In the football world, there is constant talk about the most talented and promising footballers who should 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 contested by all footballers aged 20 or younger. But did all the players who received this award become the brightest football stars in the world? As the announcement of the 2017 "Golden Boy" winner approaches, Eurofootball.com decided to look into how the careers of all the players who have won this award have unfolded and which famous players were competing at the 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. The rest of this article - next week. 2009: Alexandre Pato Former team: Milan Current team: Tianjin Quanjian In 2009, the "Golden Boy" award went to the Brazilian striker Alexandre Pato for the second consecutive year. A. Pato's career in Brazil started impressively. At just 16 years old, he became the top scorer in the youth team of Internacional up to the age of 20 in his first year. The young player's talent was noticed by the senior team coaches, who allowed him to debut in the Brazilian championship at the end of 2006. The footballer's debut exceeded all expectations: in the first minute of the match, he scored a goal against Palmeiras. Not only that, A. Pato continued his fantastic debut by providing two assists, and after the team's 4-1 victory, a new football star was born in Brazil. A. Pato's debut match with Internacional against Palmeiras: At the end of the year, Internacional took the young talent to the FIFA Club World Cup tournament, where the striker had the opportunity to play from the first minutes of the semi-final against Al-Ahly. Once again, the debutant did not disappoint - a goal in the 23rd minute allowed him to break the record set by Pele and become the youngest player to score a goal in FIFA-organized tournaments. In the following year, the striker did not slow down. He managed to score in his debut in the state championships of Brazil, and in February he successfully debuted in the Copa Libertadores tournament, scoring another goal in his debut match. A. Pato ended the year with another strong and memorable performance - he stood out in both matches against Pachuca from Mexico in the Recopa Sudamericana tournament and helped Internacional win their first ever trophy. It's no wonder that after such a season, the striker was sought after by several European teams, and many were willing to pay a huge sum for the teenager who had not yet reached legal age. The fight for A. Pato was won by the Milan team. However, even though he moved to Italy for around 24 million euros on August 2, 2007, due to FIFA regulations, the Brazilian could not be registered for the senior team, and he had to wait until the next transfer window to make his debut, by which time he would be 18. Nevertheless, the player was able to help the club in friendly matches, and in his first control match against Dynamo, he scored his first goal for Milan. In January, Milan finally had the opportunity to register their talent, and he got his first chance to play an official match in Europe on January 13, 2008. A. Pato didn't intend to change his habits in a new country either - in his debut match against Napoli, he scored the team's fifth goal, helping Milan secure an impressive 5-2 victory. The active Brazilian did not fail to receive praise from the Italian press. A. Pato's playing episodes while debuting for the Milan team against Napoli: He finished the first six months in Italy by scoring 9 goals in 20 matches. His performance in Europe quickly caught the eye of his homeland, and after the season, the Brazilian national team coaches decided to include him in the list of invited players for a friendly match against Sweden. On the field, the then coach of the Brazilian national team Dunga let the Milan forward play the 58th minute, and it took him just 14 minutes to impress the London match spectators. After an opposing goalkeeper's mistake, he scored the only winning goal with a superb long-range shot, extending his incredible run of successful debuts. A. Pato's goal while debuting in the Brazilian national team: In the 2008-2009 season, A. Pato was already a solid part of the Milan first team. Playing 42 matches and scoring 18 goals in a year without much competition, he also won the Golden Boy award. The following season, the Brazilian started by scoring two goals in the first Serie A rounds, but after scoring 7 times in the first 16 matches, he suffered an injury that forced him to miss almost two months. Returning to the field, he seemed in even better shape than before the injury, scoring five goals in four matches, but he suffered another setback - a strained tendon injury. Although he tried to return to the field after a couple of weeks, just 16 minutes into his comeback, his injury recurred, and he had to miss the rest of the season. Throughout the 2009-2010 season, he played 30 matches and scored 14 goals. In the summer of 2009, A. Pato married Brazilian actress Sthefany Brito, but shortly after the season, the couple divorced. The reason for the breakup, just 10 months into the marriage, was reportedly the player's constant presence at parties, where he had fun with another Brazilian football star, Ronaldinho. Later, it was said that the player's participation in parties also led to A. Pato not being invited to the national team to compete in the World Cup. In the 2010-2011 season, the athlete once again started by scoring two goals, but he ended up in the medics' hands after just two Serie A matches - this time due to a torn muscle. He had to miss almost a month without football. After returning to the field, he seemed in even better form than before the injury, scoring five times in the first four matches, but once again, he was taken out of the squad due to another injury - this time, he injured his thigh. Although he tried to return to the field after a couple of weeks, his injury recurred after just 16 minutes, and he needed surgery, missing the rest of the season. Throughout the 2009-2010 season, he played 30 matches and scored 14 goals. After the surgery, once the next season started, the player appeared in just 7 matches in half a year, scoring two goals, and the injuries that haunted him did not disappear. Eventually, Milan managed to strike a deal with the Corinthians team, which was not afraid to let go of the injured player for 15 million euros. The player did not hesitate to return to his homeland and hoped that he could recover from the problems that had plagued him and regain his level of play. In Brazil, in his first match, fans could see that A. Pato's debuts are always memorable. He scored his first goal for Corinthians