2011
FOOTBALL TALENT & FIFA AGE GROUP COMPETITIONS
CRIG CONSULT 9/12/2011
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CONTENTS
1. Cover page 2. Contents 3. Preface 4. Scope of study 5. Results 6. Argentina 7. Brazil 8. Germany 9. Ghana 10. Japan 11. Nigeria 12. Spain 13. Chart and analysis 14. Conclusion page 1 page 2 page 3 page 4 page 4 page 5 9 page 10 14 page 15 17 page 18 21 page 22 25 page 26 29 page 30 33 page 34 35 page 36
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PREFACE
take a look at Xavi Hernandez and Iker Casillas, can we boast of our own players who competed with them at the Nigeria U20 world cup? This is an age long statement that you will easily hear from a Nigerian football analyst. It is readily assumed that European and South American countries employ a more effective age group progressive system to provide talents for the National teams. But, how true is this assumption? Do we have facts to prove that indeed this is not a mere clich, and a wrong one at that? I stumbled on the squad list for the Japan 1993 U17 world cup, and immediately observed that a large number of the players who participated for such great football nations as Brazil, Argentina et al, did not make a single appearance for the national team in the long run. A quick analysis of the squad list of African nations such as Nigeria and Ghana, as well as Japan and Germany immediately showed that Africa and Asia have fared better than European countries in this regard. The list of footballers who garnered at least one (1) cap for the senior national team, having participated in either the FIFA U17 or U20 world cup competition between 1993 and 2005 were collated and recorded. The aim of this report is to provide incontrovertible answers to the following questions: 1. Is it correct to say that the FIFA age group competitions serve as a nursery bed for football talents? 2. What are the statistics of football talents that have progressed from the age group competitions into full fledged international? 3. Which country and continent has effectively employed the FIFA age group tourney to serve the aim of their establishment? These questions are the motivating factors for this book. Have we really performed abysmally? In what areas have we done well? Now, let the fact speak for itself! 3|Page
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SCOPE OF STUDY
CONTINENTS COVERED: AFRICA ASIA EUROPE SOUTH AMERICA COUNTRIES COVERED: ARGENTINA BRAZIL GERMANY GHANA JAPAN NIGERIA SPAIN AGE-GROUP COMPETITIONS COVERED (1993 2005): FIFA U 17 WORLD CUP FIFA U20 WORLD CUP Rationale: 1. For easy collation of data 2. At the maximum, players that participated in the 2005 edition of the U17 world cup are expected to be 23 years old, as at 2011. At this age, a player can be said to be at the beginning of his peak. 3. Studying the players that participated in 1993 1999 will give a good track and sense of history
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ARGENTINA
FIFA U 17 WORLD CUP
1993 1. Fabricio Fuentes 2. Federico Dominguez 1995 1. Esteban Cambiasso 2. Aldo Duscher 3. Pablo Aimar 52 caps 3 caps 52 caps 1 cap 1 cap
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[Link] 1997 1. Franco Costanzo 2. Gabriel Milito 3. Luciano Galleti 4. Ernesto Farias 1999 (Absent) 2001 1. Gonzalo Rodriguez 2. Javier Mascherano 3. Carlos Tevez 4. Pablo Zabaleta 2003 1. Oscar Ustari 2. Ezequiel Garay 3. Lucas Biglia 4. Neri Cardozo 5. Walter Avecedo 6. Fernando gago 2005 (Absent) 1 cap 3 caps 6 caps 1 cap 1 cap 33 caps 6 caps 75 caps 59 caps 14 caps 1 cap 42 caps 13 caps 1 cap
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FIFA U20 WORLD CUP
1993 (Absent) 1995 1. Federico Dominguez 2. Gustavo Lombardi 3. Juan Pablo Sorin 6|Page 1 cap 2 caps 76 caps
