Suarez scored 35 goals in the 09-10 Dutch Eredivisie

There’s no question that Uruguayan football isn’t what it once used to be, but the abundance of talent that has emerged from the country in recent years has given the nation great optimism looking ahead to the future. One player who is destined to help Uruguay fulfil their potential is exciting Ajax Amsterdam scoring-machine Luis Suarez. Since leaving Uruguayan giants Club Nacional de Football for FC Groningen of the Netherlands in 2006, Suarez demonstrated the necessary determination to sign for a bigger club, and after experiencing a successful season with the club he was sold to Ajax for €7.5 million in August, 2007.

Since making his Eredivisie debut for Ajax in an 8-1 win over De Graafschap — Suarez scored one goal and set-up another three — the Uruguayan has been consistently magnificent. At the conclusion of his first season at the Amsterdam Arena Suarez scored 20 goals in 40 appearances. The following season his good form continued, with Suarez finishing second in the scoring charts with 22 goals in 31 games — a ratio that already attracted the attention of some of Europe’s wealthiest clubs.

Europe’s most prolific goal-scorer?

But despite interest from various clubs in England, Italy and Spain, Suarez decided that it would be best to remain at Ajax for another season, and it was a wise choice as the recently finished 2009-10 season was without doubt his best, as not only did Suarez captain Ajax, but he ended the season as the Dutch league’s leading goal-scorer with 35 goals, for a total of 49 goals in all competitions — a staggering statistic. It was no surprise that Suarez was named Dutch Footballer of the Year.

Even if Ajax ended the Dutch league second to FC Twente, Suarez capped off a spectacular season on a personal note, by scoring twice as Ajax thrashed Feyenoord 4-1 in the final of the Dutch Cup.

But Suarez’s quality hasn’t only been restricted to club level, but it has also appeared with the Uruguayan national team, where he has formed a lethal attacking partnership with Atletico Madrid star Diego Forlan — also one of Europe’s most dangerous strikers. Suarez played a part as Uruguay qualified for the 2010 World Cup, scoring crucial goals against Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador.

What the future holds…

While Suarez’s mind will be on helping Uruguay go as far as possible in the 2010 World Cup, he can’t hide the fact that he has become one of the most sought after strikers in the whole of Europe. Suarez’s goal-scoring capacity hasn’t gone unnoticed, and it will only be a matter of time before he completes a high-profile transfer to one of Europe’s biggest clubs. In recent months Suarez has attracted interest from several top clubs including Real Madrid, Barcelona, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Juventus and AC Milan. According to reports Ajax will not sell the player for anything less than €30 million — but even that seems a relatively small price to pay for a player of his undisputed quality.

Player Details

Full name: Luis Alberto Suarez Diaz
Position: Striker
Date of Birth: January 24, 1987 (23)
Place of Birth: Salto, Uruguay
Height: 1.81 metres
Clubs: Nacional, Groningen, Ajax Amsterdam

Gregory Sica

Southamericanfutbol.com

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Great things are expected from Santos prodigy Neymar

Brazilian football continues to produce highly-talented youngsters who go on to become household names in the elite leagues of European football. The latest of this crop of players is Santos striker Neymar, an incredibly skilled 18-year-old who is destined to follow in the footsteps of idol and club team-mate Robinho, or to a greater extent the footsteps of Santos and Brazilian football legend Pele. Although still very young Neymar — who is valued at €30 million — has demonstrated sufficient potential to be amongst the greatest strikers in Brazilian football history, but with the number of incredibly talented players the country has produced over the years living up to the hype will be a daunting challenge.

Neymar joined Santos at age nine, but made his professional debut with the club in 2009 when 17. Since then he has received ongoing praise for the amount of quality he possesses on the football field. The youngster is extremely skilful, and catches the attention of onlookers because of his lighting speed and technical ability. Much in the same manner as Robinho he has a cathedral of tricks up his sleeve, and his incredible dribbling skills and high scoring-rate allows him to stand apart from the rest.

Can Neymar replicate Robinho…Pele?

Because Neymar’s characteristics are identical to that of Robinho’s, the player has received ongoing comparisons with the former Real Madrid and Manchester City ace (Robinho is on loan to Santos from City). But to a much greater extent, the Brazilian press have even gone to the extreme of comparing him to Pele — it is much too early to make such a comparison. Observers are confident that a bright future with the Selecao awaits him, even if Neymar has yet to make an appearance for the five-time world champions.