in his first touch of the ball. However, after just a couple of months, his debut was quickly forgotten, and after a few more months, the team's fans started criticizing him. He ended the season without any injuries, but the fans' dissatisfaction with 17 goals scored in 57 matches was not enough for the team's managers, who hoped that the player would become a much brighter leader for Corinthians. After just one season, A. Pato became unnecessary for the Corinthians team. The team even agreed to pay half of the player's wages when he was loaned to the Sao Paulo club. Although he was unable to score in his first match for the team in 19 minutes and ended his impressive streak of debuts, A. Pato scored his second goal in the second game when he first appeared in the starting lineup for Sao Paulo. After a year, during which the Brazilian player scored 12 goals in 39 matches, Corinthians hoped to receive offers to sell the player, but he did not attract any interest. Regardless, even though no offers were made for the player's signing, Corinthians decided to lend him again - this time, he was lent to the same Sao Paulo team for a year. The second season in this team was much better for the Brazilian, and he scored 26 times in 59 matches. After such a season, Corinthians had no doubt that they would receive offers to sell the player, and they only had to choose which team to sell the player to. Despite this, no one rushed to pay large sums of money for A. Pato. Eventually, as the winter transfer window drew to a close, Corinthians reached an agreement with Chelsea, and the player went there to finish the season on another loan deal. Although the player called this transfer a dream come true and debuted for the "Blues" just two months later, scoring in his first match, which he earned himself. However, he played his last match of the season then, and after six months, the English club decided not to exercise their option to buy the player. In the summer of 2016, Corinthians relented and reduced their asking price for the player. The striker was acquired by the Villarreal club, which was not willing to splurge on him and paid just three million euros for the Brazilian. A. Pato reminded everyone of the magic of his debut matches once again, as he made his debut in the team and scored in this team as well, but he only scored another five times during the rest of the year. In the winter of 2017, just six months after A. Pato's acquisition, Villarreal executives could consider this transfer very successful. Although the player did not stand out on the field, selling him to China in January paid off, and Villarreal received six times more than they paid for him - 18 million euros. Moving to the TJ Quanjian club in China, A. Pato scored 16 times in 25 matches that season, and with this team, he is competing for the third place in the Super League this year. Having debuted early in the Brazilian national team, A. Pato never became a solid player in that team's main lineup. After playing 27 matches and scoring 10 goals overall, he won the FIFA Confederations Cup trophies with the national team in 2009. He was last called up to the national team in 2013. The most beautiful moments of A. Pato's career: Alexandre Pato's career: 2006-2007 Internacional - 27 matches, 12 goals; 2007-2012 Milan - 150 matches, 63 goals; 2013-2016 Corinthians - 62 matches, 17 goals; 2014-2015 Sao Paulo - 98 matches, 38 goals; 2016 Chelsea - 2 matches, 1 goal; 2016-2017 Villarreal - 24 matches, 6 goals; 2017- Tianjin Quanjian - 25 matches, 16 goals. Brazil national team - 27 matches, 10 goals. The most famous players of this age group (1989-1990 birth year) who did not win this title: Gareth Bale, Marco Reus, Jordi Alba, Thomas Muller, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, David de Gea, Andre Schurrle, Miralem Pjanic, Toni Kroos, Henrikh Mkhitaryan. 2008-2009 season: Gareth Bale received more opportunities with the Tottenham Hotspur team - he played 30 matches in a year. However, he struggled to reveal his potential in the attack, not scoring a single goal during the season, and managed to assist his teammates only three times. Miralem Pjanic was already one of the most famous players of his generation. After successful games in the Ligue 1 championship with Metz, he moved to the Lyon team in July 2008 for a fee of 7.5 million euros. He mostly made appearances as a substitute in the team, and in the 2008-2009 season, he provided three assists in 24 matches. By 2009, no one doubted Toni Kroos's talent. After debuting in the Bayern team, he played 20 matches in the 2007-2008 season. However, in January 2009, the Bavarian representatives decided that the footballer needed more playing practice, and he was loaned to the Bayer team. Throughout the 2008-2009 season, he played 22 matches, scoring two goals and providing as many assists. Marco Reus made a big step in his career at the time. After performing well in the Bayern reserve team, which competed in the third division of the German league (32 matches - 15 goals), he caught the eye of the senior team coaches. In total, they provided the young talent with five opportunities to step onto the field, and once he scored his first goal for Bayern against Sporting in the Champions League. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang belonged to the Milan team at the time, but the opportunities in the squad did not allow the talented young striker to establish himself in the team. In the 2008-2009 season, he was loaned to the Dijon team, which competed in the Ligue 2 championship. Throughout the season, he played 39 matches and scored 10 goals. David De Gea was still in Madrid, where he started his football career at the Atletico academy. In 2008-2009, he belonged to the Atletico B team, which played in the third division of the Spanish league, and in 35 games, he left a good impression, so he was included in the main Atletico team's lineup in the summer of 2009. Andre Schurrle had not yet played any matches in men's football by then. With the Maiz youth team under-19, he won the Bundesliga Youth Championship. By the way, the now well-known German strategist Thomas Tuchel was the coach of this youth team. Schurrle made his professional debut in German football in August 2009, and his first matches in the Bundesliga were where he quickly established himself. Henrik Mkhitaryan began 2009 in Armenia - with the Pyunik team. Even though he had been in his national team's squad for years, after half a season in the Armenian championship, where he scored 11 goals in 10 matches, the midfielder moved to Ukraine. The young Armenian was acquired by Donetsk's Metalurh for 350,000 euros.