[Link] 4. Ariel Ibagaza 5. Diego Crosa 1997 1. Leo Franco 2. Leandro Damian Cufre 3. Walter Samuel 4. Esteban Cambiasso 5. Juan Roman Ruquelme 6. Bernardo Romeo 7. Pablo Aimar 8. Diego Placente 9. Sebastian Ariel Romero 10. Lionel Scaloni 1999 1. Franco Costanzo 2. Gabriel Milito 3. Esteban Cambiasso 4. Luciano Galleti 5. Aldo Duscher 6. Daniel Montenegro 7. Sebastian Saja 8. Ernesto Farias 9. Federico Insua 2001 1. German Lux 2. Nicolas Burdisso 3. Nicolas Medina 4. Fabricio Coloccini 7|Page 6 caps 43 caps 1 cap 34 caps 1 cap 42 caps 52 caps 13 caps 3 caps 52 caps 4 caps 1 cap 14 caps 4 caps 4 caps 56 caps 52 caps 117 caps 4 caps 52 caps 22 caps 1 cap 7 caps 2 caps 1 cap
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[Link] 5. Javier Saviola 6. Leandro Romagnoli 7. Maxi Rodriguez 8. Leandro Daniel Ponzio 9. Andres DAlessandro 10. Mauro Rosales 2003 1. Gonzalo Rodriguez 2. Javier Mascherano 3. Leandro Fernandez 4. Pablo Zabaleta 5. Fernando Cavenaghi 6. Carlos Tevez 7. Jonathan Bottinelli 8. Neri Cardozo 9. Jose Sosa 2005 1. Oscar Ustari 2. Lucas Biglia 3. Pablo Zabaleta 4. Ezequiel Garay 5. Neri Cardozo 6. Fenando Gago 7. Lionel Messi 8. Sergio Aguero 1 cap 6 caps 14 caps 3 caps 1 cap 33 caps 62 caps 32 caps 6 caps 75 caps 5 caps 14 caps 4 caps 59 caps 1 cap 1 cap 9 caps 40 caps 1 cap 41 caps 7 caps 25 caps 10 caps
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[Link] INTERESTING FACTS:
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1. Esteban Cambiasso, who participated at the 1995 U17 world cup at the age of 14, has won 22 official titles (as of the end of 2010) being the most decorated Argentine footballer in history, alongside Alfredo di Stefano. 2. Gustavo Eberto, the Argentine 1st choice goalkeeper at the 2003 U20 world cup, died of testicular cancer at the age of 24 in 2004. ANALYSIS U17 WORLD CUP Year of 1993 1995 1997 2001 2003
competition Successful players (%) Average % of successful players = 20.40% 11.10 16.70 22.20 22.20 30.00
U20 WORLD CUP Year of 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005
competition Successful players (%) Average % of successful players = 44.90% 27.80 55.60 50.00 52.60 45.00 38.10
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BRAZIL
FIFA U 17 WORLD CUP
1993 (Absent) 1995 1. Julio Cesar 2. Juan 3. Renato 4. Luis Eduardo 1997 1. Ronaldinho 2. Flavio 3. Geovanni 10 | P a g e 89 caps 1 cap 1 cap 61 caps 79 caps 28 caps 1 cap
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1999 1. Eduardo Costa 2. Leo Lima 3. Adriano 2001 1. Diego 2003 1. Ederson 2005 1. Marcelo 2. Anderson 3. Renato Augusta 7 caps 8 caps 3 caps 1 cap 33 caps 7 caps 4 caps 48 caps
FIFA U20 WORLD CUP
1993 1. Dida 2. Argel Fucks 3. Mario Jardel 1995 1. Ze Elias 2. Caio Rebeiro 3. Cesar Belli 4. Luizao 11 | P a g e 22 caps 4 caps 8 caps 12 caps 91 caps 1 cap 10 caps
[Link] 5. Denilson 1997 1. Paulo Cesar 2. Athirson 3. Pedrinho 4. Fernando 5. Alex 6. Helton 7. Roni 1999 1. Julio Ceasar 2. Juan 3. Ronaldinho 4. Luis Eduardo 5. Mancini 6. Geovanni 2001 1. Maicon 2. Edu Dracena 3. Eduardo Costa 4. Fernando 5. Adriano 6. Baptista 7. Leo Lima 8. Luisao 9. Kaka 66 caps 2 caps 7 caps 8 caps 48 caps 47 caps 4 caps 42 caps 82 caps 61 caps 79 caps 89 caps 1 cap 6 caps 1 cap 3 caps 5 caps 1 cap 1 cap 49 caps 3 caps 5 caps 68 caps
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[Link] 2003 1. Fernando Henrique 1 cap 2. Daniel Alvez 3. Daniel Carvalho 4. Dudu Cearense 5. Nilmar 6. Adriano Correia 7. Fernandinho 2005 1. Rafinha 2. Diego Souza 3. Rafael Sobis 4. Felipe kasmirski 5. Diego Tardelli 1 cap 1 cap 8 caps 1 cap 5 caps 50 caps 3 caps 11 caps 23 caps 10 caps 3 caps
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INTERESTING FACTS: 1. Rodrigo Lacerda Ramos and Denilson, captains of the Brazilian squad to the Nigeria 1999 U20 world cup and the Peru 2005 U17 world cup respectively, are yet to be capped by the senior national team. 2. Julio Cesar, Juan, Ronaldinho and Adriano have all participated in the U17, U20 and the FIFA world cup with Brazil. 3. Tiago dos Santos, who was part of the Brazilian squad to the 1999 U20 world cup, has been capped once by Bulgaria.
