him. Isco's fantastic game in the match against "Zenit": With rumors increasing about a possible transfer of the player to a stronger team, "Malaga" took action and signed a new contract with the footballer, including a €35 million buyout clause. Meanwhile, on the field, Isco played brilliantly - assisting and scoring goals in responses, he helped the Spanish club defeat "Porto" with a 2:1 overall score and advance to the quarterfinals of the Champions League, where he and his teammates had to fight the "Borussia" team. The first match in Malaga ended in a draw 0-0, and the Spanish team went to Dortmund hoping to score an away goal and fight for a place in the next stage of the tournament. They achieved their goal as early as the 25th minute when Joaquin, after Isco's pass, put the visitors ahead and gave them an advantage in the overall series. Although Robert Lewandowski equalized in the 40th minute, if the match had ended in a draw, due to the away goal rule, the "Malaga" team would have progressed to the next stage. In the beginning of the second half, the Spanish team managed to withstand the opponents' attacks, and in the 82nd minute of the Champions League semi-final dream came even closer when Eliseu scored the second away goal, which meant that the opponents needed to score twice to save themselves in the remaining time. "Malaga" continued to successfully stop the opponents' attacks, and with extra time looming, the fans of the Spanish club were already convinced that their supported team would once again rewrite the team's history. The players of "Borussia" did not want to fulfill the Spaniards' dreams - in the first minute of extra time, Marco Reus gave hope back to the Germans, and "Malaga" conceded the knockout only to Felipe Santana, who turned the game in favour of "Borussia" and left the Spanish team without a place in the Champions League semi-final. Key moments of the incredible match between "Borussia" and "Malaga": With a splendid performance in the biggest matches, scoring 12 goals in 45 matches and providing 5 assists, Isco attracted the attention of the strongest European teams. In the summer, Isco confirmed that he had offers from Real Madrid and Manchester City, coached by former Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini. Just a week after winning the European U-21 Championship with the Spanish national team, Florentino Perez announced that this player became the first signing of the new coach Carlo Ancelotti in Madrid, and €30 million was paid for him. The footballer's debut in the "royal" club was simply fantastic: in the match against "Real Betis," he initially made an assist, and in the 85th minute, he scored the winning goal. He also looked impressive in the second "La Liga" match at home, scoring two goals against "Athletic," and he continued his streak at the "Santiago Bernabeu" stadium by also scoring in the third home match against "Getafe." However, as the season progressed, it became evident that C. Ancelotti's used 4-3-3 tactic was not the most suitable for this Spaniard, and in the most important matches, the footballer was usually left on the bench. Despite not always making it to the starting lineup, he played a total of 53 matches, scoring 11 goals and providing 9 assists. With the Madrid club, Isco continued the journey in Europe that he started with the "Malaga" team and ended another season by winning the Champions League trophies. The next season, "Real" started with two defeats in the first three matches in Spain, and Isco appeared on the field only once from the start. The Spanish national team member stumbled at the end of the year when he helped the team win the FIFA Club World Cup, and his playing style was compared to Zinedine Zidane's by the legendary Frenchman. However, the 2014-2015 season was not as successful for both the club and the player as the previous one: the team remained without titles, and Isco scored 6 goals and provided 14 assists. However, even with plenty of opportunities in the Champions League, the Spaniard did not contribute directly to any of his team's goals. In November 2015, Isco participated in the most disappointing games of his career: with "Real," he had a humiliating defeat at home against "Barcelona" 0-4, and due to his first and only red card in his career, the defender did not finish the match. After this game, the Spaniard lost the trust of then-coach Rafael Benitez, and after the suspension, he was not allowed on the field in three consecutive matches in Spain. The situation changed only when the coach was fired, and his place was taken by the aforementioned