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In case you missed it, Matthijs de Ligt was recently announced as the winner of the 2018 Golden Boy award.
The Golden boy is an award that was created in 2003 and given out by journalists of Italian Newspaper outfit TuttoSport to young players who have been deemed to be the most impressive over the last year. The award is handed out yearly and the winner must be under the age of 21 and must play in a major European league.
The 19-year-old de Ligt has been making waves and grabbing headlines since he made his Ajax debut aged just 17 two years ago where he scored on his debut to become the club's second youngest scorer ever behind the legendary Clarence Seedorf. Only nine months later, he became the youngest player ever to start a European club final when he contested the Europa League trophy with Manchester United aged just 17 years and 285 days.
He is highly rated for his ability to read games and excellent tackling, while also being praised for his maturity despite his young age (he was named Ajax captain at the age of 18).
De Ligt was called up to the national team of Holland despite having played only two senior league matches up until that point and became the youngest starter for the Netherlands since 1931.
He has become a mainstay alongside Virgil van Dijk in the Dutch setup and indeed is so highly rated that it is only a matter of time before he leaves Ajax with most of the big clubs in Europe hovering over him, and when he does leave, you can be sure his transfer would most likely be more than the £75m Liverpool paid for the services of his compatriot.
De Ligt is the first defender to win the Golden Boy award and joins a list comprising of 15 other players (among whom are some of the greatest players in history) and if he continues with this trajectory, he would undoubtedly become the best defender in the world.
The winners list in full :
2003 Rafael Van der Vaart
2004 Wayne Rooney
2005 Lionel Messi
2006 Cesc Fabregas
2007 Sergio Aguero
2008 Anderson
2009 Bojan Krkic
2010 Maro Balotelli
2011 Mario Gotze
2012 Isco Alarcon
2013 Paul Pogba
2014 Raheem Sterling
2015 Anthony Martial
2016 Renato Sanches
2017 Kylian Mbappe
2018 Matthijs de Ligt
Since the awards were introduced in 2003, 16 players have won the award. With the globalisation of the game and pressure for instant success, we've seen lots of young players thrust into the limelight prematurely with words like wonderkid, prodigy etc being brandished, and while some players have gone on to fulfil their potential, others haven't. In this piece, we take a look at how past Golden Boy winners have fared upon receiving the award.
2003 - Rafael Van der Vaart
The former Dutch midfielder was the first ever recipient of the award for his spectacular displays as a youngster while at Ajax, drawing comparisons with the great Johan Cryuff.
He had spells with Hamburg and a less fulfilling one with Real Madrid where he made more headlines for his relationship with Dutch supermodel Sylvia Weils than for his limited performances on the field.
He moved on to Tottenham in 2010 and spent two seasons in London before returning to Hamburg in 2012 and spending the next three seasons in the Bundesliga and became something of a journeyman over the next three years before announcing his retirement early in 2018.
He did manage to win 109 caps for the Netherlands and starred in their shock run to the final at the 2010 World Cup.
Verdict - Decent but unspectacular career
2004 - Wayne Rooney
Rooney emerged on the scene as a prodigiously talented teenager with his exploits for Everton getting him widespread acclaim. Manchester United therefore reached a deal worth about £30m (which was then the world record fee paid for a teenager) in 2003 and he went on to cement his legacy as a genuine United icon.
Rooney departed Old Trafford as the club's all-time record goalscorer after winning a plethora of titles, but faced criticism for his performances at major tournaments even though he is also England's record goalscorer.
There are many who believe Rooney did not fulfil the immense potential he showed as a youngster, but that takes nothing away from the spectacular career he had.
Verdict - Legend
2005 - Lionel Messi
Are there any words left to describe the immense career this man has had since his captivating performance at the World Youth Championship (now FIFA U20 World Cup) in 2005?
Verdict - The GOAT?
2006 Cesc Fabregas
A product of the famed La Masia academy, Fabregas was transferred to Arsenal aged just 16 and established himself in the Arsenal lineup for the next seven years, endearing himself to Gunners faithful around the world due to his brilliance with passes.