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[Link] ANALYSIS U17 WORLD CUP Year of 1995 1997 1999 2001
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2003
2005
competition Successful players (%) Average % of successful players = 13.50% 22.20 16.70 16.70 5.60 5.00 15.00
U20 WORLD CUP Year of 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005
competition Successful players (%) Average % of successful players = 32.40% 16.70 27.80 38.90 33.30 50.00 35.00 23.80
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GERMANY
FIFA U 17 WORLD CUP
1993 (Absent) 1995 1. Fabian Ernst 1997 1. Sebastian Kehl 2. Sebastian Deisler 1999 1. Thomas Hitzlsperger 2. Andreas hinkel 3. Andreas Gorlitz 52 caps 21 caps 2 caps 31 caps 36 caps 24 caps
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[Link] 2001 (Absent) 2003 (Absent) 2005 (Absent)
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FIFA U 20 WORLD CUP
1993 1. Carsten Ramelow 2. Carsten Jancker 3. Dietmar Hamann 1995 1. Mustafa Dogan 1997 (Absent) 1999 1. Timo Hildebrand 2001 1. Hanno Balitsch 2. Jermaine Jones 3. Andreas Hinkel 2003 1. Robert Huth 2. Piotr Trochowski 3. Christian Shulz 4. Christian Pander 5. Malik Fathi 19 caps 35 caps 4 caps 2 caps 2 caps 1 cap 3 caps 21 caps 7 caps 2 caps 46 caps 33 caps 59 caps
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[Link] 2005 1. Rene Adler 2. Marvin Compper 3. Christian Gentner 4. Marcel Jansen INTERESTING FACT: 10 caps 1 cap 3 caps 36 caps
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1. Having been capped three (3) times by Germany in unofficial matches, Jermaine Jones eventually garnered 12 caps for the USA. ANALYSIS U17 WORLD CUP Year of 1995 1997 1999
competition Successful players (%) Average % of successful players = 11.10% 5.60 11.10 16.70
U20 WORLD CUP Year of 1993 1995 1999 2001 2003 2005
competition Successful players (%) Average % of successful players = 14.70% 16.70 5.60 5.60 16.70 23.80 20.00
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GHANA
FIFA U 17 WORLD CUP
1993 1. Sebastian Barnes 2. Samuel Kuffour 3. Mark Edusei 4. Daniel Addo 5. Emmanuel Duah 1995 1. Bashiru Gambo 2. Stephen Appiah 3. Christian Gyan 4. Christian Saba 18 | P a g e 4 caps 69 caps 23 caps 4 caps 1 cap 59 caps 10 caps 27 caps 23 caps
[Link] 1997 1. Osei Boateng 2. Hamza Mohammed 3. Godwin Ansah 4. Aziz Kingston 5. Daniel Quaye 1999 1. Michael Essien 2. Razak Pimpong 3. Ibrahim Abdul Razak 4. Anthony Obodai 5. Stephen Tetteh 6. Stephen Oduro 2005 1. David Telfer 2. Samuel Oppong 3. Opoku Agyemang 4. Jonathan Quartey 5. Emmanuel Ansong 1 cap 1 cap 9 caps 9 caps 1 cap 52 caps 10 caps 24 caps 4 caps 5 caps 1 cap 1 cap 28 caps 9 caps 41 caps 10 caps
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FIFA U 20 WORLD CUP
1993 1. Tephen Baidoo 2. Nii Lamptey 3. Augustine Ahinful 4. Emmanuel Duah 19 | P a g e 3 caps 38 caps 19 caps 23 caps
