Football Wonderkid Scout
Football Wonderkids
River Plate - The New Barcelona
River Plate legend Matias Almeyda has predicted a bright future at River Plate and believes the current golden generation of players coming through at Los Millonarios could emulate the success of European counterparts Barcelona. "I have always said that whoever is on the River bench in the near future is going to have a great time. I think that in a year or two River will be a sort of South American Barcelona," the 37-year-old claimed in an interview with ESPN Radio. Almeyda has stated his belief that within two years the likes of Erik Lamela and Manuel Lanzini will be mentioned in the same breath as stars such as Xavi and Iniesta at Spanish giants Barcelona. The club which has recently produced Javier Mascherano, Gonzalo Higuaín and Esteban Cambiasso is producing wonderkids on a near monthly basis.
The Buenos Aires based outfit currently lie sixth in the Clausura with eight points from the first fivegames, and recently sent six players with Argentina to the Under-20 South American Championships, not including the jewells in their academy system, Manuel Lanzini and Lamela as well as striker Roberto Pereyra. A young and inexperienced side, Almeyda believes that the side can mature together over the next few years if they can hold on to their most promising talents. Erik Lamela is perhaps one of the greatest hopes in Argentina right now and has drawn comparisons to the great Lionel Messi himself. Having been a target of Barcelona at the age of
River Starlets Funes Mori and Lanzini
12 years-old, Lamela only recently made his transition to the first team at the end of the 2010 Apertura tournament. At just 18 years-old, River Plate have already rejected an offer in the region of €12m offer from Italian giants AC Milan. Lamela's ability to dribble past defenders with ease and is excellent vision and tricky has inevitably earned him the title "The new Messi".
Los Millonarios fans appear equally excited by the development of 18 year-old Manuel Lanzini who has been ever present in the current campaign. The orchestrator in midfield, Lanzini pulls the strings and is a classic playmaker with excellent vision and technique. Though he may not be a household name, the Argentine wonderkid has already attracted the attention of Real Madrid and Inter Milan who have sent scouts flocking to El Monumental. Between the sticks is 20 year-old Leandro Chichizola who has already kept three clean sheets out of the opening five games. Whilst they may have struggled to score, defensively River look solid at the back and Chichizola has put in a number of eye catching displays making it difficult for Juan Pablo Carrizo to return. Up front, River have two much talked about strikes in Rogelio Funes Mori who has been described as the next Hernan Crespo and Daniel Villalba. Funes Mori who recently scored two goals at the U20 South American Championships has been leading the line in the current campaign for River. River also have emerging talents in Rodrigo Rey, Germán Pezzella, Leandro González Pirez and Mauro Díaz.
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