Five Young Players Looking to Make a Mark on the Copa América

Five Young Players Looking to Make a Mark on the Copa América

Five Young Players Looking to Make a Mark on the Copa América

image

By Gordon Fleetwood, NYC

This year’s Copa América is just a week away from the opening game in La Plata. In each edition of this prestigious tournament, young players have always been central to their team’s hope and dreams. Here is a selection of five players under the age of twenty-one who will be hoping to make this summer a memorable one in Argentina.

Diego Rubio (Chile)

One of the great things about the Copa Libertadores is the young players that emerge during the competition each season. One of this year’s sensations was Colo Colo’s teenage striker, Diego Rubio. The youngster didn’t play in the first three group games, but when he got his chance, he lit up the field with his enterprising play. First he scored a goal as a sub in his Libertadores debut against Santos. He followed this up by notching a  scored a brace to down Deportivo Táchira. Unfortunately for Libertadores viewers, Colo Colo’s self-destruction in the final game robbed them of a chance to see the talented starlet in the knock-out phase of the competition. However, the eighteen year-old has been included in Chile’s squad to travel to Argentina. Rubio won’t be starting, but his threat off the bench will add another potent weapon to Chile’s dangerous attacking arsenal.

José Salómon Rondon (Venezuela)

image

Málaga barely escaped relegation in Spain’s Primera Division this past season after a year full of football mishaps of all kinds. The late goal onslaught of Júlio Baptista was critical to the club’s avoiding the drop to La Segunda. However, the part played by Salómon Rondon was equally important. The young Venezuelan racked up an impressive fourteen goals in thirty games during the course of his first season in the Spanish First Division. With his club’s future in the top flight secured, Rondon turns his attention to his country’s efforts in the Copa América. To say the odds are stacked against La Vinotinto in the shark-infested waters of Group B is euphemistic. It will be up to Rondon to try to propel his team to the next stage.

Neymar (Brazil)

image

This teenager’s name is arguably the hottest word in football right now. Some people love him, some people hate him, and all the big clubs want him. After completing an impressive second season as a professional in 2010, the youngster has taken 2011 by storm. So far Neymar has already led Santos to a second consecutive State Champions title, as well as the holy grail, the Copa Libertadores trophy. The frightening thing is that even as dangerous as the he is now, there is still room to improve. This will be first international competition for the nineteen year-old star. He’ll  be looking to spear-head Brazil’s attempt to defend their title, and in the process, to show the world that he is worthy of all the hype.

Ganso (Brazil)

image

Unlike his club teammate Neymar, Ganso hasn’t had a full season to showcase his skills. A terrible injury in 2010 put him out for six months. Then a few weeks after his return, another injury meant another six weeks on the treatment table for the lanky playmaker. However, the talent in his tall frame shines as brightly as the sun whenever the ball is at his feet. His silky performance in the second leg of the Libertadores final in his first game back after injury was testament to that. As a result of a contract dispute with Santos over wages, Ganso expressed his desire to play abroad - preferably in Milan - earlier this year. A magnificent display of his undeniable talent in Argentina will bring that move to Europe even closer.

Abel Hernández (Uruguay)

image

Hernández endured an injury-plagued season for his club, but he is fit and ready for national duty. Unfortunately for him, that status also applies to the magnificent trio of Luis Suarez, Diego Forlan, and Edinson Cavani. As a result, a place on the bench awaits the Palermo striker when Uruguay’s campaign begins. However, Hernández’s scoring talents means that he will be one of the first attacking options of the bench if Oscar Tabarez needs to shake things ups. 

Honorable mentions: André Carillo (Peru), Lucas (Brazil), Yohandry Orozco(Venezuela), Gastón Ramirez (Uruguay)