[Link] 5. Charles Akonnor 6. Samuel Kuffour 7. Daniel Addo 1995 (Absent) 1997 1. Kofi Amponsah 2. Christian Gyan 3. Stephen Appiah 4. Peter ofori Quaye 5. Bashiru Gambo 1999 1. Sammy Adjei 2. Baffour Gyan 3. Hamza Mohammed 4. Stephen Appiah 5. Aziz Ansah 6. Laryea Kingston 7. George Blay 8. Osei Boateng 9. Peter Ofori Quaye 2001 1. Sulley Muntari 2. Michael Essien 3. Emmanuel Pappoe 4. Ibrahim Abdul Razak 5. Razak Pimpong 6. Derek Boateng 20 | P a g e 62 caps 52 caps 28 caps 24 caps 10 caps 26 caps 37 caps 25 caps 28 caps 69 caps 9 caps 41 caps 7 caps 1 cap 18 caps 9 caps 23 caps 69 caps 18 caps 4 caps 51 caps 59 caps 27 caps
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[Link] 7. Anthony Obodai 8. John Mensah 9. John Paintsil 10. George Owu INTERESTING FACTS: ANALYSIS U17 WORLD CUP Year of 1993 1995 1997 1999 4 caps 73 caps 68 caps 9 caps
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2005
competition Successful players (%) Average % of successful players = 28.30% 27.80 22.20 33.30 33.30 25.00
U20 WORLD CUP Year of 1993 1997 1999 2001
competition Successful players (%) Average % of successful players = 43.10% 38.90 27.80 50.00 55.60
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JAPAN
FIFA U 17 WORLD CUP
1993 1. Naoki Matsuda (RIP) 2. Tsuneyasu Miyamoto 3. Hidetoshi Nakata 4. Kazuyuki Toda 1995 1. Tomoyuki Sakai 2. Junichi Inamoto 3. Shinji Ono 4. Naohiro Takahara 1997 (Absent) 1 cap 82 caps 56 caps 57 caps 40 caps 71 caps 77 caps 20 caps
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[Link] 1999 (Absent) 2001 1. Naoya kikuchi 2. Kisho Yano 3. Jungo Fujimoto 2003 (Absent) 2005 (Absent) 1 cap 19 caps 8 caps
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FIFA U 20 WORLD CUP
1993 (Absent) 1995 1. Ryuzo Morioka 2. Naoki Matsuda (RIP) 3. Nobuhisa Yamada 4. Hidetoshi Nakata 5. Daisuke Oku 6. Takashi Shimoda 1997 1. Kazuyuki Toda 2. Tsuneyasu Miyamoto 3. Tomokazu Myojin 4. Nozomi Hiroyama 5. Atsushi Yanagisawa 6. Yoshiteru Yamashita 7. Satoshi Yamaguchi 23 | P a g e 20 caps 71 caps 26 caps 2 caps 58 caps 3 caps 2 caps 38 caps 40 caps 15 caps 77 caps 26 caps 1 cap
[Link] 8. Yuichiro NagaI 9. Shunsuke Nakamura 1999 1. Akira Kaji 2. Junichi Inamoto 3. Tomoyuki Sakai 4. Mitsuo Ogasawara 5. Naohiro Takahara 6. Masashi Motoyama 7. Yasuhito Endo 8. Koji Nakata 9. Shinji Ono 10. Yuichiro Nagai 11. Ryuji Bando 2001 1. Toruyuki Moniwa 2. Yuichi Komano 3. Takeshi Aoki 4. Naohiro Ishikawa 5. Hisato Sato 6. Koji Yamase 7. Ryoichi Maeda 2003 1. Eiji Kawashima 2. Yuhei Tokunaga 3. Naoya Kikuchi 4. Mitsuru Nagata 5. Yasuyuki Konno 24 | P a g e 23 caps 7 caps 1 cap 2 caps 47 caps 9 caps 60 caps 2 caps 5 caps 31 caps 13 caps 14 caps 64 caps 82 caps 1 cap 55 caps 57 caps 28 caps 111 caps 57 caps 56 caps 4 caps 7 caps 4 caps 98 caps
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[Link] 6. Daigo Kobayashi 7. Daisuke Sakata 8. Satoru Yamagishi 9. Yuzo Kurihara 10. Sota Hirayama 2005 1. Hiroki Mizumoto 2. Masahiko Inoha 3. Sota Hiroyama 4. Koki Mizuno 5. Keisuke Honda 6. Akihiro Ienaga 7. Takayuki Morimoto 8. Shusaku Nishikawa ANALYSIS U17 WORLD CUP Year of 1993 1995 2001 19 caps 6 caps 4 caps 4 caps 31 caps 2 caps 9 caps 5 caps 1 cap 1 cap 11 caps 6 caps 4 caps
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competition Successful players (%) Average % of successful players = 20.40% U20 WORLD CUP Year of 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 22.20 22.20 16.70
competition Successful players (%) Average % of successful players = 44.90% 25 | P a g e 33.30 50.00 61.10 36.80 50.00 38.10
