In the world of football, there is constant talk about the most talented and promising 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" prize, which is open to all players aged 20 or younger.
But do all the winners of this award become the brightest football stars in the world? As the announcement of the 2017 "Golden Boy" winner approaches, Eurofootball.com decided to investigate how the careers of all the players who have won this award have developed and which famous players were competing at that time, who were unable to win this title.
The second part of this article – tomorrow.
2003: Rafael van der Vaart
Team at the time: "Ajax"
Current team: "FC Midtjylland"
Rafael van der Vaart announced his exceptional talent long before he was awarded this prize. He made his debut in the main "Ajax" team back in 2000, when he was only 17 years old, and just a year later he was invited to represent his country's national team.
In the 2002-2003 season, the Dutch player played only 21 matches due to injury, but even in those matches, he scored 18 goals for the "Ajax" team. Despite not having a very successful start to the next season, winning the "Golden Boy" award did not prevent him from feeling firmly established, even in the Dutch national team, where he scored three goals in 10 games.
Despite interest from bigger clubs, R. van der Vaart remained with "Ajax" and in the 2003-2004 season, he received some criticism for gaining weight and paying more attention to partying and celebrity status than playing. After an unsuccessful season, the then team coach Ronald Koeman decided to appoint him as captain, hoping this would help the player regain his form.
However, Koeman regretted this decision very quickly. In an international match between the Swedish and Dutch national teams in August, R. van der Vaart's teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic injured the Dutchman, who publicly accused Z. Ibrahimovic of intentionally injuring him, leading to a conflict among the players and Zlatan leaving "Ajax" for "Juventus" unexpectedly.
The incident where Z. Ibrahimovic injures R. van der Vaart:
The struggles of the Dutch player within "Ajax" did not end – after selling Z. Ibrahimovic, R. van der Vaart had to fill the gaps in the forward position. Due to playing out of his natural position, the player expressed dissatisfaction, and in December, before the Champions League match, he refused to play out of position, leading to Koeman admitting his mistake and removing the captain's armband from him.
Ultimately, it was no surprise that after such a season, "Ajax" decided to sell their star player. Although by the summer of 2005, the player was no longer the most attractive commodity on the football market, he was strongly linked to a move to the "Milan" club. However, to everyone's surprise, that summer the player chose Germany and moved to the "Hamburger" team for a sum of 5.5 million euros.
In Germany, R. van der Vaart quickly proved his class – scoring goals from the beginning of the season, he became the top scorer for the "Hamburger" team and helped the team finish third in the Bundesliga. Although the following season was not as successful for both the player and the team, in the summer of 2007, the defender was lured by the Madrid "Real" club.
However, this time the player decided to reject the offer from the famous club. "I will stay in Hamburg for another season. After all, here we have a team with which we can achieve something," the Dutchman said at the time.
Despite the team's struggles on the field, as they finished fourth in Germany, and interest from "Chelsea" and "Valencia" clubs that winter, R. van der Vaart kept his promise and stayed with the team until the end of the season. However, the player refused to renew his contract with the team, and it became clear to everyone that the next season, the Dutchman would no longer be in the "Hamburger" team.
Before the end of the 2007-2008 season, "Atletico" and "Juventus" teams actively demonstrated their interest in the defender. The Madrid club even offered a 15 million euro bid, which the "Hamburger" team rejected. However, in the end, R. van der Vaart moved to the Spanish capital, but to the rivals of "Atletico" – the "Real" camp. "Hamburger" did not benefit from not selling the player to "Atletico," and had to settle for a lower buyout price – "Real" paid 13 million euros for the footballer.
At the Madrid club, the Dutch national team player showed his ability from the very beginning. Just 4 days after moving to the club, he scored a goal and provided an assist in a friendly match. Van der Vaart also made a successful debut in the "La Liga" championship, scoring a goal against Numancia in his first match in the Spanish league. In September, the player scored his first career hat-trick, and his performance led to his nomination for the prestigious "Ballon d'Or" award. As expected, the player did not win this trophy, and even such a nomination did not convince the then Real coach Juande Ramos, who usually allowed the defender to play only after substitutions.
In the summer of 2009, there were rumors that the Dutchman was not satisfied with his role in the team, and English Premier League giants – Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool – were interested in the player. The new coach of Real, Manuel Pellegrini, did not see a place for the player in the team and even took away the number 23 shirt from the player and gave it to Esteban Granero. However, the team coach and the player eventually found common ground, and the player was even given back his favorite shirt number, with E. Granero giving up the number 24 shirt.
Although M. Pellegrini did not include the defender in the starting lineup for the first four matches, injuries to other players provided R. van der Vaart with the opportunity to play in the first team. During the season, the Dutchman scored seven goals, and at the end of it, he expressed his desire to stay in the team until the end of his contract.
