Touted wonderkids who made no impact in football

[Red Stone]

I know he scored the winning goal in a World Cup final, but Mario Götze was hailed as the next big thing as a teenager, with many saying he was a bigger talent than Hazard and Neymar. He's now being released by Dortmund at the age of 27. Bad luck with injuries and illnesses more than just a shite attitude, but still a damn shame he never got to realize his potential.

Yoann Gourcuff is another who looked a sure thing, and just never made the step up. Got a move to AC Milan and pissed it away by being an unprofessional idiot, apparently. Had honestly forgotten he existed until I scrolled through some old FM legends.

By the way, what's Sergio Canales up to these days?

 

[Megadrive Man]

Lauri Dalla Valle was being hyped up as 'the new Torres' for Liverpool's youth team in 2009.

In reality he got bombed out of Liverpool as part of the deal that brought Paul Konchesky to Anfield.

His career peaked with 3 goals in 12 SPL games at Dundee United.

 

[horsechoker]

I know he scored the winning goal in a World Cup final

Yeah so he made an impact in the biggest match there is. He definitely doesn't belong in this thread.

 

[USREDEVIL]

Freddy "adieu" Adu

 

[USREDEVIL]

Jonathon Woodgate? trying hard...

 

[Welbeckham]

Kerlon
Jean Chera
Fabio Paim

 

[FootballHQ]

Lauri Dalla Valle was being hyped up as 'the new Torres' for Liverpool's youth team in 2009.

In reality he got bombed out of Liverpool as part of the deal that brought Paul Konchesky to Anfield.

His career peaked with 3 goals in 12 SPL games at Dundee United.

N'gog stands out for me around that time.

 

[Remember the geese]

I remember watching an International youth tournament on Eurosport many years ago. I came away from that tournament believing I had seen the new Rui Costa in Bruno Gama. As it turned out, I had not.

 

[manutddjw]

Continuing with the Liverpool theme Dani Pacheco. The next Torres and all that. Funny how it turns out that when we were raving about Macheda, they would throw Pacheco in our face. That's one where neither side wins if there ever was one.

 

[Posh Red]

Victor Fischer

 

[RedDevilRoshi]

Miguel Veloso - remember hearing his name being branded about all the time when he was in the Portuguese youth setup. Ourselves, City, Chelsea and Arsenal were apparently in for him when he was at Sporting. Nani also done an interview back then saying that he was hoping that we would get him as he had the quality to play in our team.

 

[FootballHQ]

There's been a few new Maradonas hype in their time but likes of Aimar, Ortega and D'allesandro all had solid european careers without quite hitting the heights expected for club and country.

However this one really didn't.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Marinelli

 

[Redcy]

Is Lee still playing? I will never forget his winner in the 89/90 final haha

Haha

this lee Martin played 63 games in two years for Exeter.

 

[Redcy]

Hugo porfirio?

 

[Luke1995]

Kerlon ?
Went to Italy ,possibly based on the hype of his novelty 'seal dribble', and hasn't been seen/found since.

That's the first name that came to my mind. To be fair to Kerlon, injuries played a big part in him never being able to play more or achieve more. He was a very good player as a teenager, with multiple call-ups to brazil U-17 national team

 

[SweetRightFoot]

Federico Macheda!

 

[Luke1995]

Kerlon had that ridiculous dolphin dribble that made all European teams want him.

Some others:

Keirrison (Barca)
Breno (Bayern)
Paulinho (Barca)

I kinda feel Keirrison got screwed by Barça. They should at least have loaned him to a team in La Liga with a path to their first team in the next couple of seasons. Instead, he was sent off to other countries and never even given an opportunity to train with their squad despite a fantastic track record of multiple goals before Barcelona signing him. From then on, he totally lost confidence and got injured alot.

 

[Redcy]

Might have a winner in:

sonny pike, the next George best

 

[MrMarcello]

Gus Kartes (aka Kostas Karterouliotis) - think Adu before MLS and USSF decided to overhype a youngster.
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1997-06-08-9706070892-story.html

I know injuries played their part but Ben Collett and Ben Thornley.

 

[WI_Red]

Saviola may not have reached his top potential, but he still was solid enough to make a very good career and display solid performances on the pitch most of the time. 99% of football players would switch their careers with Saviola in a blink.

Adu will always be the winner: all the hype, the ammount of media charming, the background history, etc. He actually made a few decent appearences in Benfica as a sub, but you could see he was miles above any player of the squad, either technically and tactically. He actually had a very decent shot technique tbh, but being fast and strong was clearly not enough for him when everything on his game was mediocre.

To add to this. It is hard to overstate how hyped Adu was in the US when he “broke through”. At the time MLS was only 10 years old and Beckham was still 3 years away. For ANY soccer story to make the news was rare. I remember joining a group of friends at a packed bar in Alabama (Alabama!) to watch his debut for DC United. He was being hyped as the next Pete or Maradona. To this day I have never seen a us player hyped that much. I think the specter of his failure will temper expectations for a long time here.

 

[Redcy]

John bostock

 

[Luke1995]

I wouldn't say he made no impact in football but Rodrigo Fabri was the best player in the 1996 brazilian league, signed by Real Madrid, sent on loan to Valladolid where he was their best player, then instead of playing for Madrid, was sent into another loans, and in the end, had to return to Brazil to make a meaningful impact since no other european club wanted him apparently. He was a very talented midfielder.

 

[GledTheRed]

John bostock

Good one.

 

[GledTheRed]

Le Tallec, the new Zidane according to Houllier.

Sinama Pongolle.

 

[paraguayo]

Nile Ranger

 

[MrPooni]

Kerlon.

 

[SambaBoy]

John bostock

Very good shout. He's the same age as me, and he was regarded as the best player in our age group. Played against him a few times, and he was so skillful, strong and quick. You thought then that he would definitely make it to the very top.

 

[Maluco]

Most people not mentioning wonderkids who made no impression at all in the game, but it’s also very hard to find those who didn’t play much professionally at all. I have another that’s not really on topic but deserves a mention given the direction of the thread...Caio Ribeiro

Bursting onto the scene with searing pace at São Paulo and at youth level for the Brazilian national team, Inter spent 6.6 million on the 19 year old wonderkid in 1995.

The only problem was he came in at the same time as Zanetti, Roberto Carlos and Paul Ince and fell foul of the foreigner rule, limiting his appearances from the start. He went on to have Hodgson as manager, barely got a look in, never scored, and after a poor loan at Napoli, returned to Brazil where he never regained his form, bouncing around from club to club before retiring at 31.

There are very few videos or articles about him anymore, even in Portuguese. Only stuff about his work as a commentator for Globo.

The worlds most expensive teenager at the time, part of a much touted trio of South American signings (with two players who became all time greats no less), Caio made as little impact as he could, while still playing the game, from that point on.

 

[Alex99]

The criteria here are way too strict. Touted at a young age but done absolutely nothing? There's barely anyone who fits that description.

Lifting the OP's restrictions a bit, just from United you could have:

Federico Macheda - Burst onto the scene in the most dramatic fashion possible, and was soon touted as a future world class striker. Failed to get close to that immediate hype.

Ravel Morrison - By all accounts had the talent to be one of, if not the best player in the world. Attitude and personal issues seriously set him back and now he's just another "what if?"

Adnan Januzaj - Had a much more prolonged introduction than Macheda, but the hype was very much sky high. Doing alright for himself, but certainly never lived up to the billing that saw him earn the 11 shirt.

Phil Jones - A monster for football. The next Duncan Edwards. Apparently just asked to not have a testimonial because no one would turn up. Perhaps most famous for pulling odd faces.

Fabio da Silva - Rafael broke through first, but all of the talk was how his twin was the better player. He wasn't.

Paddy McNair - I think van Gaal said he'd be our right back for the next ten years. At Middlesbrough.

Outside of United:

Anthony Le Tallec - That article.

Mark Gonzalez - Liverpool went to great lengths to sign this guy, only to ship him out after a single season.

Jon Flanagan - Just been released by Rangers.

Gael Kakuta - Cost Chelsea a fair bit of money in settlements. Not sure he ever played for them.

Jon Obi Mikel - Signed for us. Didn't sign for us. Chelsea paid us for him. He was sort of alright.

Bojan Krkic - He was the next Messi, until he ended up at Stoke. Miraculously made over 100 appearances for Barca.

Adam Llajic - So good we signed Zoran Tosic just to keep him company. Ended up not signing for us so we kept Tosic around seemingly to offer high first goalscoring odds at the in stadium bookies. Llajic hasn't had the worst of careers though.

Micah Richards - IIRC he very briefly had the right back spot locked down for England. Remember watching him chasing someone back for City and just giving up. About sums up his career.

Carlos Vela - Somehow stayed with Arsenal for 7 years. Now Zlatan's MLS nemesis.

Joaquin - The next big thing in Spanish football. Last capped before Spain got good.

