Description: Made his debut with Athletic at just 16, making him the youngest player in their history. Some injury problems hindered his development, but he recently came back as good as ever. Scored 4 goals so far for Athletic and produced a lot of memorable performances. Muniain has been named the “Spanish Wayne Rooney” for his youth and goal scoring ability. Has the potential to become one of the best strikers in the world if he keeps improving at this rate.
Pros: Low center of gravity, quickness, dribbling, finishing
Cons: Strength, Lack of experience
Transfer Interest: High with Liverpool in the hunt, but he just signed a long term deal so any transfer will probably have to wait a bit
Here is a list of my picks for the World Cup 2010 breakout star. You can click on a players name (or World Cup 2010 Breakouts link above to view all of the players at once), to read about him, watch some highlights as well as give him a rating and leave comments with your thoughts.
The U-20 World Cup always seems to produce the next batch of football stars. The likes of Lionel Messi and Sergio Agüero both won the Golden Ball award at the tournament and went on to become major stars. At the 2009 U-20 World Cup, the Golden Ball winner was Ghana’s Dominic Adiyiah. Born November 29th, 1989, the striker has been improving every year, making the leap from Ghana’s Premier league to Norway’s Tippeligaen, before playing in the U-20 World Cup. His 8 goals and outstanding overall performance there, earned the youngster a transfer to Italy’s A.C. Milan. Though he hasn’t played a game there yet, and only came on as a substitute for Ghana’s senior national team, his limited performances were impressive. The youngster showed glimpses of his amazing talent, with strength, speed, and eye for goal, all of which earned him a call-up to Ghana’s squad for the 2010 World Cup. The striker earned 2 caps at the World Cup, and could have a breakout 2010-2011 season at Reggina, whom he joined on loan for the 2010-2011 season in order to gain more first team experience.
Eyebrows were raised when Manchester United signed the little-known Javier Hernández (also known as Chicharito) for about £7 million in early April of 2010. However the striker (born 1 June 1988) lets his goal scoring record do the talking. With 10 goals in just 11 games in Mexico’s 2010 Torneo Bicentenario, as well as 26 goals in 64 appearances for former club Guadalajara, Hernández is a prolific scorer, combining great pace and finishing ability. The talented striker has also scored 9 goals in 16 appearances for the Mexican National Team, and played great at the 2010 World Cup (where he scored 2 goals in 4 appearances), making Manchester United look very smart with their transfer.
From Japan comes one of the most exciting young strikers in the world. Holding the record of the youngest ever scorer in the Japanese J-League, Takayuki Morimoto (May 7, 1988) has the strength, size, speed and finishing ability to become a great striker. He is already one of the more important players at current club Catania and has been called the best young player in Serie A by Brazilian star Alexandre Pato. Despite scoring just one goal for the Japenese national team so far, he was selected for the 2010 World Cup, and though he didn’t play a game, is expected play a major part for the team in the future.
Chile should definitely not be taken for granted in this year’s cup. The so called “Wonder Boy” Alexis Sánchez fits right into a national team loaded with young talent at every position. Born December 19, 1988 Sánchez has become a star everywhere he went, whether it be Chilean powerhouse Colo Colo or his current club Udinese. With his blinding pace and dribbling ability he has created more than a few highlight reels in Serie A, putting major Premiership teams on notice. So far the forward has scored 11 times in 32 matches for Chile, while also playing 4 games at this years World Cup, where he again impressed with his dribbling and creativity, setting up many attacks.
