CHAMPIONS LEAGUE | BREAKOUT STARS
Suso
(Sevilla)The Spain attacker has played for European
giants Liverpool and Milan, yet remarkably
has zero Champions League experience.
Julen Lopetegui was his boss with various
Spanish youth teams, and made him a key
figure in last season’s Europa League run-in.Bosko Sutalo
(Atalanta)For many observers of the Croatian football
scene, the 20-year-old ex-Osijek stopper is
by far the best young defender in the country.
Headhunted by Atalanta inJanuary for€5m,
Sutalo says he models his game on Real Madrid
and Spain back-line rock Sergio Ramos.Marco Sportiello
(Atalanta)With usual No.1 Pierluigi Gollini sidelined with
torn cruciate ligaments, Atalanta coach Gian
Piero Gasperini will put his faith in back-up
Sportiello, formerly on loan at Fiorentina and
Frosinone. He filled in ably for the ill-fated
Champions League quarter-final loss to PSG.Francisco Trincao
(Barcelona)B
arcelona’s newly-acquired Portugal
winger, who won his first senior cap
in September and was snapped up
from Braga for€31 million, faces
the ultimate test of his mettle in the Catalan
capital this season.
Arriving at a time of marked crisis at the
Nou Camp – results falling off a cliff, the club’s
finances in a sorry state and civil war breaking
out – poor Trincao arguably could not have
chosen a worse moment to join theBlaugrana.
He will have to be mentally tough to survive
this trial by fire.
What’s not in question is the youngster’s
sumptuous ability: his velvety touch on theball, mesmerising trickery, quick wits and a
flair for spectacular goals, invariably cutting
in from the right to unleash a pot-shot with
his preferred left foot. Last season, he was
an attacking whirlwind for Braga, scoring eight
league goals and assisting six, and turning in a
Man of the Match performance against Slovan
Bratislava in the Europa League, scoring one
and setting up another.
In a rare moment of foresight, Barca sealed
his transfer back inJanuary before allowing him
to see out the campaign with Braga. Given their
poor record in the transfer market over recent
season, there will be significant pressure on
Trincao to buck the trend.Xavi Simons
(Paris Saint-Germain)The midfield prodigy has the world at his feet.
Represented by super-agent Mino Raiola, who
played his part in luring the young Dutchman
away from Barcelona controversially last year.
The subject of lots of hype, much of it justified,
but faces a challenge to break into PSG’s
midfield ahead of more seasoned pros.Diogo Leite
(Porto)Heralded as Portugal’s next great centre-back,
Leite has already been endorsed by one of his
predecessors, Pepe, who claims he is “the best
central defender in Portugal”. Strong showings
in this season’s Champions League could soon
catapult him into national team contention.