Iheanacho and Berisha in focus
©TM/IMAGO
With his straightforward manner, which distinguished him as a player, Bayern’s former professional Lúcio summed it up a few years ago: The U17 World Cup was a “unique opportunity for the participants to present their skills to a global audience.” Since November 3rd, the players from the 48 qualified nations have had the opportunity to convince the numerous local scouts of a move to a top club and lay the foundation for a great career – at least that is the popular opinion. Transfermarkt shows in a series what has become of the best players and most successful goalscorers of the past tournaments. The third part focuses on the 2013 World Cup.
Editor’s note: This article was first published by Transfermarkt in October 2019 and is now being republished in an updated version.
Kelechi Iheanacho: Via Leicester and Sevilla to Celtic
It didn’t take long for Kelechi Iheanacho to put his stamp on the tournament. The striker contributed four goals in Nigeria’s opening win against defending champions Mexico. At the end of the World Cup, six goals and five assists were not only the reason why the offensive man was awarded the Golden Ball as the best player, but also the reason that a contract from Manchester City was ready to be signed. In January 2014, the Citizens secured the services of Iheanacho, who came from the Nigerian Taye Academy and was initially supposed to strengthen the U18s, for 1.1 million euros.
“He is a player with great talent who is an important option for the coming years. The future belongs to him,” announced the then City coach Manuel Pellegrini – Iheanacho initially followed through with action. From the 2015/16 season he received regular playing time with the professionals, and in 2016 he caused a stir in his joker role as the most accurate attacker in Europe: at one point he only needed 81.3 minutes to score a goal across all competitions. Under Pellegrini the way seemed to have been paved for a successful career. “He was the reason why I didn’t want to sign a new striker after Edin Dzeko’s departure,” the Chilean announced, referring to Iheanacho.
However, the striker did not establish himself as a regular player under either Pellegrini or his successor Pep Guardiola. “For some reason it just doesn’t give him the opportunity to get noticed. […] As an advisor, I personally think Guardiola is not treating him fairly,” agent Olumide Olowu expressed his displeasure with the situation. However, the Manchester City camp continued to think highly of Iheanacho: When he finally joined Leicester City for 27.7 million euros in the summer of 2017, the English champions reportedly secured a buyback option worth 56 million euros.
Iheanacho stayed with the Foxes for seven years, but spent most of the time switching between the bench and the starting eleven. In 2020/21, especially in the last third of the season, he probably had his best phase and increased his market value to a career high of 20 million euros. The years that followed were at least solid, but even five Iheanacho goals and assists in the Premier League could not prevent Leicester’s relegation in 2023. He then stayed with the sensational champions of 2016 for another year before two mostly unsuccessful adventures in Seville and Middlesbrough followed. Iheanacho has been playing for Celtic Glasgow since the summer of 2025 and has scored three goals in his first eight games. But recently he was missing injured. His market value has gradually fallen to 4.5 million euros, and a transfer fee has not been due since 2017.
Valmir Berisha: “He wandered aimlessly around the square”
Iheanacho’s mark of six goals was bettered by only one player, Valmir Berisha, at the 2013 U17 World Cup. The attacker scored seven goals and helped Sweden to third place. “There is also interest from the Bundesliga,” confirmed the now 29-year-old following the tournament that ended in November. The clubs are said to have included Werder Bremen, Hannover 96 and Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Ultimately, Berisha, who had already attracted attention with 31 goals in 31 appearances in Halmstads BK’s U19 team, moved to Italy in January 2014. The youngster, touted by the local daily newspaper as “Sweden’s greatest talent”, moved to AS Roma’s U19s for 500,000 euros.
In contrast to Iheanacho, Berisha was not well received by his new club. After half a year and only six appearances for Primavera, he moved to Panathinaikos Athens on loan, where he ultimately only played ten minutes. In the summer of 2015, Roma let the Swede move to SC Cambuur-Leeuwarden in the Netherlands for a free transfer – a chapter that was closed again after seven months, seven appearances for the professionals and eight games for the reserve team (one goal).
“He no longer had any prospects here,” said the then coach Marcel Keizer. “He wandered around aimlessly on the pitch. And it wasn’t easy to motivate him.” Eight months followed during which Berisha did not find a new employer. In February 2017 he joined the Norwegian second division club Aalesunds FK, but was temporarily loaned to Fjölnir Reykjavík in Iceland. In February 2019, the striker moved to the Bosnian first division club FK Velez Mostar, subsequently playing for four different Romanian clubs as well as in Malta and, since 2024, in his native Kosovo (Yugoslavia in 1996). Berisha was never able to match his accuracy at the U17 World Cup again.
Part 1 of the series: The different careers of the top players of 2009
Part 2 of the series: This is what became of the outstanding professionals of the 2011 tournament