So ESPN had a little snippet in this issue's mag about a young kid from Brazil...maybe an extension of last issue's annual "The Next" edition. At any rate, figured I would waste some time and type it up so you soccer fans (and non-soccer fans alike) could see this little dude's highlight video.
"Brazilian soccer superstars usually go by a single name. But Jean Carlos Chera is not your average Brazilian superstar. The 9-year-old's fancy footwork sparked a feeding frenzy among European pro scouts when his club team, Associacao Desportiva Atletica, posted a highlight video on its website (adap.com.br/inicial.htm). The clip, which show Chera sniping long-range
golazos and dribbling through players twice his size - and nearly twice his age - got so many hits the site crashed. Team prez Adilson Batista Prado has lofty praise for the wee leftfooter. "He's the best player ever come out of Brazil," Prado says. Of course, Atletica has plenty to gain from creating buzz: the team stands to make millions of euros selling the rights to the 4'6", 77-pound prodigy to interested parties like Man U or Porto of Portugal.
So how good is the kid, really? John Ellinger, the foremer U.S. Under-17 coach who developed Freddy Ady and Landon Donovan, is siffuciently wowed. "The kid is special," says Ellinger, now coach of Real Salt Lake. "He has all the technical tools an exceptional speed. Plus, he's fun to watch."
Introducing the next Pele. "
(written by Doug McIntyre)
Now I've played soccer all my life...and if I was that good at that age? My god....