Neymar clearly has what it takes to succeed in one of Europe’s top clubs, however, he intends to remain at Santos before making the big leap in order to mature and to help Santos win local and international trophies. This seems the best way to go as when representing Brazil at the U-17 World Cup in 2009, Neymar performed well below his potential as the Brazilians crashed out in the first round. A weight of expectation continues to lie on Neymar’s shoulders, but even if talented, to get the most out of the striker he can’t be rushed.

What the future holds…

Even before making his official debut for Santos, Neymar attracted the attention of several top European clubs including Spanish giants Real Madrid (club he briefly played for as a youth player) . His unique talent was clearly noticeable, but despite impressing the Spaniards Santos rejected Madrid’s offer, before presenting him with an opportunity to play for Santos’ first team. With Santos he has lived up to his potential, and even if still young, it just seems a matter of time before he signs a lucrative contract with a major European club. In April, 2010, Madrid again expressed their desire to sign the player, but he will have to weigh his options, as reportedly Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City and AC Milan are also after his signature.

Neymar has been the talk of Brazilian football for several months now, and his outstanding form in the Sao Paulo State championship with Santos this year — he has scored 12 goals — has kept alive his chances of making Brazil’s 23-man squad for the World Cup in South Africa. Due to his performances with Santos, fans and the Brazilian press alike have pressured Dunga into selecting the talented prodigy, much like Brazil did with Kaka in ’02, Ronaldo in ’94 and Pele in ’58.

The great Pele is even in favour of his inclusion, stating: “If I were the coach, I’d take him (to the World Cup). Some say he is too young, but at 16 years of age I was already in the national team.” Whether Neymar makes the cut or not, he is destined to become an integral part of the Selecao in the near future. Expect to see a lot from Neymar in the coming years.

Player Details

Full name: Neymar da Silva Santos Junior
Position: Striker
Date of Birth: February 5, 1992 (18)
Place of Birth: Mogi das Cruzes, Brazil
Height: 1.73 metres
Club: Santos

Gregory Sica

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Having emerged from the famous River Plate youth system, Andres D´Alessandro´s exceptional talent soon earned him a permanent place in the club´s first team. At River the player´s status increased and he became a prominent player of the squad, converting 19 goals in 70 matches for the club over a five-year period, before joining Wolfsburg of Germany for a club record fee of €9m in 2003.

A regular with the Argentine national team (D´Alessandro was part of the Argentina squad that won the gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games) at this point, D´Alessandro scored 8 goals for his German club over a two-year period, before brief loan deals with Portsmouth and Real Zaragoza. His good performances for the Spanish club soon earned him a permanent move, but the midfielder continued to attract the attention of wealthier clubs.

However, in 2008 ´El Cabezon´ returned to his homeland with San Lorenzo and he played a key role as the side reached the later stages of the Copa Libertadores. D´Alessandro believed if he were to remain in Argentina it would improve his chances of gaining an Argentina recall, but he soon fell out of favour with the club´s board and opted for a big-money move to Brazilian giants Internacional, winners of the 2006 Copa Libertadores.

A new chapter at Internacional

According to D´Alessandro his transfer to Internacional in the second half of 2008 was a step forward in his career as he joined an ambitious club that was after local and international glory. In his first season in Porto Alegre he helped the club win the Copa Sudamericana for the first time, beating Estudiantes de La Plata in the final. D´Alessandro fit in nicely to the team´s system and his dead-ball accuracy and sublime dribbling skills were much of the reason why they returned to the pinnacle of South American football. The following year he played a part as Inter won the Campeonato Gaucho, and that same year the Colorado finished in the top positions of the Brasileiro, earning themselves a berth in the 2010 Copa Libertadores.

What the future holds…

Despite attracting interest from various clubs in Europe, Argentina and Mexico, D´Alessandro decided to remain at Internacional, particulary because the side had spent big money in assembling a competitive squad to confront the 1010 Copa Libertadores. However, the fact that Inter are struggling in the Campeonato Gaucho has done the player no favours, and many criticised his performances under new Uruguayan coach Jorge Fossati. It seemed that Inter had entered a crisis, but their Copa Libertadores victory over Cerro at the Beira-Rio stadium on Wednesday has taken a wealth of pressure of the shoulders of D´Alessandro, Fossati and the rest of the Inter crew.

