World’s Teams Scouting Future Stars at U-17 World Cup

The FIFA U-17 World Cup for players under age 17 is scouting paradise. Everyone wants dibs on the next “future star” early on. This is a chance for teams around the world to find those diamonds in the rough before they become athletes with astronomical salaries.

The Spain-Honduras and Argentina-Syria games took place at the Ulsan Stadium on August 19. Scouts from famous professional soccer teams in Spain, Italy, and England were watching in the stands.

One scout from England said in a low voice, “Four scouts have come from England alone, including Liverpool and Middlesbrough, to see this game.” He did not reveal his affiliation. Another scout from Italy avoided us, saying, “Please go interview someone else. Nearly everyone around is a scout here.” There were about 10 foreigners sitting nearby.

They were all highly sensitive to who each had their eye on. If they were caught being interested in a certain player, they could lose that player to another scout.

The FIFA homepage announced that Real Madrid (Spain), AC Milan (Italy), and other famous have their eye on Lulinha (Corinthian) from Brazil.

bluesky@donga.com