Greatest prodigy per position for a full xi composition?

[Fortitude]

Perhaps two teams: an all-time one, and modern era one.

Age of player and position played.

20 years’ old or younger.

Teenagers more in spirit of thread.

Easy all-time examples:

- 17yr old Pelè
- 16yr old Maradona
- 19yr old Ronaldo (Luiz)

Modern:

- 16-18yr old Rooney
- 17yr old Owen
- 16yr old Fabregas

I’ve left it with the really easy and obvious ones - your task is to make a full team in a proper xi with a 3, 4 or 5-man back line, a proper, balanced midfield and attack. Task probably gets harder or more uniform the further back you go.

 

[GDaly95]

Am I thick for not understanding this thread

 

[Skills]

Donnarumma have a shout at GK? He's the only GK I think of who played at the high level at such a young age. Generally keepers are older. De Gea as well maybe? Won the Europa League as a teenager

I'm guessing Maldini's a lock at LB too?

 

[Mike Smalling]

Phil Jones finally gets to make an appearance in one of these threads?

 

[Chipper]

Am I thick for not understanding this thread

I get the premise, make a team of players who were really good when they were teenagers. No idea what "du composition" means though.

 

[RedKnight88]

Wayne Rooney___________Luis Ronaldo_________________Lionel Messi
__________________________Pele______________________________
________________Cesc Fabregas______Duncan Edwards_____________

Not sure about defenders... might need time.

 

[Buchan]

Is the idea to only include players who went on to have stellar careers (Rooney, Pele etc.) having been heralded from a young age or just teenage prodigies in general? As there’s a massive difference: for every Rooney, there’s a Freddie Adu and for every Pele, there’s a Denilson.

 

[Fortitude]

I get the premise, make a team of players who were really good when they were teenagers. No idea what "du composition" means though.

Means my damn iPad is changing words again and I don’t know how to make it stop! Gonna amend now!

 

[Fortitude]

Is the idea to only include players who went on to have stellar careers (Rooney, Pele etc.) having been heralded from a young age or just teenage prodigies in general? As there’s a massive difference: for every Rooney, there’s a Freddie Adu and for every Pele, there’s a Denilson.

I think the non all-time team you could put whoever in, after all if they were magic at a certain age, they were magic! Someone like Whiteside at 17 gets into a lot of teen xi’s but wouldn’t be a consideration in a 20+ grouping, for example.

 

[Fortitude]

Donnarumma have a shout at GK? He's the only GK I think of who played at the high level at such a young age. Generally keepers are older. De Gea as well maybe? Won the Europa League as a teenager

I'm guessing Maldini's a lock at LB too?

Buffon! I want to keep Schtum for outfielders.

 

[Sylar]

Casillas?

I feel like he debuted against us and just saved everything

 

[V.O.]

Just doing since Sky invented football...

----------------Owen (17) L. Ronaldo (19)
Giggs (18) Pedri (18) Fabregas (16) Mbappe (19)
Davies (19) De Ligt (19) Varane (19) Arnold (20)
-----------------------Casillas (18)

Massive recency bias with the defence probably, but most of the great Italian defenders of the 90s and 00s etc seem to have broken through in their 20s. Maybe Ferdinand at West Ham would get in but he wasn't able to play in Europe like the two I've picked.