Z. Zidane. This immediately brought the talented midfielder back to the starting eleven, and he made an appearance in another Champions League final against "Atletico," where he and his teammates once again won the title of the tournament's champions. At the beginning of the 2016-2017 season, Isco had to be content with the role of a substitute at "Real" club but, with productive play, he earned his place in the starting eleven by the end of the season. In the semi-finals of the Champions League, the player scored an important goal against "Atletico." Finally, with the club, the athlete once again triumphed in the Champions League and won the first title of "La Liga" champions in his career, and the midfielder had the most productive season of his career, scoring 11 goals and making 10 assists. Isco began this season with a brilliant performance in the UEFA Super Cup match, where he scored a goal and was named the best player of the tournament. He remains productive in the "La Liga" championship, where he has already scored three goals and provided as many assists. Having extended his contract with "Real" until 2022, the player made his debut for the Spain national team in 2013, and recently, he has become an increasingly important figure in his national team. He concluded the cycle with the national team by scoring five goals and making two assists in six matches. In 2014, he participated in the World Cup in Brazil with the national team, but there they withdrew after the group stage, and Isco did not get a chance to step onto the field. Most beautiful moments of Isco's play: Isco's career: 2009-2011 "Valencia B" - 52 matches, 16 goals; 2010-2011 "Valencia" - 7 matches, 2 goals; 2011-2013 "Malaga" - 82 matches, 17 goals; 2013- "Real" - 207 matches, 36 goals. Spain national team - 24 matches, 7 goals. The most famous players of this age group (born in 1992-1993), who did not win this title: Neymar, Lucas Moura, Thibaut Courtois, Marco Verratti, Christian Eriksen, Romelu Lukaku, Julian Draxler, Phil Jones, Casemiro, Sadio Mane. In 2012, Neymar had an excellent season in Brazil - in 47 matches he scored 43 goals. Representing his country's national team in friendly matches, he scored 9 times in 12 games, but it was not enough for the "Golden Boy" award. Lucas Moura also had an excellent season in Brazil (60 matches - 16 goals) and at the end of the summer moved to the Paris Saint-Germain club. PSG did not hesitate to pay €45 million for this Brazilian. Although Thibaut Courtois was bought by the "Chelsea" club, the Englishmen decided to loan the goalkeeper to the "Atletico" team. His first season in Spain was great - in 52 matches, the Belgian kept his goal "dry" 24 times, and by the end of the year, he was one of three contenders for the "Golden Boy" title. Marco Verratti continued to spend time in the second Italian league: with the "Pescara" club, he was one of the leaders and made 9 assists in 32 matches. PSG scouts noticed this shining Italian in the "Serie B" championship and paid €12 million for this player, and like Moura, he started his career in France from the next year. Danish national team player Christian Eriksen had a great season in the "Ajax" team in 2011-2012. Safely finishing this campaign with 8 goals and as many as 22 assists. Furthermore, the midfielder was already irreplaceable on his country's national team, where he played more than 10 matches for the third year in a row. Romelu Lukaku started the 2011-2012 season at the "Anderlecht" club, but after just two matches, in which he scored two goals, the player moved to London. "Chelsea" paid €12 million for this player, but the player's first years in England were not successful - in a dozen appearances on the field, he did not score. Julian Draxler played 46 matches for the "Schalke" team in the 2011-2012 season. In these meetings, the talented midfielder scored five goals and provided nine assists. Before the 2011-2012 season, transferred to "Manchester United" for €19.3 million, Phil Jones was decided to be loaned to the club by the Englishman. In the first year in Spain, he played 41 times, scoring his first goal in "Premier" and Champions leagues. Casemiro, now playing for Real, still played in his homeland in 2012. In the Brazil "Sao Paulo" club, he played 50 matches and scored 3 goals while drawing the attention of the "royal" club management with a solid defense game. Senegal's Sadio Mane was almost unknown in European football in 2011-2012. The forward played in the "Metz" team, with which he dropped from the second French league, and the player played 19 matches and scored just one goal.