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NIGERIA
FIFA U 17 WORLD CUP
1993 1. Celestine Babayaro 2. Pascal Ojigwe 3. Nwankwo Kanu 4. Wilson Oruma 1995 1. Albert Yobo 2. James Obiorah 1997 (Absent) 26 | P a g e 1 cap 3 caps 26 caps 17 caps 87 caps 19 caps
[Link] 1999 (Absent) 2001 1. Richard Eromoigbe 2. Femi Opabunmi 3. Akpan Bassey 2003 1. Isaac promise 2. John Obi Mikel 3. Chinedu Obasi Ogbuke 4. Solomon Okoronkwo 2005 (Absent) 3 caps 33 caps 17 caps 2 caps 6 caps 2 caps 1 cap
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FIFA U 20 WORLD CUP
1993 (Absent) 1995 (Absent) 1997 (Absent) 1999 1. Samuel Okunowo 2. Haruna Babangida 3. Pius Ikedia 4. Joseph Yobo 5. Rabiu Afolabi 6. Jilius Aghahowa 8 caps 1 cap 15 caps 81 caps 20 caps 32 caps
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[Link] 2001 (Absent) 2003 (Absent) 2005 1. Taye Taiwo 2. Onyekachi Apam 3. Monday James 4. Chinedu Ogbuke 5. John Obi Mikel 6. Isaac Promise 7. Solomon Okoronkwo 8. Adfemi Olubayo (RIP) 9. Dele Adeleye 10. Sani Kaita 11. John owoeri INTERESTING FACTS: 48 caps 7 caps 1 cap 17 caps 33 caps 3 caps 2 caps 5 caps 9 caps 24 caps 1 cap
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1. Albert Yobo is the elder brother of current captain of the Super Eagles, Joseph Yobo. 2. Nwankwo Kanu holds the record for most substitute appearances in the English premier League history, appearing from the bench 118 times. ANALYSIS U17 WORLD CUP Year of 1993 1995 2001 2003
competition Successful players (%) Average % of successful players = 20.30% 22.20 22.20 16.70 20.00
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[Link] U20 WORLD CUP Year of 1999 2005
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competition Successful players (%) Average % of successful players = 42.90% 33.30 52.40
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SPAIN
FIFA U 17 WORLD CUP
1993 (Absent) 1995 (Absent) 1997 1. Iker Casillas 2. Xavi Hernandez 1999 1. Jose Manuel Reina 2. Fernand Navarro 2001 1. Andres Iniesta 30 | P a g e 61 caps 22 caps 3 caps 124 caps 103 caps
[Link] 2. Fernando Torres 2003 1. David Silva 2. Francesc Fabregas 2005 (Absent) 50 caps 60 caps 87 caps
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FIFA U 20 WORLD CUP
1993 (Absent) 1995 1. Cesar Martin 2. Raul Gonzalez 3. Michel Salgado 4. Ivan de la Pena 5. Joseba Etxeberria 6. Fernando Morientes 1997 1. Javier Farinos 2. Miguel Angel Angulo 3. Gerard Lopez 4. David Albelda 1999 1. Daniel Aranzubia 2. Pablo Orbaiz 3. Carlos Marchena 4. Gabri Garcia 31 | P a g e 1 cap 4 caps 69 caps 3 caps 2 caps 11 caps 6 caps 51 caps 12 caps 102 caps 53 caps 5 caps 53 caps 47 caps
[Link] 5. Xavi Hernandez 6. Iker Casillas 2001 (Absent) 2003 1. Andres Iniesta 2. Sergio Garcia 3. Manu del Moral 4. Javier Arizmendi 2005 1. Raul Albiol 2. Fernando Llorente 3. David Silva 4. Francesc Fabregas INTERESTING FACTS: 30 caps 18 caps 50 caps 60 caps 61 caps 2 caps 1 cap 1 cap 103 caps 124 caps
