the boys of summer.
While the World Cup is a religious experience, and the Copa America and European Championship are grails in their own right, my favorite football competition is still the U-20 World Youth Championship. It's the tournament that made me into a football fan. I was devoted to the 2001 competition, and I've followed it ever since. It's a carnival of youth, where potential and talent collide. This year is the threshold: I turn 21 this summer, making me older than these boys for the first time, but that's what makes the 2005 and 2007 groups even dearer to me. They're truly my generation, and they're the footballers I will grow old with.
Most of them won't make it onto the world stage; after all, bodies change, priorities change, the pressure increases, and motivation might suffer as a result. Aside from Messi, Gago, and Ustari, hardly any of the starting line up for the 2005 Argies have made a splash on the world map. Some have gotten advantageous transfers as a result (Zabaleta, Biglia, Paletta, Garay), but a good bulk of that team is still chugging away in the Primera. Oberman signed for River Plate but hardly impressed during his time here. Neri Cardozo has made regular appearances for Boca, but can't be called a star by any stretch of the imagination. Barroso (one of the best players on the U-20 team, in my opinion) hasn't even cracked the starting lineup. For a youth system that can boast some of the world's best players, it's kind of a sad truth, although we can't place the blame on the quality of the players. Maybe 1997 and 2001 were the miracle years, but I have to believe there will be more in the future.
And the future, they say, starts now, with this bunch. They may not be well known, but I think the lack of a superstar (Aguero does not yet count, in my humblest of opinions) can only make the team work more tirelessly, play more seamlessly. From the FIFA.com highlights, it looks like the mini-Argies played really well yesterday, but were simply unable to score against Radek, the Czech keeper. Morales and Zarate featured heavily in the highlights, so hopefully the actual game download will tell me more good things.
Although I am obviously heavily invested in the Argies, the competition is a really good opportunity to scope out the best rising talent from other parts of the world. The Japanese team looks like a real threat so far, quick and dynamic, and I hope an Asian team does get through to the latter rounds this year. Chile, as well, looks good, although their Canadian hosts (bless the home team) never really stood a chance.
I also got to watch the Spain vs Uruguay match tonight, and it was thrilling. Uruguay's coach, Gustavo Ferrin, is basically the Jose Pekerman of Uruguayan football, specializing in youth teams, and his team played with a real incisiveness that impressed me. On the other hand, I'm familiar with several members of the Spanish team (Barragan! Pique! Marcos Garcia!), so I did want them to win.
They went down 2-0 early in the second half due to a couple of fantastic set-ups from the Uruguayan attack. The Spanish coach then made some really astute substitutions; the introduction of Sunny, an all-around midfielder, really turned the game around, especially after Uruguay made a couple of defensive substitutions. In the 71st minute, Barragan chipped a cross into the box, and Adrian Lopez -- his teammate at Deportivo -- headed it in past the onrushing keeper. (Who was gorgeous, but also really bad at coming out for crosses. Go figure.)
In the first minute of stoppage time, Pique scored the tying goal, but was called back for a handball. Then this kid, Capel, who'd been running tirelessly into the Uruguay defense for the entire game, chipped the keeper from the right wing (after a few unsuccessful attempts earlier in the game, natch) in the third minute of stoppage time. Capel, who is from the Sevilla system, plays like some screwball combination of Vico and Messi, which is incredibly entertaining yet often frustrating as well. But him and Mata (who was apparently signed by Valencia not too long ago, huh) were great playing down the wings, and the superb matchup between the two teams definitely produced the most exciting match I've watched in a long time, youth or no.
Most of them won't make it onto the world stage; after all, bodies change, priorities change, the pressure increases, and motivation might suffer as a result. Aside from Messi, Gago, and Ustari, hardly any of the starting line up for the 2005 Argies have made a splash on the world map. Some have gotten advantageous transfers as a result (Zabaleta, Biglia, Paletta, Garay), but a good bulk of that team is still chugging away in the Primera. Oberman signed for River Plate but hardly impressed during his time here. Neri Cardozo has made regular appearances for Boca, but can't be called a star by any stretch of the imagination. Barroso (one of the best players on the U-20 team, in my opinion) hasn't even cracked the starting lineup. For a youth system that can boast some of the world's best players, it's kind of a sad truth, although we can't place the blame on the quality of the players. Maybe 1997 and 2001 were the miracle years, but I have to believe there will be more in the future.
And the future, they say, starts now, with this bunch. They may not be well known, but I think the lack of a superstar (Aguero does not yet count, in my humblest of opinions) can only make the team work more tirelessly, play more seamlessly. From the FIFA.com highlights, it looks like the mini-Argies played really well yesterday, but were simply unable to score against Radek, the Czech keeper. Morales and Zarate featured heavily in the highlights, so hopefully the actual game download will tell me more good things.
Although I am obviously heavily invested in the Argies, the competition is a really good opportunity to scope out the best rising talent from other parts of the world. The Japanese team looks like a real threat so far, quick and dynamic, and I hope an Asian team does get through to the latter rounds this year. Chile, as well, looks good, although their Canadian hosts (bless the home team) never really stood a chance.
I also got to watch the Spain vs Uruguay match tonight, and it was thrilling. Uruguay's coach, Gustavo Ferrin, is basically the Jose Pekerman of Uruguayan football, specializing in youth teams, and his team played with a real incisiveness that impressed me. On the other hand, I'm familiar with several members of the Spanish team (Barragan! Pique! Marcos Garcia!), so I did want them to win.
They went down 2-0 early in the second half due to a couple of fantastic set-ups from the Uruguayan attack. The Spanish coach then made some really astute substitutions; the introduction of Sunny, an all-around midfielder, really turned the game around, especially after Uruguay made a couple of defensive substitutions. In the 71st minute, Barragan chipped a cross into the box, and Adrian Lopez -- his teammate at Deportivo -- headed it in past the onrushing keeper. (Who was gorgeous, but also really bad at coming out for crosses. Go figure.)
In the first minute of stoppage time, Pique scored the tying goal, but was called back for a handball. Then this kid, Capel, who'd been running tirelessly into the Uruguay defense for the entire game, chipped the keeper from the right wing (after a few unsuccessful attempts earlier in the game, natch) in the third minute of stoppage time. Capel, who is from the Sevilla system, plays like some screwball combination of Vico and Messi, which is incredibly entertaining yet often frustrating as well. But him and Mata (who was apparently signed by Valencia not too long ago, huh) were great playing down the wings, and the superb matchup between the two teams definitely produced the most exciting match I've watched in a long time, youth or no.