In 2007, Daily Mail made a prediction about what could be the team of the future in England. 3 years later, in 2010, a date fondly remembered by supporters of our country for winning the World Cup in South Africa, several renowned players were nominated to win one of the most relevant individual awards: the Golden Boy.
One of them is Joel Matip, who currently plays for Liverpool. In fact, he is the luxury partner in the central axis of the defense alongside Virgil van Dijk, having won the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup, and the Club World Cup. Therefore, his next goal is the Premier League, which is well on track under Jürgen Klopp.
Another well-known player on the list is Mario Balotelli, who has been strongly linked with leaving the Brescia project. Unfortunately, the forward has been a victim of continuous racist chants in Serie A. Romelu Lukaku also competes in Italy, but for Inter Milan, which is the firm candidate to break Juventus' hegemony in the domestic championship.
Gaël Kakuta, a familiar face to Rayo Vallecano and Sevilla, has seen his progress come to a screeching halt in recent years, so he made the decision to join Amiens to revitalize his career. The opposite is true for Miralem Pjanić, who is a key player in the midfield for the Vecchia Signora and in the plans of his coach Maurizio Sarri.
James Rodríguez and Eden Hazard, both at Real Madrid, were also highlighted as professionals with a promising future ahead of them in 2010. The Belgian has more than delivered, while the Colombian has been characterized by being somewhat inconsistent. Mario Götze (Borussia Dortmund) is also included, the hero of his home country Germany for his goal in extra time of the final of the 2014 World Cup to knock out Argentina.
Philippe Coutinho, on loan from FC Barcelona to Bayern Munich, is doing everything possible to regain the confidence he lost in himself, especially after last season in Barcelona. Closing this interesting Top 10 is a forward who, despite falling somewhat into oblivion, had a tremendous breakthrough at Manchester United: Federico Macheda. However, he has had to move through several projects until landing at Panathinaikos.