Georghe Hagi had a knack of scoring from anywhere on the pitch. Like Steph Curry, give him a few feet and he could launch a shot from anywhere inside his own half — and usually score. Now the Romanian legend’s 19-year-old son is doing the same with Fiorentina, which beat Chievo Verona 3-2 in a youth match thanks to an unlikely Ianis Hagi goal.
Despite finally ending his La Liga goal drought against Malaga on Saturday, Cristiano Ronaldo is having a no-good, very bad season so far in Spain. Luckily, Cristiano Jr. is here to pick up the slack.
Ronaldo posted a video on Instagram of his son hitting a sweet free kick in a youth game. Gosh, I wonder where he learned to do that?
A little over a year ago, Renato Sanches was one of the hottest young commodities in European football. In 2016 he won the Portuguese Primeira Liga with Benfica and helped Portugal win the European Championship. On Wednesday, a Renato Sanches pass was so bad it nearly brought his coach to tears.
AC Milan’s Gianluigi Donnarumma, Toulouse’s Alban Lafont, Benfica’s Mile Svilar and Glenavon’s Conner Byrne: while all are teenage goalkeepers playing senior football in Europe, only one stands alongside Freddy Adu as having made their professional debut at age 14 (and perhaps as also having an insatiable thirst for Sierra Mist, but that’s totally unfounded at this point).
Here at The18, I’m in charge of the children. I keep tabs on all the babies, I have baby skills — why can’t you understand that? What the hell is wrong with you people?!
For those who watched any of this fall’s 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, you might’ve noticed one distinct trait which unified the entire playing field. Whether the teenagers on show played for India, Mali, Honduras or New Caledonia, they all tried their best to look like Neymar.
With socks worn above the knees, a right wrist covered in orthopedic tape, hair shorn on the sides and left to do whatever up top, you could tell the youths were focused on the task at hand but also in a revery over what their tattoo sleeves would look like come their 18th birthday.
As far as debuts go, it doesn’t get any better than this. 19-year-old Texan Weston McKennie, fresh off breaking into Schalke’s first team in the Bundesliga and earning his first cap for the USMNT, put his country ahead against the world’s third-ranked side, Portugal.
Christian Pulisic is kind of a big deal, and not just in the United States. He’s one of the few reasons to get excited about American soccer over the next couple years, and he’s one of Borussia Dortmund’s star performers this season. Heck, he recently nutmegged Dutch star Arjen Robben.