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1. Marc Bernaus, Spanish player at the 1997 U20 world cup, has 22 caps for Andorra. 2. Aside being capped as full internationals, the following players have also lined up for the Catalonia National team: Xavi Hernandez (8 caps), Fernando Navarro (3 caps), Andres Iniesta (1 cap), Francesc Fabregas (1 cap) and Sergio Garcia (8 caps). ANALYSIS U17 WORLD CUP Year of 1997 1999 2001 2003
competition Successful players (%) Average % of successful players = 10.80% 11.10 11.10 11.10 10.00
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[Link] U20 WORLD CUP Year of 1995 1997 1999 2003 2005
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competition Successful players (%) Average % of successful players = 25.60% 33.30 22.20 33.30 20.00 19.00
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CHART
Countries and their averages
Spain C o u n t r i e s Nigeria Japan Ghana Germany Brazil Argentina 0 10 20 30 Average of successful layers (%) 40 50 U20 U17
DEDUCTIONS FROM THE CHART 1. The chances of featuring in the national team are observed to be higher in the U20 teams than in the U17 teams. 2. South America, Asia and Africa performed better than Europe in the competitions surveyed. 3. The rankings of each country is shown in the table below: S/N 1 2 3 4 5 6 COUNTRY Japan Argentina Ghana Nigeria Brazil Germany POSITION (U17) 1 1 3 3 5 6 POSITION (U20) 1 1 3 4 5 7
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[Link] 7 Spain 7 6
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The indication of the results shown above is self revealing in itself. Note that this study doesnt consider talent and quality, the main emphasis is on the effectiveness of the FIFA age group competitions as a nursery bed for future players of a country. There are numerous factors which either hamper or spur the growth of a player who featured in an age group competition and became a revelation. Some of these are: 1. Injury 2. Attitude and personality 3. Choice of club the player moves to 4. Compatibility with a national team coachs plan 5. Competition for places in the national team squad
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CONCLUSION
The world of football can be best described by a pyramid. Depending on how you place it, you always observe that one end is much bigger than the other. A good illustration of this in the world of football is the annual release of the top 50 footballers complied by the popular football website, [Link]. This list is known as [Link] Top 50. Of the 50 players listed, only 19 competed in a Fifa age group competition. This trend is an indication of the emergence of football talents from other routes other than Fifa competitions. In Europe, the UEFA age group completion is a breeding ground for talents. In some instance, some of these players do not even get the opportunity to participate in Fifa age group competitions because their countries fail to qualify. Additionally, some others are unable to participate because of injuries. There are also those who at a tender age are already first team players at their club side, and so the coaches refuse to allow them to participate. In all, it is fair to say that although the Fifa age group competitions produce plenty talents there are other avenue for the emergence of such talents.
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