20-year-old Riyaad Norodien had to wait a lot longer to make his senior debut than was originally anticipated due to a long contract dispute, but when he finally featured for Ajax Cape Town in South Africa in April 2015, the youngster who came through the club’s development system made an immediate impression.   QUICK FACTS: 

Continue Reading

Name: Nikos Karelis  Position: Forward  Age: 23  Country: Greece  Club: Panathinaikos Since the 2014 World Cup, Greek football has endured a dark period, given the struggle of both the national team and the various off-field controversies surrounding the domestic game. The one bright spark, though, has been Nikos Karelis. The 23 year-old forward has been 

Continue Reading

There is a talent walking around Amsterdam. His name is Anwar El Ghazi, who is of Moroccan origin and he is being linked with some big European clubs. But the question is: is he ready? But before I tell you my verdict on whether this talent is ready for the next step, let’s take a 

Continue Reading

Name: Tommy Oar Position: Winger Age: 23 Country: Australia Club: Out of contract Although he has an Asian Cup winners’ medal, A-League Young Player of the Year medal and FIFA U-20 World Cup Goal of the Tournament to his name already, Tommy Oar has yet to reach anywhere near his full potential as a footballer. 

Continue Reading

At only 17, IK Start midfielder Kristoffer Ajer has attracted interest from some of the biggest clubs in England. Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham have all shown interest in the 1,96m tall Norwegian youngster – and a move to the Premier League might be on the cards this summer.   QUICK FACTS: Name: Kristoffer Ajer Age: 

Continue Reading

If the seasonal rumour mill is to be believed Liverpool may well find themselves robbed of the services of talented youngster Raheem Sterling and despite the bulging bank account that will result, Brendan Rodgers and company will face the difficult task of finding an adequate replacement. One name that is being linked with a move 

Continue Reading

In the 2014 World Cup, goalkeeping was one of the Korean National Team’s weakest spots, with Suwon Bluewings’ ‘keeper Jung Sung-Ryong being criticised by many fans of Korean football for his frequent errors. Jung managed to maintain his first team spot despite a poor season in the K-League, but his performance against Algeria, where he 

Continue Reading

The European under-21 championship is known as a valuable platform for scouts from all over the continent, from the small to the big clubs, to scour for the best, upcoming talent on offer. And this is certainly the case for those hailing from a relatively obscure region such as Scandinavia. To give on-lookers a heads-up, 

Continue Reading

Name: Ivan Franjic Position: Right-back Age: 27 Country: Australia Club: Melbourne City   A technically gifted, tenacious footballer, Ivan Franjic has potentially his best years ahead of him despite being 27. Beginning his career in the semi-professional circuit of Australian football, in 2009 he signed for A-League club Brisbane Roar. In the five years that 

Continue Reading

Name: Kostas Manolas Position: Centre-back Age: 24 Country: Greece Club: AS Roma   A rising star of European football, Manolas made his name in Greece with AEK Athens before a controversial move to their city rivals Olympiacos (his uncle Stelios Manolas was an AEK legend). After a series of eye-catching performances with the Greek giants 

Continue Reading

Name: Marcelo Meli Club: Boca Juniors Date of Birth: 20th June 1992 Position: Central midfield   Who is he? Much like Jonathan Calleri, Cesar Marcelo Meli was snapped up by Boca Juniors in the aftermath of being relegated with their former clubs at the end of the Torneo Final 2014 and has since seen their 

Continue Reading

One of the most exciting foreign players in the K-League this season is the Croatian attacking midfielder Mislav Oršić. The twenty-two year-old is currently playing for Jeonnam Dragons, having been loaned to them from Croatian side HNK Rijeka. He has impressed in his twelve games for Jeonnam, and has scored twice so far this season. 

Continue Reading

Jeonbuk Motors’ exciting winger Han Kyo-Won is currently midway through an eight match suspension. On May 23rd, just five minutes into Jeonbuk’s K-League match against Incheon United, Han Kyo-Won punched Incheon’s Park Dae-Han twice, his second punch connecting with the Incheon Player’s head in what appeared to be an unprovoked attack. Han has since apologized 

Continue Reading

Name: Emanuel Mammana Club: River Plate Date of Birth: 10th February 1996 Position: Central defender   Who is he? Without even kicking a ball for the River Plate first team much was written about young defender Emanuel Mammana after he followed in the esteemed footsteps of another River graduate, Javier Mascherano. Still only nineteen, the 

Continue Reading

Russia 2018 may be three years away, but it appears it is not too soon for Brazil’s media to proclaim a new World Cup star in waiting. Boschilia, the player in question, is only 19 but, having shone for Brazil’s youth teams and already being courted by Barcelona, the suggestion he may star for the 

Continue Reading

Name: Guido Carrillo Club: Estudiantes Date of birth: 25th May 1991 Position: Centre Forward   Who is he? After a match winning brace in the Copa Argentina last week, an emotional Guido Carrillo told reporters: “I cried because this was probably my last match in this shirt that I love so much.” The Estudiantes striker 

Continue Reading

Every now-and-then a manager or scout spots something in a player that nobody else notices. South Korean National Team manager Uli Stielike surprised everybody with his inclusion of Lee Jung-Hyub in his squad for the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia. Prior to that tournament, Lee had only scored seven times in his senior career, but 

Continue Reading

Name: Franco Cervi Club: Rosario Central Date of birth: 26th May 1994 Position: Attacking midfield   Who is he? Approaching the halfway mark of the 2015 Argentine Primera season perhaps the breakthrough star so far has been Rosario Central’s talented playmaker Franco Cervi. The 21-year-old has seamlessly stepped up to the first team in spite 

Continue Reading

Russians are the homesick type, people who generally don’t like venturing out of their comfort zone to begin new challenges overseas. You can apply this to Russians in general, not just in sport, but there is one Russian footballer who this stereotype doesn’t belong to at all. 24 year old midfielder Denis Cheryshev has seen 

Continue Reading