Football Wonderkid Scout
Football Wonderkids
Tottenham Sign New Drogba
Hailed as the new Didier Drogba is 16 year-old strike sensation Souleymane Coulibaly who looks set to lead the next generation of superstars to replace the country's old guard. Starring at the 2011 Fifa Under-17 World Cup held in Mexico, Coulibaly scored 9 goals in just four games. Equalling the tournament record, Coulibaly scored an outstanding hat-trick against Brazil and four goals against Denmark. The young striker who played for AC Siena's reserves team, showed excellent abilities in front of goal, dominating the box area and executing great shooting skills and dribbling abilities. His outstanding performances at the World Cup alerted a number of Europe's elite.
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp was quick to make a move and fought off competition from Real Madrid to land the striker in a £2 million deal. It is thought Coulibaly will be part of Redknapp's first team squad for the forthcoming 2011/12 season. On his debut, Coulibaly was quick to impress after coming on as a second half substitute against Brighton in a pre-season friendly, scoring within minutes to grab the equaliser. Speaking to the club's official website, Tottenham's technical co-ordinator Tim Sherwood praised the young player for his performance. "Souleymane did well. He scored, the goalkeeper made one outstanding save out of the top corner from him and he also hit the post," Sherwood said. He added: "He has a one-track mind and that's to go
Souleymane Coulibaly The Next Drogba
for goal, he gets the ball out of his feet and smashes it." Winner of the Golden Boot award at the U17 World Cup due to his goalscoring exploits, he has been likened to fellow countryman Didier Drogba because of his style, power and physical presence. Coulibaly himself humbly acknowledges Drogba's evident physical advantage. “Drogba is taller than me, he’s more physically built than me and he’s better with air balls than me. If I can become a quarter of him I’d be so happy,” Coulibaly recently told Ivorian newspaper Frat Mat.
Tottenham chief Darren Eagles poured praise on the Ivorian star but suggested that there would be no immediate pressure on the youngster and that he would be eased into the first team. Eagles stated, “Obviously we’re not expecting him to go in the first team and start scoring but we’re hoping that in the future he can be a great talent for Tottenham. He’s a young player, he’ll come in and play with our development squad. When the time’s right we’re hoping he’ll be able to burst into the first team. He is only a young kid so we don’t want to put too much pressure on him.”
You are viewing the text version of this site.
To view the full version please install the Adobe Flash Player and ensure your web browser has JavaScript enabled.
Need help? check the requirements page.