D´Alessandro recently stated that he hopes that good performances with Inter in the Copa Libertadores would earn him a recall to the Argentine national team for the World Cup in June. With the absence of natural playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme, Argentina lack a capable creative midfielder, and if ontop of his game D´Alessandro could be a valuable addition to the side. A couple of decisive months await El Cabezon.

Player Details

Full name: Andres D´Alessandro
Position: Attacking midfielder
Date of Birth: April 15, 1981 (28)
Place of Birth: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height: 1.74 metres
Clubs: River Plate, Wolfsburg, Portsmouth,
Real Zaragoza, San Lorenzo, Internacional

Gregory Sica

Southamericanfutbol.com

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Rise To Prominence

Brazil continues to produce some of the finest footballers in the world and the latest prospect of a new crop of talent to emerge from the football-mad nation is exciting attacking midfielder Ramires. Since switching from little-known Joinville to Belo Horizonte giants Cruzeiro in 2007 the Rio de Janeiro-born player has demonstrated his undisputed quality, and such impressive performances meant that it was just a matter of time before he would earn himself a call-up to the Brazilian national team.

After featuring four times for Brazil as they claimed the bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, only earlier in June did Ramires make his first appearance for the senior national team. Under the guidance of Carlos Dunga Ramires came on as substitute in the World Cup qualifier against Uruguay in Montevideo and proved his worth as the Selecao thumped the locals 4-0.

Ramires For The World To See

In the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup Ramires has been as impressive, and although little was known about him outside of South America prior to the tournament, his performances have caught the imagination of the world.

Ramires featured in all three of Brazil’s group games, and was particularly impressive in the 3-0 win over the United States. The midfielder displayed his quality during this game, and many believe he may have cemented himself a starting role in Dunga’s strong starting XI for the future. With the 2010 World Cup just around the corner Ramires has the opportunity to fight for a place in Brazil’s squad for the tournament. But first he will be hoping to help the five-time World Champions triumph at the Confederations Cup.

South American football fans had already been provided with a glimpse of his talent during the 2009 Copa Libertadores, South America’s biggest club competition. Ramires was in top-form as Cruzeiro reached the knock-out phase in style, as not only did he demonstrate his agility, speed and determination, but his unique eye for goal. As well as this Ramires showed that he is strong in the tackle, and his defensive skills make him a complete midfielder.

The fact that he was called up to the Selecao for the Confederations Cup means he hasn’t been able to help Cruzeiro in the decisive stages of the Copa Libertadores, but The Fox have reached the semi-finals of the competition where they will face fellow Brazilians Gremio on Wednesday. If Cruzeiro manage to progress to the final, Ramires is likely to return to the side and will surely be hoping to leave Cruzeiro as a continental champion.

What The Future Holds

Ramires agreed to join Portuguese super club Benfica for €7.5 million in May, a transfer that will surely be a huge investment for the club. His quality and the likelihood of him becoming an integral part of the Brazilian national team for many years to come suggests that when he moves to an even bigger European club he will be sold for a much greater value. Ramires promises to make an impact in European football, because of his temperament and his rare characteristics.

Nicknamed both “The Blue Bugs Bunny” and the “Blue Kenyan” by Cruzeiro fans for his fragile build and electrifying speed, Ramires is destined for world-wide stardom. One factor that might affect his adaptation to European football once he arrives there however, is his lack of physical presence, but the midfielder has already been working on this and as the months go by he is likely to be bigger and stronger. Essentially this will further increase his ability on the football field.

Ramires may only have just arrived on the world stage, but the midfielder is destined for great things with both club and country. The possibility to play in Europe next season will undoubtedly help the player mature and if he is able to turn on the style with Benfica he is likely to be rewarded with a World Cup place. At only 22 it is fair to say that Ramires has the world at his feet.

Player Details

Full name: Ramires Santos do Nascimento
Position: Midfielder
Date of Birth: March 24, 1987 (22)
Place of Birth: Barra do Pirai, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height: 1.79m
Weight: 65 kg
Clubs: Joinville, Cruzeiro, Benfica

Gregory Sica

Goal.com

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