World Soccer Presents - Rise of Ronaldo (2022)

RISEOFRONALDO 15

intsbyhittingthewinner in

itryverSpaininthisyear’s

der 17 Championshipfinal.

e arkanda sublimedribbler,

bonthe shopping

erf Italianclubs.

Dennis ICH
02.02.85; Al Arabi(Qat)
Kenya
arwith a hugereservoir
rhapslackingthefootball
iatogether. TheKenyan
droolngover hisdisplays
s AFONfinals,thoughhe
rnced,andhandsomely
helagueinQatar.Turned
ary,althoughthereare
islderthanthe
on ispassport.

Femi UMI
03.03.85; Grasshopper(Sui)
Nigeria
i utoblieve thata playerwho
dt thelastWorldCupfinals
a istilla teenagerbut
htpaunmi’s documentation
enmoredifficultwhen you
heleshbut,whateverhis
Nigrianisrecordedasthe
t-cmpetitorattheWorld

. lighedlast seasonforhim
eruthedidfeaturein
title-winningsideof 20 03.
l hpeOpabunmiwill
nipy form on theleft
i ing campaign.

Gerard
12 .04.87;Manchester United(Eng)
Spain
aldfenderwhocanalso
ictonatleft-back. The
e-1internationalrecently
a foOldTrafford,signinga
ntact with theRedDevils.

Lukas LSKI
04.06.85;Cologne
Germany
oognestriker tookthe
y strmlasttermwith
r pc, strongrunningand
fotd shooting.Bornin
rughtupintheRhineland,
i iscolourstotheGerman
thabilitytoleadthe
scaftlineforthe next
oasa half-time
i rany’s Euro 2 004
CzchRepublic.

Nicola I
30.06.86;Milan
Italy
ecndstriker,mobile,

physical,veryawareandwith a refined

technique.MilanbeatJuventusandInter

tohis signatureat thestart of theyear,

luringhimawayfromSerieC Cesena.

GustavoRODAS

16 .01.86;Newell’sOldBoys

Argentina

Stockyattackingmidfielderwhomade

hisdebutinArgentina’s topdivisionat

theageof 16. Forcedoutoflastyear’s

World Under- 1 7 Championship,so

willlooktomakean impressionat

Under-20level in 2 005 instead.

Anelegantstrikerof theball.

CristianRODRIGUEZ

30.09.85;Penarol

Uruguay

Stocky, slipperyleft-sidedmidfielderor

withdrawnstrikerwith a low centreof

gravityanda fineleftfoot.Knownas

“thelittleonion”- perhapsbecause

hecanunpeelthe defence,perhaps

becausehecanmake themcry.

CristianoRONALDO

05.02.85; ManchesterUnited(Eng)

Portugal

TheMadeira-bornwingwizard has

pace,mesmerisingdribblingskills

andflamboyanceto spare.Joined

Manchester UnitedfromSportingina

£12milliondeala yearago andseems

tohavelearntthe lessonthatcrowd-

pleasingcannotalwaystakepriorityover

providinga goodservice from theflanks.

BastianSCHWEINSTEIGER

01.08.84;BayernMunich

Germany

Theright-sidedorcentralmidfielder

underlinedhis promisewitha fine

displayin theBernabeuagainst Real

Madridinthe ChampionsLeaguelast

seasonandearneda late call-upto

Germany’s Euro 2004 squad.He

turnedouttobeoneofthe fewbright

sparksina disappointingcampaign

inPortugal.Fullofconfidence-

somemightsaytoomuch - strong

onthe ball andalwayspositive.

DannySZETELA

17.06.87;Noclub

UnitedStates

Seventeen-year-oldSzetelaisan

all-action,90-minutemidfielderwho

caughtthe eyeofmany scoutswithhis

performancesfor theUSAduringlast

year’sWorldUnder- 1 7 Championship

inFinland.Thatwasn’tsoeasytodo

whenyou considerthatFreddyAdu

wasthestaroftheteam.But Szetela

hadalreadyhadtrialsatManchester

UnitedandManchester City.Afterthe

tournament,hespentsixdaystraining

withEverton.Hehasnotruled out

joininganMLSclub,buthispreferred

route to stardomisviaEurope.Of

Polishparentage,Szetelaalready

holdsaPolish passport.

OscarUSTARI

03.07.86;Independiente

Argentina

Lookslike Argentina’sbest betforyears

tobecome a world-classkeeper. Spreads

calmthroughthewholedefencewith his

soundtechniqueanddecision-making.

Hehas alreadyexperiencedthe senior

nationalteamatmospherewheninvited

tosit on thebenchwhenArgentina

played a coupleofCopaAmerica

warm-upmatches at theend of June.

AntonioVALENCIA

04.08.85;ElNacional

Ecuador

Talentedmidfielderwith a burst of

accelerationanda powerfulshot.

Alreadycappedatseniorlevel,

andlookstobeEcuador’sbest

all-roundmidfieldoperatorsince

theemergenceofEdisonMendez.

AnthonyVANDENBORRE

24. 10 .87;Anderlecht
    Belgium
    Althoughthe 16-year-olddefender
    hadplayedonlya handfulofgames
    inthe Anderlechtfirstteam,Belgium
    bossAimeAnthuenishadnohesitation
    incallinghimuptohissquadinthe
    spring.VandenBorre canoperate at
    right-backorincentral defence,and
    istough,mobileandtechnically
    assured.HasCongoleseroots.

JuniorVIZA

03.04.85;AlianzaLima

Peru

Veryimpressivecentralmidfielder,

tough in thetackle,neatandstrong

inpossession,andwitharocketshot

withhisrightfoot.Didwellin a losing

sideintheSouthAmericanUnder-

Championshipearlierthisyear. It

hasbeena longtimesince Peruvian

footballproducedanall-rounder

ofsuchmammothpotential.

JohanVONLANTHEN

1. 0 2.86;PSV(Ned)
   Switzerland
   Becamethe youngest goalscorerin
   EuropeanChampionship historywhen
   grabbingSwitzerland’s onlygoalof the
   tournament,againstFranceinCoimbra.
   BornandraisedinColombia,he
   threatenedtoswitchhisinternational
   allegiancetohis countryofbirth when
   hewas droppedtothe bench
   foran Under-21 matchlast year.

THERISE