Golden Eaglets skipper allegedly turned 18 about seven years ago
The U-17 World Cup, currently taking place in Nigeria, has been rocked by allegations the host nation’s captain, Fortune Chukwudi, is actually somewhere closer to 25.
Before the tournament, FIFA had made attempts to stamp out ‘age cheating’ by using MRI scans to determine a players age through bone density, but on Sunday a former Nigerian international revealed he’d seen Chukwudi playing youth team football as far back as 02/03:
“In the 2002/2003 season, I was chairman of Sharks Football Club of Port Harcourt. I decided to have a feeder team of fresh school leavers not older than 20 years.
One of my key players then is the current captain of our so-called Under 17 Golden Eaglets. By his own admission at that time, that is seven years ago, he was 18 years old.
Is “the new Wayne Rooney” ready to mix it up with the big boys?
After becoming Arsenal’s youngest ever league debutant in September 2008 (a crown that previously belonged to a Mr C Fabregas), Jack Wilshere’s career is going from strength to strength. The seventeen-year-old midfielder was the undisputed star of the recent Emirates Cup, scoring twice and earning two Man of the Match champagne bottles that he is not legally allowed to enjoy.
The young Gunner has also earned a place in England’s U21 squad to face Holland this week, and is hotly tipped to become a part of Fabio Capello’s World Cup 2010 squad - an international honour that was bestowed on his weak-shouldered colleague Theo Walcott when he was also just seventeen.
However, despite admitting Wilshere has a level of maturity well beyond his years, Professor Wenger is keen to shield the lad he refers to as “the new Wayne Rooney” from the kind of hype that Public Enemy told us we shouldn’t believe:
“As a manager you do not want a guy to be a star before he has delivered, and maybe in England that is more difficult than anywhere else.”
So, is Wilshere ready to cope with regular top flight football, or should the Professor let him run amok in Carling Cup games and the early stages of the Champions League for another season? The Spoiler is leaning towards the latter - he may appear ready for the challenge, but look what happened to Freddy Adu when he was thrown in at the deep end at a young age.
Pies have found footage of Team USA’s Freddy Adu getting schooled at the crossbar challenge (although technically all bets are off - they should be shooting from the half-way line)
If you can think of a better way to spend your spare time than building a replica Batmobile, I’d like to hear it.
[Grid Crasher]
Inspired by breaststroker Amanda Beard, here’s a comprehensive guide to the Olympians who have posed in the buff for Playboy
[FanIQ]
Arsenal man could be heading for £4m exit: Maybe it would be best for both parties?
[Caught Offside]
Perhaps one day someone will start a sentence with “there’s an Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman” without it being a joke about people in boxes saying “potatoes” - it could even be used to introduce a Great British football line up. How wonderful would that be? Although, of course, the Irishman would have to come from the less green-grassy part of the emerald isle, and more the cobbled street bit where horses run wild (that’s the north, right?). Until that day, though, we’re going to have to content ourselves by gazing jealously at the other countries who get to call their footballers Olympians. Here’s eleven to keep a hungry eye on this year…
GK Brad Guzan, USA
Aston Villa’s (other) new American goalkeeper called Brad, the USA’s decision to make him one of their three over-23 players - he turns 24 during the tournament - shows just how great he is. That, of course, will count for nothing when he gets to Villa and warms the bench for the next decade, as Friedel becomes steadily more decrepit but still brilliant.
DL Marcelo, Brazil
Real Madrid signed the left wing-back in 2007 and he became a regular starter last season, pushing Gabriel Heinze into the centre. Unsurprisingly, he gets compared to Roberto Carlos - everyone does - and found the net on his international debut against Wales.
DC Vincent Kompany, Belgium
For those who spend their weekends playing Football Manager instead of talking to girls, you already know this guy, he’s one of the best buys in the game, damn it! And as it turns out, the 22-year-old isn’t too shabby in real life either. Right now he’s at Martin Jol’s Hamburg, and The Spoiler’s computerised West Ham.
DC Ezequiel Garay, Argentina
With all the Ronaldo talk this summer, Garay’s arrival at the
Back in 2004, Freddy Adu debuted in the MLS for DC United, at the age of just 14. It seems that everything America does, it’s Spanish-speaking little brother wants to do too, and accordingly 14-year-old ‘sensation’ Martin Galvan was given a run out in a high-pressure 1-0 Interliga victory over CF Monterrey.
Galvan, who likes to relax by giving ‘thumbs up’ gestures next to swimming pools, only ended
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