What happened to them (hyped youngsters)?

Drenthe was attitude - he became a fan favourite on loan at Hercules, despite a few late night car crashes etc. He showed up (a week) late for training after the winter break and it wasn't long after that before even the fans hated him. He then more or less repeated the pattern with Everton and Reading.

Canales tore his ACL and then tore it again in one of his first matches back. He still looks good in flashes.
 
Jack Rodwell
Micah Richards

There are quite a few strong, athletic teenagers who look great at youth level, break through early and get massively over hyped, but then go on to produce little, as they were never that good at actual football. Yet every time the next one comes along, we see the same thing of people banging on and on about their "potential." Breel Embolo is going to be the next one.
 
Francis Jeffers, always comes to mind when i think of hyped youngsters that massively underachieved

Michael Bridges as well but he was screwed over by injuries
 
Ricardo Oliveira is a strange one. Showed potential early in his career, did nothing for the majority of it, and now at the age of 35 out of nowhere became the top scorer in Brazil (i believe) and a starter for the national team.
 
Younes Belhanda - was instrumental in Montpelier winning Ligue 1, making the team of the season, winning Young Player of the Season and goal of the season. Has been at Dynamo Kyiv since 2013, not playing all that much.
 
Archie Leach said:
Younes Belhanda - was instrumental in Montpelier winning Ligue 1, making the team of the season, winning Young Player of the Season and goal of the season. Has been at Dynamo Kyiv since 2013, not playing all that much.
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What a huge disappointment that signing was. He also had the potential to play for the french national team but decided to go with Morocco.

amolbhatia50k said:
Gourcuff was a player people here were obsessed with. Not quite a youngster, he was supposedly on the brink of becoming top class. I finally saw him at one of the major international tournaments and he was a bag of nerves. Don't think he lived up to the hype thereafter.

There was also this centre back people used to drool over as some sort of dream signing. Never did much. Can't remember his name. Argh.
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Injuries and psychological problems (yes I wrote it completely!!!!) have destroyed what could have been a much better career.
 
Ødegaard said:
All them Wilshire players at barcas Academy.
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:lol:
That was a really bitter comment by Guardiola, having seen Wilshere match up to the best-ever midfield , to say that he mas millions of Wilsheres in his academy...I really wanted Barca to lose at the Nou Camp.
 
amolbhatia50k said:
Gourcuff was a player people here were obsessed with. Not quite a youngster, he was supposedly on the brink of becoming top class. I finally saw him at one of the major international tournaments and he was a bag of nerves. Don't think he lived up to the hype thereafter.

There was also this centre back people used to drool over as some sort of dream signing. Never did much. Can't remember his name. Argh.
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Aye, I was a big Gourcuff fan as well :( but it was clear he never had the mental strength. I think a story broke somewhere about his character, how he's socially awkward (or even depressed iirc) etc.
simonhch said:
Many of these are still playing at a reasonable level, but none came anywhere near close to fulfilling their overhyped potential

Rafael Sobis
Adailton
Diego
Rodrigo Possebon
Obafemi Martins
Ganso
Johann Gourcuff
Manuel Iturbe
Daniel Guiza
Adriano
Seb Deisler
Freddy Adu
Anthony Le Tallec
Ricardo Quaresma
Savio Nserenko
Frederico Macheda
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The Iturbe at Roma? Isn't it a tad early to include him? He could still make the step up. I don't know much about him, but I thought he's still young as well etc.
 
Rezyuz said:
Forgetting Super Mario folks?
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Ish said:
Anyone think Balotelli might make this thread (or a similar one!) someday? (as I'm writing this, I have no idea how he's performing back in Italy).
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jojojo said:
Drenthe was attitude - he became a fan favourite on loan at Hercules, despite a few late night car crashes etc. He showed up (a week) late for training after the winter break and it wasn't long after that before even the fans hated him. He then more or less repeated the pattern with Everton and Reading.

Canales tore his ACL and then tore it again in one of his first matches back. He still looks good in flashes.
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Thanks jojojo. When I checked up on Drenthe, I couldn't believe where he's playing now.
 
Vonlanthen (spelling?) and Carlos Alberto (I think he scored for Porto versus Monaco)
I remember them from my Match magazine days. :p

They were supposed to become decent.
 
Deisler - well whenever he managed to stay fit for more than 5 games in a row, one could see the reason for the hype. Was head ans shoulders above all other german players of his generation. Bloody shame his health state didn't allow him to perform to potential.

