Brazilian soccer phenom, 9 yrs old, catching attention of pro teams

[davidinalameda]

NINE YEARS OLD????????

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/soccer/01/27/phenom.ap/index.html?cnn=yes

At this rate, sonograms will become a soccer recruiting tool pretty soon.

Jean Carlos Chera, a 9-year-old who is 4-foot-6, is attracting interest from Manchester United and other top European teams. Chera, who weighs 77 pounds, currently plays for the youth teams of Associacao Desportiva Atletica, a small club in the southern Brazilian state of Parana.

"Seven or eight European clubs have already contacted us to know more about Jean," team president Adilson Batista Prado said in a telephone interview Thursday. "They want to know what he is all about, and I tell them he's a phenomenon, probably the best player to come out of Brazil."

[sasquatch]

1. Ok, this is getting rigawddamndiculus.

So this kid has a skill right now that is awesome but what will happen when he hits puberty and his body goes in a different direction that doesn't make him a better soccer player.

[The Backlash Cometh]

2. More like, phenom players fizzle out because of injuries from being

overplayed by inexperienced coaches.

[sasquatch]

4. Yeah, no shit

Espeicialy if some crazy FA League club manager get's a hold of this kid who can't even drive in the US and expects him to play at the level 26 - 30 year old men.

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. What I've seen in women's soccer is the opposite.

Some of the better teams are equipped with trainers who are very cautious with injuries and playing time. They're also down on high school ball. Apparently it's the high school season which can burn kids out because you're dealing with coaches who are not that experienced; and because they cram too many games in one week. College, I understand, is not so demanding gamewise -- it's more regulated.

So, if you can get a good Club coach involved early enough to tell phenom kids not to bother with high school, it might go a long way to make sure they'll make it to college and beyond.

[nickgutierrez]

3. How good can he possibly be?

He still has all his names. :D

[HuckleB]

5. Ah, the old Soviet athletic system comes to the "free world."

:eyes: