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13.08.2007 13:57
Under 17 World Cup: all eyes on Bojan
Jordi Clos
Bojan Krkic left for South Korea on Monday, where there are high hopes for what he can do at the Under 17 World Cup. Three other Barça players, Bolaños, David Giménez and Iago, will also be involved.
The Spanish Under 17 squad will be one of the favourites at the World Cup, which starts on August 18. Bojan Krkic will be one of the star attractions after his excellent performances with the first team in Scotland. Barça’s centre back Àlex Bolaños, playmaker David Giménez and wide player Iago Falqué.
A prodigy
An
article
on the World Cup’s official website has described Bojan as the “latest footballing
prodigy to roll off the Spanish production line.” In the same article, national team boss
Juan Santisteban is quoted as saying “he's a player with tremendous potential. There's no
limit to what he can achieve.”
Arrival on the scene
Bojan Krkic was named player of the tournament at the European Under 17 World Cup, and has already played for the Barça first team and he is an international at Under 21 level too. Bojan played a starring role in Spain’s win against Colombia in a warm-up match on August 7
Other attractions
But Bojan will not be the only major potential appearing in Korea. Argentinians Alexis Machuca and Pablo Mussachio have already played first team football for Newell’s Old Boys and River Plate, while much is expected of PSG’s French defender Mamadou Sakho. England’s Victor Moses has been working wonders at Crystal Palace and Brazilian Lula is a regular in the Corinthians team, and will almost certainly be on his way to Europe soon. Remember, the last tournament’s Golden Ball winner, Anderson, has since found employment at Manchester United.
The fixtures
Spain will be starting in Group C along with Holland, Syria and Honduras. The top two sides qualify automatically, while there are also second round berths for the best third placed countries. Spain’s games are as follows:
Honduras-Spain. 19 August (16.00)
Syria- Spain. 22 August (17.00 h
Spain -Argentina. 25 August (16.00 h)
In Giovani’s wake
Mexico won the last Under 17 World Cup in Peru in 2005. Barça’s Giovani Dos Santos, then
playing for the Barça Youth B team, was the star of the Mexican side and won the Silver Ball award.
And of course, he has gone from good to better since then.