Others that come to mind:

Nsereko
Knasmüller
that german - or rather russian-german fella who played for Inter?!

(Edit: He's German-Kazach, and he played for AC, not Inter - Alexander Merkel. Funny name, hard to rmember... he's at Grashoppers and opted to play for Kazahstan)

Vladimir But
Ibrahim Tanko
Berkant Göktan
Rochemback
Denilson (he was Ace in my FM2009 team)
 
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Ish said:
Ryan Babel currently plays for Al Ain at the age of 28 (wiki). :eek:

Suppose $$$ is a big factor, but still, I'd have thought he'd be in a decent european league.

@redmeister
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Well he came to them from Kasimpasa, so its not like he was wanted anywhere else. Shit player with shit attitude. Gets booed every game by his own fans from what I've seen. Will probably be released in January.
 
Ish said:
That's some fall from grace. :eek:
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He was fined and sidelined, by the club, after posting a middle finger emoji directed at the fans on instagram :lol: says it all.

So now all he does is tweet about Liverpool and suck up to their fans. Trying to sell his YAWN hats. I'm not kidding.
 
Brown Toothpick said:
He was fined and sidelined, by the club, after posting a middle finger emoji directed at the fans on instagram :lol: says it all.

So now all he does is tweet about Liverpool and suck up to their fans. Trying to sell his YAWN hats. I'm not kidding.
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FFS, can't actually believe what I'm reading :lol:

On the bolded bit, there could be worse business ideas floating about though :lol: the Pool fans lap up that sort of praise.
 
Ish said:
FFS, can't actually believe what I'm reading :lol:

On the bolded bit, there could be worse business ideas floating about though :lol: the Pool fans lap up that sort of praise.
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There could be, like trying to become an actor :lol: never mind his sexist/racist social media outbursts at people who dare criticise him.

This guy is pretty much a sad joke at this point.
 
fontaine said:
giovonco
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Hyped youngster at Juventus, stalled a bit early on, was loaned out and did very well, came back to Juve, and while he wasn't bad he wasn't quite up to their standards either. Recently sold to the MLS if I recall.

Not the worst example in this thread and not anyone I would consider 'bad', just not good enough to hold a place in a top team.
 
Guy said:
Hyped youngster at Juventus, stalled a bit early on, was loaned out and did very well, came back to Juve, and while he wasn't bad he wasn't quite up to their standards either. Recently sold to the MLS if I recall.

Not the worst example in this thread and not anyone I would consider 'bad', just not good enough to hold a place in a top team.
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Tearing the MLS a new arsehole, for what it's worth.
 
Earthquake said:
Tearing the MLS a new arsehole, for what it's worth.
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I wonder who will be stupid enough to take a punt on him.

I would stay right where he is if I were him, he has found his wheel house all in a nice country like Canada.

To the thread.

Callum Davenport - Promising young English centre back in the mid 00's so naturally he ended up at Spurs where he hardly played and then he got stabbed in 2009. Has since been expelled from a non-league/sunday league outfit for getting into a scrap in the changing room.
 
ADJUDICATOR said:
Nilmar; Bojinov; Gourcuff; Breno; Adler; Fiorillo; Sergio Asenjo; Akinfeev; Gio Dos Santos; Alexandre Pato; Keirrison; Mario Balotelli; Quaresma; Nasri; Diego Ribas; Manuel Fernandes; Miguel Veloso; Banega; Bojan; Lulinha; Ben Arfa; Michael Johnson; Pastore; Canales..
The list goes on.
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Most of these people have had decent careers one way or another. God knows where you pulled this list from.
 
Jose Paolo Guerrero (he did decent but not as good as commentators and pundits hyped him up to do at one point)
Christian Wilhelmsson (looked good for Anderlecht and for Sweden but has bombed since then)
Federico Machida (we all know the story here)
Andy van der Meyde (Was supposed to be the next dutch star but ended up nowhere)
Vicente (Was linked with us and the last I heard he was at Brighton)
Joaquin (again was linked with us and although he did ok, never reached his potential)
Albert Luque (injuries... destroyed the poor guy)
 
Giovani dos Santos is out of the national team (at a least in the last few matches) and now plays in MLS.
Carlos Vela is apparently heading there in the winter or summer transfer windows.
Both still 26.
 
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