Lassana Diarra - Chelsea, Arsenal, Real Madrid. Did nothing at all of them. Inexplicably was at PSG last year.

Igor Akinfeev - Future world's best GK. Never left CSKA.

Jack Butland - England's number one for years to come. Currently still playing for Stoke, albeit near the bottom of the Championship.

 

[Alex99]

Also just remembered Rodrigo Possebon, who perhaps not quite wonderkid levels, completely fell off the face of the planet.

 

[jesperjaap]

Giovanni Dos Santos and Bojan Krkic

Neither were bad players, but all the hype around them being the new Ronaldhino and Van Basten never materialised

 

[jesperjaap]

The criteria here are way too strict. Touted at a young age but done absolutely nothing? There's barely anyone who fits that description.

Lifting the OP's restrictions a bit, just from United you could have:

Federico Macheda - Burst onto the scene in the most dramatic fashion possible, and was soon touted as a future world class striker. Failed to get close to that immediate hype.

Ravel Morrison - By all accounts had the talent to be one of, if not the best player in the world. Attitude and personal issues seriously set him back and now he's just another "what if?"

Adnan Januzaj - Had a much more prolonged introduction than Macheda, but the hype was very much sky high. Doing alright for himself, but certainly never lived up to the billing that saw him earn the 11 shirt.

Phil Jones - A monster for football. The next Duncan Edwards. Apparently just asked to not have a testimonial because no one would turn up. Perhaps most famous for pulling odd faces.

Fabio da Silva - Rafael broke through first, but all of the talk was how his twin was the better player. He wasn't.

Paddy McNair - I think van Gaal said he'd be our right back for the next ten years. At Middlesbrough.

Outside of United:

Anthony Le Tallec - That article.

Mark Gonzalez - Liverpool went to great lengths to sign this guy, only to ship him out after a single season.

Jon Flanagan - Just been released by Rangers.

Gael Kakuta - Cost Chelsea a fair bit of money in settlements. Not sure he ever played for them.

Jon Obi Mikel - Signed for us. Didn't sign for us. Chelsea paid us for him. He was sort of alright.

Bojan Krkic - He was the next Messi, until he ended up at Stoke. Miraculously made over 100 appearances for Barca.

Adam Llajic - So good we signed Zoran Tosic just to keep him company. Ended up not signing for us so we kept Tosic around seemingly to offer high first goalscoring odds at the in stadium bookies. Llajic hasn't had the worst of careers though.

Micah Richards - IIRC he very briefly had the right back spot locked down for England. Remember watching him chasing someone back for City and just giving up. About sums up his career.

Carlos Vela - Somehow stayed with Arsenal for 7 years. Now Zlatan's MLS nemesis.

Joaquin - The next big thing in Spanish football. Last capped before Spain got good.

Lassana Diarra - Chelsea, Arsenal, Real Madrid. Did nothing at all of them. Inexplicably was at PSG last year.

Igor Akinfeev - Future world's best GK. Never left CSKA.

Jack Butland - England's number one for years to come. Currently still playing for Stoke, albeit near the bottom of the Championship.

Micah Richards was a huge dissapointment, thougth he was going to be a phenomenal defender

 

[Maluco]

The criteria here are way too strict. Touted at a young age but done absolutely nothing? There's barely anyone who fits that description.

Lifting the OP's restrictions a bit, just from United you could have:

Federico Macheda - Burst onto the scene in the most dramatic fashion possible, and was soon touted as a future world class striker. Failed to get close to that immediate hype.

Ravel Morrison - By all accounts had the talent to be one of, if not the best player in the world. Attitude and personal issues seriously set him back and now he's just another "what if?"

Adnan Januzaj - Had a much more prolonged introduction than Macheda, but the hype was very much sky high. Doing alright for himself, but certainly never lived up to the billing that saw him earn the 11 shirt.

Phil Jones - A monster for football. The next Duncan Edwards. Apparently just asked to not have a testimonial because no one would turn up. Perhaps most famous for pulling odd faces.

Fabio da Silva - Rafael broke through first, but all of the talk was how his twin was the better player. He wasn't.

Paddy McNair - I think van Gaal said he'd be our right back for the next ten years. At Middlesbrough.

Outside of United:

Anthony Le Tallec - That article.

Mark Gonzalez - Liverpool went to great lengths to sign this guy, only to ship him out after a single season.

Jon Flanagan - Just been released by Rangers.

Gael Kakuta - Cost Chelsea a fair bit of money in settlements. Not sure he ever played for them.

