In the football world, there is constant talk about the most talented and promising football players 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, for which all football players aged 20 or younger can compete.
However, did all the players who received this award end up becoming the brightest stars of world football? After announcing the winner of the 2017 "Golden Boy" award, Eurofootball.com decided to look into the careers of all the players who won this award and the most famous players who failed to win this title.
Previous articles included:
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, 2012 - Isco, 2013 - P. Pogba, 2014 - R. Sterling.
2015: Anthony Martial
Previous Club: "Manchester United"
Current Club: "Manchester United"
Born in a small town, Anthony Martial began his football training at the "CO Les Ulis" youth academy, where he took his first steps alongside French football stars like Thierry Henry and Patrice Evra. The latter not only began his career there but also closely followed the progress of the young compatriot, and when the player was 12 years old, he gifted him his branded boots.
In the same year, the French footballer's career could have taken a completely different direction - the striker participated in a trial for "Manchester City," but after it, he returned to France. However, he did not have to wait long for joining a much stronger team - within two years, he was called to the "Olympique Lyon" team.
In his second year at this club, he dominated in the French Under-17 youth championship and scored 32 goals in 21 matches, earning a call-up to the senior youth national team, and the national team coaches also started closely monitoring his progress.
On his 17th birthday, he had the opportunity to appear in the main "Lyon" team, where in a Europa League match against the team "Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona," A. Martial stepped onto the field. At the end of the season, the team included him in the squad three times and put him on the field in the highest French league championship, and the progress of the player started to be closely followed by several European teams.
In the summer of 2013, "Lyon" could not resist the temptation to sell this player, and the battle for the player's signature was won by the "Monaco" team, which paid 5 million euros for the 17-year-old striker. This team paid great attention to young talents, and he got his first opportunity in the new team in the November match against "Nantes." After making good use of the half hour he received on the field, he was already in the starting lineup for "Monaco" the following week, and in the 44th minute, he scored his first goal in the French championship.
All A. Martial's goals at "Monaco" team:
After a successful start in the new team, he continued to be part of the team's starting lineup, but his season was overshadowed by an injury suffered in January, after which he was unable to regain his place in the starting lineup. He managed to play 15 matches during the season, in which he scored two goals and made one assist.
The following season, A. Martial started mostly starting from the bench, but as the season approached its end, he appeared more and more in the starting lineup, and in the months of March-May, he had the most productive period of his career. In the "Ligue 1" championship, in nine matches, he scored eight goals and made one assist. The player also contributed to the team's excellent performance in the Champions League, where "Monaco" reached the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals against "Arsenal," the Frenchman made an assist for Dimitar Berbatov's goal.
In the next season, the striker started by scoring his first goal in the Champions League, and on September 1, he unexpectedly became one of the biggest heroes of that summer's transfer window. A. Martial, costing "Manchester United" a whopping 60 million euros, became the most expensive teenage footballer ever acquired. Such a large transfer surprised not only football fans - the player's acquisition amount was termed "absurd" by then-coach Louis van Gaal.
While the football world continued to marvel at the huge transfer fee, A. Martial proved that he was not acquired in vain: in his debut match for "Manchester United," he scored a goal against "Liverpool." In his second match, he scored two goals against "Southampton," and soon he delighted the team's fans with goals in the Champions League and English League Cup matches. The footballer was praised by "United" legend Alex Ferguson, who said that the player could do anything on the field.
A. Martial's excellent debut at "Manchester United" club:
Continuing to show good form, the Frenchman was soon rewarded with a personal prize - he was named the best player of the month in the Premier League in September and became the third youngest player to win this award. Soon after, he also became the winner of the "Golden Boy" award in 2015.
He did not finish the season as successfully, however, with 17 goals and 9 assists, he was the most productive player of the "Red Devils" season. However, the season was not ideal for the team - they finished fifth in the Premier League, and they were eliminated from the Champions League after the group stage. The only tournament where "United" did not receive any criticism was the FA Cup, in which the Manchester club won the champion's title.
In the next season, A. Martial started playing in the starting lineup of "Man United," but soon, after several unsuccessful matches, he lost the trust of the new coach Jose Mourinho. Speaking about the decline in the quality of the Frenchman's play, the team representatives emphasized that it was related to the player's personal life problems. Rumors began spreading in the summer that the striker would leave the "Manchester United" club, and A. Martial quickly reacted to this.
"Newspapers are wrong, do not believe them," the Frenchman denied the rumors on his Twitter account.
His second season was not as successful (8 goals and 8 assists), but with the team, he managed to win two more titles - the Europa League and the English League Cup trophies.
In the summer, the player represented the French national team, which finished second at the European Championship, and he started this season by becoming one of the best bench players in the Premier League: rising from the bench this season, the player already scored four goals and made two assists. Once again, the striker stood out by appearing in the starting lineup, but during the start of this season, he spent only 90 minutes on the field once - in an English Cup match against the lower division team "Burton Albion."
A. Martial found himself in a similar situation in the French national team, where he made his debut in 2015. The player rarely enters the starting lineup of his country's national team, and after last year's European championship, A. Martial was not called up to his country's national team for a whole year, and he only managed to return to it last month.
Most Beautiful Moments of A. Martial's Gameplay:
Anthony Martial's career:
2009-2013 "Lyon" - 4 matches;
2013-2015 "Monaco" - 70 matches, 15 goals.
2015- "Manchester United" - 108 matches, 32 goals.
French national team - 17 matches, 1 goal.
Most famous players of this age group (born in 1995-1996) who did not win this title:
Dele Alli, Hector Bellerin, Kelechi Iheanacho, Marco Asensio, Sandro Ramirez, Kingsley Coman, Adrien Rabiot, Adama Traore, Angel Correa, Adnan Januzaj.
