9 year old sign with manchester united

you've got to love sports with development and youth contracts. I know that MLB does something similiar in Latin American countries (I am not sure that it includes 9 year olds though). It kind of reminded me of the stories of Gretzky in his youth leagues absolutely embarrassing kids several years his senior.

posted by kyrilmitch_76 at 05:44 AM - reply - flag:

Lionel Messi, aged five.

posted by JJ at 07:03 AM - reply - flag:

It is a great little story until you look at the details and see that Man U sign around 30 similar aged kids every year, and that while there are some who make it, footballing talent at this age doesn't always result in a great professional. Still he is pretty good.

posted by Fence at 07:08 AM - reply - flag:

I like how occasionally the other team gets frustrated and flattens him.

posted by wfrazerjr at 01:39 PM - reply - flag:

Is there not a difference between "recruiting" someone and "signing" them? I ask this without any sarcasm, as I'm fairly unfamiliar with the terminology of the game and the continent. I didn't see anywhere in the story that the boy had been signed, only that Man U had recruited him. To me, that simply means they had contacted him and expressed an interest in developing some relationship at some time, not that they had a nine year old or his guardian actually commit to anything. That being said, damn, that's some coordination for a nine year old, or anyone for that matter!

posted by tahoemoj at 01:49 PM - reply - flag:

I like how occasionally the other team gets frustrated and flattens him. I also like how he hasn't been schooled in the art of acting like you were shot at the lightest bump (yet).

posted by jmd82 at 02:09 PM - reply - flag:

I like how occasionally the other team gets frustrated and flattens him. I like how he still manages to deke the defenders and keep the ball after they've flattened him.

posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 02:40 PM - reply - flag:

I like the fact that even though it's a vanity video, it shows him beating one or two defenders, then slotting a nice pass to one of his team mates. By contrast, Messi's a hog*. * Joke By the way, there's kids like that playing every Saturday morning on pitches all over Australia. I'm just about to go down and coach a group right now. We have plans for lifting the 2020 World Cup*. *Another joke.

posted by owlhouse at 06:20 PM - reply - flag:

I wish the U.S. would be more proactive in developing a serious youth league with developmental ties to the MLS clubs.

posted by FonGu at 06:05 AM - reply - flag:

I wish the U.S. would be more proactive in developing a serious youth league with developmental ties to the MLS clubs. like this?

posted by goddam at 11:10 AM - reply - flag:

O.K. Thanks for all jumping in to answer my question. I saw in a follow up story today that he had actually been signed to an annual development deal, but, again, thanks for the input.

posted by tahoemoj at 02:04 PM - reply - flag:

All the stepovers are fun for being a nine-year-old and all, but it starts to look very Cristiano Ronaldo when he started out in the EPL. It's fun when your opponents haven't figured it out yet and are too small and slow to make you hurt, but see that 11-year-old that flattened you? He's going to be 17 when you're 15. Smarter, bigger, and faster, and when he flattens you, it's really gonna hurt. Having said that, I did enjoy the video where he passes, or scores, or just keeps getting up after falling down. If continues that never-say-die attitude, we could have a Wayne Kangarooney on our hands. Or even a Cristiano Ronaldo circa 2006-2007.

posted by worldcup2002 at 07:26 PM - reply - flag:

My daughter just had a hat-trick yesterday in her game. She's twelve, though. Past her prime already.

posted by dyams at 09:54 AM - reply - flag:

Friday, August 03, 2007

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