Jon Obi Mikel - Signed for us. Didn't sign for us. Chelsea paid us for him. He was sort of alright.

Bojan Krkic - He was the next Messi, until he ended up at Stoke. Miraculously made over 100 appearances for Barca.

Adam Llajic - So good we signed Zoran Tosic just to keep him company. Ended up not signing for us so we kept Tosic around seemingly to offer high first goalscoring odds at the in stadium bookies. Llajic hasn't had the worst of careers though.

Micah Richards - IIRC he very briefly had the right back spot locked down for England. Remember watching him chasing someone back for City and just giving up. About sums up his career.

Carlos Vela - Somehow stayed with Arsenal for 7 years. Now Zlatan's MLS nemesis.

Joaquin - The next big thing in Spanish football. Last capped before Spain got good.

Lassana Diarra - Chelsea, Arsenal, Real Madrid. Did nothing at all of them. Inexplicably was at PSG last year.

Igor Akinfeev - Future world's best GK. Never left CSKA.

Jack Butland - England's number one for years to come. Currently still playing for Stoke, albeit near the bottom of the Championship.

Interesting list but Mikel and Diarra shouldn’t be anywhere near it.

Only a handful of players in their history have made more starts for Chelsea, and in a period where he won basically everything there was to win. He wasn’t flashy but kept it simple and was very good at what he did.

Diarra has made some strange moves in his career and probably was more focused on money than his legacy, but he was a really good deep lying midfielder and I was always really impressed by him whenever I watched him and wondered quite a few times why he moved around so much at random. He was a very good player though.

 

[Alex99]

Interesting list but Mikel and Diarra shouldn’t be anywhere near it.

Only a handful of players in their history have made more starts for Chelsea, and in a period where he won basically everything there was to win. He wasn’t flashy but kept it simple and was very good at what he did.

Diarra has made some strange moves in his career and probably was more focused on money than his legacy, but he was a really good deep lying midfielder and I was always really impressed by him whenever I watched him and wondered quite a few times why he moved around so much at random. He was a very good player though.

Mikel was touted to be something amazing, and ended being a useful midfielder. He was never the star people thought he was going to be, particularly after the mess around his transfer.

That's basically my point with Diarra. Many thought he had the potential to be a world class midfielder, but he just moved around far too much to ever be considered more than okay.

 

[Maluco]

Mikel was touted to be something amazing, and ended being a useful midfielder. He was never the star people thought he was going to be, particularly after the mess around his transfer.

That's basically my point with Diarra. Many thought he had the potential to be a world class midfielder, but he just moved around far too much to ever be considered more than okay.

True, from the perspective. They certainly won’t be remembered as greats, but it would be interesting to hear a Chelsea fans perspective on Mikel. I think he might be in their top 20 for all time starts!

Diarra is frustrating, for sure, because I think he was better than his career suggests, which is so strange when you see the list of teams. I think he enjoyed those signing on fees.

 

[WI_Red]

By the OP’s criteria there can be only one true winner, and the great mans name is Aly Dia.

 

[Alex99]

True, from the perspective. They certainly won’t be remembered as greats, but it would be interesting to hear a Chelsea fans perspective on Mikel. I think he might be in their top 20 for all time starts!

Diarra is frustrating, for sure, because I think he was better than his career suggests, which is so strange when you see the list of teams. I think he enjoyed those signing on fees.

I think Mikel is in their top 20 appearance makers, but for comparison, John O'Shea doesn't make United's top 30 but has more appearances for United than Mikel has for Chelsea.

 

[LDUred]

Zakaria Bakkali. Became the youngest player to score a hat trick in Eredivisie history, and then got massively carried away with his own initial success.

Not a failure yet, but it's fair to say that he should have developed more in the Dutch league before looking for moves away.

 

[RooneyLegend]

Miguel Veloso - remember hearing his name being branded about all the time when he was in the Portuguese youth setup. Ourselves, City, Chelsea and Arsenal were apparently in for him when he was at Sporting. Nani also done an interview back then saying that he was hoping that we would get him as he had the quality to play in our team.

Nah he was a very good player and would've been an asset for even big clubs. He never got the move, somewhat like his midfield partner Mourinho.

 

[RooneyLegend]

Zakaria Bakkali. Became the youngest player to score a hat trick in Eredivisie history, and then got massively carried away with his own initial success.

Not a failure yet, but it's fair to say that he should have developed more in the Dutch league before looking for moves away.

That's a legit one. What happened to him.