Highlights of Rafael van der Vaart's game at Tottenham Hotspur:
The Real club did not allow the player to fulfill his wishes – by all means, they tried to sell the player. On the day before the transfer window closed, the Madrid club failed to successfully complete an £18 million transfer, after which the defender would have moved to the Bayern club. These unsuccessful negotiations caused a minor panic in the Real club on the last day of the transfer window, which was perfectly exploited by the Tottenham Hotspur club. Just a few hours before the deadline, "Spurs" submitted an £8 million offer for the player, and the Real team, who wanted to sell the player by any means, had no choice but to accept this English offer. However, this action could have ended unsuccessfully for the Tottenham club – due to computer problems, the necessary documents did not reach the Premier League headquarters on time, and the club did not have time to register the newcomer for the competition. Nevertheless, Tottenham Hotspur turned to the Premier League authorities asking for a special exception, and based on the fact that the deal was delayed due to "technical problems," they decided to register the player the next day when the transfer window was already closed.
Despite the disappointing end of his career with Real club, the player later admitted in the press that his performance in Spain was not unsuccessful, and he went to England only to prove his worth in another country. After starting to play for Tottenham Hotspur, R. van der Vaart once again demonstrated his mastery from the beginning of the season in the Premier League. The defender was named the best player of the Premier League in October and had a very successful season, with the indicators of being the best in his team.
The next season, R. van der Vaart started brilliantly – in the first five matches, he scored six goals and set a record for scoring five consecutive matches in the Premier League. However, he could not maintain this form throughout the season and found himself in a situation similar to that in Spain. Despite rumors of interest from Germany, the player once again expressed his desire to stay in the team, but the Tottenham club strengthened the defensive line with several new players, showing the Dutchman that he was no longer needed in this club.
At the end of the summer of 2012, R. van der Vaart decided to return to his former team – "Hamburger". Although the club had great hopes for the player and paid £13 million for him, he failed to become the leader of the team. Although at times the player reminded "Hamburger" fans of his talents by scoring great goals, the Dutchman still could not become a star in Germany, and eventually the German team decided to say goodbye to him by not extending his contract.
Five most beautiful goals of R. van der Vaart in Germany:
Without a contract, the player was offered a contract by "Real Betis", a team that had risen to "La Liga". However, in this team, R. van der Vaart was just a statistician – he played only 7 matches, in which he did not score a single goal. After an unsuccessful season, the veteran did not receive the chance to continue playing at the highest level, and he decided to continue his career in Denmark. However, in the "Midtjylland" team, he did not show the same level of play as he did in the top European leagues – last season, the Dutchman scored only two goals, and in this season, he started the year on the substitutes' bench.
In the Dutch national team, R. van der Vaart played more than 100 matches and scored 25 goals. Although he participated in three European Championships and two World Cups with his national team, during the major tournaments, the player often had to settle for a substitute role. Together with the national team, the defender won silver medals at the 2010 World Cup.
Rafael van der Vaart's career:
2000-2005 "Ajax" – 117 matches, 52 goals;
2005-2008 "Hamburger" – 74 matches, 30 goals;
2008-2010 "Real" – 58 matches, 11 goals;
2010-2012 "Tottenham Hotspur" – 63 matches, 24 goals;
2012-2015 "Hamburger" – 78 matches, 16 goals;
2015-2016 "Real Betis" – 7 matches;
2016- "FC Midtjylland" – 15 matches, 2 goals;
Dutch national team – 109 matches, 25 goals.
Most famous players in this age group (born in 1983-1984) who did not win this title:
Philipp Lahm, Daniele De Rossi, Yaya Toure, Franck Ribery, Robin van Persie, Javier Mascherano, Giorgio Chiellini, Andres Iniesta, Arjen Robben, Fernando Torres.
Although there are many players in this age group who achieved more in European football during their careers than R. van der Vaart, in 2003, most of them were just taking their first steps in the top-level football championships, and only a few players realistically competed for trophies.
One of the most serious candidates to take away the 2003 "Golden Boy" title from R. van der Vaart was Fernando Torres. The Spaniard was not only a scorer in the Spanish league representing the "Atletico" club at the time but had also made his debut in the Spanish national team.
The title was also contested by Arjen Robben, who, like his compatriot who won the title, played in the Netherlands, in the ranks of PSV. Although PSV outperformed "Ajax" in the country's championships, and A. Robben was already a significant figure in the team, his country's national team still did not give him as many opportunities as his teammate who won the "Golden Boy" title. Another Dutchman – Robin van Persie, was already playing for the "Feyenoord" club at the time but did not score as many goals, and he only received a call-up to the national team a few years later.
Several members of this list in 2003 already belonged to famous clubs, but they did not play a significant role in them. Daniele De Rossi had already started his career at the "Roma" club, but at that time, he mostly sat on the bench for the team. Philipp Lahm had just debuted in the Bundesliga when Bayern loaned him to the Stuttgart team. Meanwhile, Andres Iniesta had just taken his first steps in the main Barcelona team at that time.
On the other hand, the careers of other players did not seem promising at that time. Giorgio Chiellini was still playing in the Serie B league, Javier Mascherano had just started his professional career in Argentina, and Yaya Toure was playing in the lesser-known Belgian "Beveren" club.
Franck Ribery's prospects for shining in the football world at that time looked even more doubtful – the player was competing in the third-tier French league at the time.
