‘The next big thing in football’. So often this cliché is used to describe a child prodigy. Once these fatal words have been muttered, then the world’s attention is suddenly turned the child phenomenon. Every football fan starts to type the whiz kid’s name into Google and watches endless clips of him on Youtube.
Becoming a world class footballer in today’s society is not only about ability anymore it is about how the individual can cope with stardom. Jordan and all Big Brother contestants may want the adoring public to constantly hound them in the street but a teenager may react differently towards this sort of pressure.
An example of this is Sonny Pike. Sonny was heralded as the new Gazza and was destined to wear England’s number ten. He was so good that Ajax signed him to their prestigious academy. As his talent started to grow so did the attention surrounding him. Sonny was shown on every channel, even prompting the BBC to include him in a documentary on child prodigies. The hype surrounding the youngster from Enfield gradually began to affect the youngster mentally. He was quoted saying , “ I couldn’t take it , I got ill, really screwed up. I stopped going to training and stuff. I couldn’t hack it”. Unfortunately the burdens on the prepubescent stars shoulders became too much too bare and Sonny had a mental breakdown. This eventually led to him being released by Ajax. Since his release Sonny has attended University and has played for a few local non-league clubs.
“Wonderkids” don’t always have an easy ride to the top, only stopping off to pick up their model wives and eight figure pay cheques along the way. Nil Lampety is maybe the most tragic case of this.
While playing in a youth tournament Nil was dubbed ‘the Pele’ by none other than Pele himself. He outshone future stars Juan Sebastian Veron, Adriano and Del Piero, which prompted the New York Times to write an article on him, in which they called him, “The boy who would be soccer’s king”. The world certainly seemed to be at Lampety’s feet, but a string of crooked agents ensured the world of football was denied a true star. After The Ghanaian authorities revoked his passport, he fled to Nigeria where he was accompanied to Belgium and Anderlecht quickly snapped him up. He then moved onto PSV, this is where most of the problems occurred. The Ghanaian was taken advantage of by greedy agents who swindled his money away. From Holland he had an unsuccessful spell in England with Aston Villa and Coventry. His career now has spanned over ten countries.
The pressures any professional sportsperson has to deal with is unprecedented, it is hard enough to deal with for a thirty year old let alone someone who hasn’t even gone through puberty yet.
Interviews, Sponsorship deals and constant scrutiny can all add up. Freddy Adu has never lived up to expectation. As a fourteen year old, the American teenager was linked to every major club under the sun, but as he reaches the prime of his career, he is struggling to hold down a first team place at Benfica.
The trials and tribulations should be a clear warning to all prospective talented kids who wish to display their talents on the world stage. The initial attention may get them the big move to the likes of Manchester United, or Real Madrid but from then on the road is a long, well publicised one.
Written by Tom Leeder
I remember Nil Lamptey – real high hopes for the guy.
Freddy Adu was another one as well, he’s middle of the road at the moment and not living up to his potential – would he have been better coming across to the UK earlier?
There also seems to be a new one each week in South America – I wish I knew which ones were actually genuine and which one’s were just pure hype. I suppose it’s that hype by the clubs and the agents that generate the interest and in turn recieve more money.
I also wonder if ‘staged’ matches have a lot to do with how good these kids look – very immoral but has been know to earn agents and clubs lots of money down the years.
Lamptey was a player of genuine quality that was, as you say, wrongly denied admittance to the upper echolons of the footballing fraternity by money grabbing, unethical agents.
There are countless more. Sonny Pike, who now plays as Luke Pike in local leagues, is the classic example. Adu is still young enough to get somewhere in football, playing for Benfica after all is no mean feat.
There’s plenty of examples of players who took the next step as well. Had one great season and thought they’d made it, only to fall from grace and follow up with a dreadful second season. There are a number of players guilty of thinking they’re better than they are.
David Bentley was woeful last season. Micah Richards was shockingly bad after an impressive first season. Hopefully they can turn it round?
Can anyone think of examples across Europe? How did Eden Hazard do last season at Lille? He was touted as the next big thing last year.