So far ahead that the Bundesliga had to grant a waiver so that he could play earlier than expected. Since November 20, Youssoufa Moukoko is 16 years old and can play with the professional team of Borussia Dortmund. At 16 years and 1 day old, he appeared for the first time in the Bundesliga. Three weeks later, he entered the Champions League, against Zenit. At 16 years and 28 days old, he became the youngest goalscorer in German league history. “You don’t tell me about age”, said Kylian Mbappé. Moukoko listened to him and chained the precocity records by shovel.
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Records potentially difficult to beat but which do not foreshadow the rest of the career of the young striker born in Cameroon but of German nationality. How many young players have inherited the pompous term “crack” or “prodigy” before disappearing from circulation? How many have been followed from a young age before disappearing into the twists and turns of professional football? For a Cristiano Ronaldo, a Lionel Messi, an Erling Haaland or a Kylian Mbappé, how many Freddy Adu or Hachim Mastour? First good news for Moukoko, whom we presented to you 4 years ago when he arrived in Dortmund, he has already taken a first step that many ex-football prodigies had not even reached: appearances with the professional team.
Pike, one of the first prodigies announced
Who remembers Sonny Pike, introduced as the heir to George Best? This Englishman born in 1983 recruited at 12 by Ajax Amsterdam was the subject of a report by the BBC. He will stop his career at the age of 18 without having ever played with any first team of the clubs where he will be. Taking this first step is therefore not easy, even for players with precocious talent. And when they do, disenchantment is never far away. The United States believed it had the crack of the future in this minor sport for them in the person of Freddy Adu. Professional from the age of 14, international at 17, considered the heir to the Brazilian Pelé, the American will become a marketing concept more than a player, failing in Benfica and Monaco before becoming a football globetrotter. world (he is now under contract with a Swedish club, Österlen), far from the revolutionary player announced.
Another classic case, Hachim Mastour. Raw talent spotted by AC Milan, the Moroccan is considered in 2014 as a future football crack. Videos highlighting his technical arabesques and juggling flood the web. Of course, AC Milan smelled the right thing. But the professional world does not offer itself so easily. Sent to Spain near Malaga to cut his teeth at only 17 years old, he only made one appearance and was loaned the following season to PEC Zwolle in the Netherlands for a barely more conclusive freelance. As a result, he will not play for the AC Milan first team. He is currently playing in Serie C at La Reggina, his 5th club at only 22 years old. Who remembers Fabio Paim? Surely Cristiano Ronaldo, who said: “If you think I play good football, wait until you see Fabio Paim”. Like CR7, Fabio Paim started at Sporting Portugal in 2006 (he was 18), where thanks to his agent Jorge Mendes, he received 50,000 euros per month without having yet played with the first team.
The first team, he will never see it. Loaned to smaller Portuguese teams then to Chelsea (where he will not play), Fabio Paim is the typical example of the announced prodigy who loses control in the face of so much money without even having had the need to exploit his potential.
The curse of nicknames
And then there are the nicknames that hurt. The new Pelé for Adu, the new Cristiano for Fabio Paim, or the new Ronaldinho for Kerlon. Kerlon is the inventor of the foquinha (the sea lion), a gesture that is very annoying for the opposing defenders since the principle consisted of advancing on the ground while juggling with the head, making lawful interventions almost impossible. He signs professional at the age of 17 with Cruzeiro, and will be voted best player (and top scorer) of the Copa América U17 with Brazil in 2005. Manchester United and PSG are in the ranks, but it is the Inter Milan which wins the bet. A lost bet since Kerlon will never play with the Nerazzurri. Loaned to Chievo Verona, Ajax Amsterdam and then to the Brazilian club Parana, his career will never take off. And he will end it in 2017.
No new Ronaldinho with Kerlon then, just like there was no Scottish Messi with Ryan Gauld. Small and left-handed, the first elements of the resemblance were there. Not bad in football too, but far from the exceptional level demonstrated by the Pulga from its debut with FC Barcelona. Spotted in the Scottish club of Dundee, Sporting Portugal, again, thought to have smelled the good deal. But it is especially with the reserve team of the club that Ryan Gauld will manifest himself. Today, he found his happiness at Farense, a Portuguese club that he helped bring up to the first division. A messiah of another scale in the end.
Many other cracks announced did not have the careers that their precocious talent suggested. There is nothing dishonorable about achieving a less grandiose than expected course, like Bojan Krkic. Some do not reach the highest peaks but have invested the European landscape over time, such as Youri Tielemans (revealed by Anderlecht at 17) or Allan Saint-Maximin (launched by Saint-Etienne at 17 as well). What path will young Moukoko take? Nobody knows it today but, as some previous examples have shown, he has already avoided a few pitfalls.
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