Robinho, Pato, Balotelli... We have witnessed so many wonderkids shined in the early years then faded away into mediocrity. Why they didn't live up to their potential? Leave your thoughts in the comment section!
Robinho, Pato, Balotelli... We have witnessed so many wonderkids shined in the early years then faded away into mediocrity. Why they didn't live up to their potential? Leave your thoughts in the comment section!
nuscdmnsu
342
Too much monies to spend. Less attentive toward their job that cause their downfall... club shld hv money management courses for young player...
Chima92
294
Most of them never had good guidance, advisers or agents, while some have/had character n moral issues.
TanimaRoy
270
Most of football wonder kids are from South America, where they play not in the academy but in the favelas. Some are tracked by European scouts and brought. And those are expected to deliver in every game. But, some often fade into darkness because of misunderstanding with coach, team members, etc. They also are burdened with huge expectations and criticised for each bad pass or shot. So, they fail to live up to the expectations. This is the case of South American and third world wonder kids. In Europe though, prodigies are trained in academy and start their career at their native club. Next they are purchased by a giant, where a good performance makes them stars. In case of Balotelli, he is too arrogant to learn much. Others like Pato and Reus have suffered from injuries, etc. The biggest lesson for a footballer is his or her humility. Look at Messi and Cristiano, even after where they are now, they are not proud of themselves and always willing to improve. This is the key to success, not only in football, but everywhere in life.
maddyfootballer
221
Money and hunger to success in life early on but not by hard work but they all want it in an instant. Few players got the patience and they unless when their opportunity comes by rest all crumble under pressure and very complicated thinking abt their future. Thinking things like if I don't score today I won't play any day. They must know that wait for opportunities and impress when time comes by.
tropicalda
217
Mario Balotelli was on top of the world. Everybody was convinced that he was going to win the Balon D Or after Messi and Ronaldo. The world had just witnessed this youngster absolutely tear apart Germany single handedly. And then the spiral started. His immaturity took over and eventually started to affect his performances on the pitch. Constant fights with teammates, turning up late to training, smoking, drinking alcohol it seems he finally realized his mistakes and moved to Nice who offered him what no other would. And he is now doing well Mario Balottelli could have been one of the best in the world but instead he wasted his talent because he was never managed in the right way.
VanishPrasad
91
Their inability to focus and less effort has caused them to not fulfill their potential. Take Bolateli for example. He focused too much on fun so he wasted his talents. Players like Ronlado, Messi and Mbappe show maturity by focusing on their goals and trainings. Dembele may seem a world class player but really does need to improve himself to attend training for long term benefit such as winning a Ballon d'or in the future.
Braddy
66
It is not just about talent, it is also about their mentality. Wonderkids or not, everyone starts from the bottom. Their success mainly depends on how they handle the fame once they get famous. They can either keep their head down and remain fully focused on their career and development, and not show any change in their attitude towards their training. Or, what most of the so called ‘wonderkids’ do is handle the fame, money and attention in a wrong way. They take a different path than the one that got them to the top in the first place. So players just feel burdened by the pressure put on them by others around them. Those who can't handle it, find it hard to succeed. On top of all this, there are other factors that needs to fall in place. During the early stages of their career, they need to have a manager who trusts their ability, and not try to change their playing mentality. The player needs the righ amount of motivation, criticism. Some people can take both motivation and criticism in a wrong way and let it affect their performance, which should not be the case.
LukakNjibeza
62
because when the play well for some time and people stating to NV them .they no long train head they feel they are the beat .I think they should Lean from messi and ronado. after all the fan and support they have they still play well and continue training
FootballWorld99
50
Kids with huge amount of talent and seemingly infinite potential are produced every year from various academies across the globe but why do they tether when it comes to actually performing in the big leagues for a long time like CR7 and Leo ?? The difference btw these two and the other wonderkids is REMAINING GROUNDED! These two legends have remained at the top level due to their constant push towards excellence and undying love towards the game. Many youngsters come every year and when they get a little money and a time of Fame they start acting like they are everything they need to be and stop pushing themselves and eventually they fall out due to this complacency.. Remember this guy who was touted as way better than Messi? just an example from a huge lot!
Sammyyoung300
48
Some wonder kids are pride of their current form and fail to improve, other too injuries cost thier their downfall player like Reus, Wilsher,Pato and others were all expected to be great players but due to injuries they'll fail to reach their full potentials.Some agents too influence many youngsters with money because of what they might get leading to many wonder kids to move to a wrong team whom they might help him.
aladegold
46
we expect too much from them and the burden kills them. they are been bought by big teams, paid a huge salary, and they don't take time to learn from senior one's, because people have place them above themselves.
jerrymwas
31
Arrogance pride and Ego killed them all..... like once Filipe Luis of said... " young players walk down the streets carrying around personalised and designer back packs with £400 sneekers and they think they are superstars already".... how right he was.... those mentioned players in Pato Baloteli and Robinho they let their incoming super stardom hinder their career growth.... next who will ruin his career soon if he doesn't watch out will be Ousmane Ndembele....