He returned home to Barcelona but his return did not yield the union sought by both parties and he returned to the Premier League, this time with London giants Chelsea.
Fabregas has won almost all there is to win at club level as well as the international front with Spain and even though he has struggled for playing time of late, Fabregas would surely go down as one of the greatest midfielders to ply his trade in the EPL.
Verdict - Legendary career
2007 Sergio Aguero
Bursting onto the scene as captain of the Argentine team immediately succeeding Lionel Messi's, 'Kun' captained Argentina to the WYC in 2007 and earned a transfer to Atletico Madrid where he became one of the hottest young prospects.
He arrived Manchester City in 2011 and etched his name into City and EPL folklore as he won the 2012 EPL title with the last kick of the season coming off his leg.
Aguero has gone on to establish himself as one of the best strikers in the world and is already City's all-time record goalscorer and arguably the greatest player in the club's history.
Verdict - Legend-in-waiting
2008 Anderson
Another player who made a name for himself at youth level, Anderson was the Golden Ball winner at the 2005 FIFA U17 World Cup as his performances helped Brazil to a second place finish.
He starred with Porto for two seasons and earned a move to Manchester United in 2007. Despite being a regular starter at the onset of his United career, Anderson struggled for gametime as the seasons progressed and found himself totally out of favour following Ferguson's departure.
He made a total of 32 appearances in his last four seasons at Manchester United and this is a far cry from what was expected when he was signed.
He has just eight caps for Brazil, with none coming since 2008 (the year of his Golden Boy win) and currently represents Adana Demirspor (he is just 30) in the Turkish league, which is a disappointing finale to a career which should have been in its prime by now.
Verdict - Flop
2009 Bojan Krkic
The man responsible for breaking Messi's youth team records at Barcelona, a lot was expected from the man dubbed 'The next Raul', but unfortunately Bojan came into prominence at a time when it was virtually impossible to break into the Barcelona attack owing to the huge talent on display.
Pep Guardiola let him go amidst speculations of indiscipline and he spent the next years playing for multiple clubs across different leagues without much impact. He last played for Alaves on a loan deal in 2017/2018 but the deal was not made permanent.
Verdict - Flop
2010 Mario Balotelli
The quintessential definition of a problem child, Balotelli has courted more attention for his off-field antics than for his performances on the field. From setting his house on fire with Christmas fire crackers, to visiting an all female prison just to see what it looked like, to his eccentric 'why always me' celebration, Balotelli's career has been that of one piece of drama after another.
He has had numerous spells with some of Europe's biggest clubs including Manchester City, Liverpool, AC Milan and Inter Milan but he failed to make the most of it.
He is currently playing for OGC Nice in the French league and seems to have lost his flair for the dramatic, instead focusing on his football career, and his career has been resuscitated enough to warrant a call up to the national team after a four year absence.
Verdict - Unfulfilled Potential
2011 Mario Gotze
On the back of his stellar performances at the heart of midfield of Klopp's all conquering Dortmund side which won shock back-to-back Bundesliga titles, Gotze was named Golden Boy of 2011.
An ill-advised transfer to Bayern Munich halted his progress as he struggled for gametime but he has enjoyed a new lease of life since returning to BVB. He would forever be immortalised as the man who scored the extra time goal to hand Germany their fourth world title at the 2014 World Cup. He was, however, left out of the squad four years later, as the world champions crashed out of the group stage in Russia.
Verdict - Unfulfilled potential due to Bayern debacle but could revive his career
2012 Isco
Isco was named the Golden Boy in 2012 off the back of his exploits with Malaga and this earned him a move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2013 for a fee believed to be in the region of €30m.
With Los Blancos, Isco has starred, helping the club win four UCL titles, including three consecutively, but has constantly struggled for gametime and is reportedly at loggerheads with head coach Santi Solari, with reports indicating that he is unsettled at Real Madrid with him being a constant target of jeers and boos from the Bernabeu crowd.
Verdict - Having been on his way to greatness, Isco is currently experiencing a lull in his career
2013 Paul Pogba
After making his name at Juventus, Paul Pogba was re-signed by Manchester United in the summer of 2016 for a then world record fee and it was believed that the Frenchman would be the on field leader to take the club back to its previous heights.
However, two-and-half years down the line, it is still yet to fall in line for Pogba as he has faced criticisms for his inconsistency and showboating.
He has fallen out of favour with Jose Mourinho and Pogba currently finds himself out of the starting lineup with reports emanating that he is on his way out of Old Trafford.
Pogba is no doubt a decent player (his performances in France's World Cup win as well as his displays for Juventus which saw him voted into the FIFPro XI for 2015) are proof of this and it is a shame that he is undergoing his current travails.
Verdict - Might need to leave Manchester United to fulfil his potential
2014 Raheem Sterling
Part of the triumvirate alongside Sturridge and Suarez that fired Liverpool ever so close to the EPL title in 2014, Sterling earned himself a transfer to Manchester City off the back of his exploits.
Pacy and with quick acceleration, Sterling blew hot and cold at Manchester City, with many believing he was not worth the hype.
Sterling was the archetypal English winger who had plenty of speed but fell short in technique, with his decision making in the final third very questionable and it was believed that he would not cope under Pep Guardiola.
However, the Catalan has taken him under his wing and has refined Sterling into a cornerstone in his all conquering side.
Verdict - On his way to greatness
2015 Anthony Martial
The 2015 Golden Boy transferred from Monaco to Manchester United and made an instant mark, scoring a wonder goal in his debut match against none other than Liverpool.
After the departure of Louis Van Gaal, Martial's place in the team wasn't guaranteed anymore, and he faced loads of criticisms from Jose Mourinho.
Having fallen out of favour with his manager cost him a place in the French World Cup winning squad, but Martial has seen his contributions improve massively in recent weeks and is currently Manchester United's highest goalscorer this season.
Verdict - Might have to play under another manager to fulfil his potential
2016 Renato Sanches
After impressing with Benfica in the Portuguese league, Renato Sanchez also starred in Portugal's unlikely EURO 2016 triumph and his displays were deemed worthy enough for him to be named the Golden Boy in 2016.
Sanches earned a transfer to German giants Bayern Munich, but it did not pan out to plan as he struggled for gametime and got a loan move to Swansea less than a year later.
In the EPL with Swansea, Sanches was atrocious and had one of the worst debuts in PL history as he struggled to complete even the most basic of passes, with the highlight being when he passed the ball straight into the billboard in a match against Chelsea which earned him a substitution at half-time.
His spell at Swansea was underwhelming and he was powerless to stop the Swans' relegation, failing to score a single goal in 12 matches.
Sanches returned to Bayern at the end of his loan spell and is slowly reintegrating into the team, being voted the club's player of the month in September.
Verdict - Could potentially get his career back on track after derailing it in the last few seasons
2017 Kylian Mbappe
Since making his professional debut in 2015 at the tender age of 16, Mbappe has had a career in just three years that many can only dream of.
He burst onto the scene with a starring role in Monaco's fairytale season in 2017 where they won the French league and made it to the semifinals of the UCL with Mbappe breaking a host of records along the way.
Since then he has become the second most expensive player in history, been named the Golden Boy, outperformed none other then Lionel Messi on the grandest stage of all, become the first teenager since Pele to score in a World Cup final, been voted into the FIFPro XI, nominated for the Ballon d'Or, won the inaugural Kopa trophy and become established as a global superstar. All this before he has even turned 20.
Very few players in history can claim to have made such an explosive start as youngsters - Pele himself, Ronaldo de Lima and Lionel Messi among them and if Kylian Mbappe should continue with this trajectory, he would undoubtedly reach the heights achieved by these icons.
Verdict - Surely on his way to becoming an all-time great
2018 Matthijs de Ligt
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