Not everyone took off
©IMAGO
The U17 World Cup in Qatar is underway and the top talents are also aiming for personal awards. With the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament or the Golden Boot as the best goalscorer, you are in the global spotlight and can hope for a great career – many achieved this, but not all.
At the first edition in 1985, the Brazilian William was honored with the Golden Ball, but it wasn’t enough to make a big leap outside his homeland. Top scorer Marcel Witeczek, on the other hand, can look back on a successful career: top scorer at the 1987 U20 World Cup, 410 Bundesliga games as well as two championships and a UEFA Cup victory with FC Bayern. There was only one nomination for the DFB team.
Only two players have so far managed to win both the Golden Ball and the Golden Shoe: Florent Sinama-Pongolle (2001) and Cesc Fàbregas (2003), a duo that later made their way to the world’s best. Other top players who later became world-famous also showed off their talent early on at the U17 tournaments. Landon Donovan (1999), Anderson (2005), Toni Kroos (2007), Kelechi Iheanacho (2013) and Phil Foden (2017) won the Golden Ball, while Carlos Vela (2005) and Victor Osimhen (2015) were crowned top scorers. In 2023, the then BVB talent Paris Brunner was crowned the best player of the tournament. Today he plays for AS Monaco, but is still waiting for his breakthrough.
For some talents, the U17 World Cup was already the highlight of their careers. The 2011 tournament is an example of this. Julio Gómez, as the best player, only played a handful of Liga MX games and has completely disappeared from the football stage for several years. Top scorer Souleymane Coulibaly was able to recommend a move to Tottenham, but then moved through lower-class European leagues and now plays in the ninth English division. Mathías Cubero, the best goalkeeper at the time, is currently between the posts in his home country of Uruguay at CA Cerro.
Some of the talents also took their first steps in Europe in Germany. Daniel Addo moved to Bayer Leverkusen in 1993, and the aforementioned Donovan followed to the Werkself in 1999. In 2007, Hamburger SV signed top scorer Macauley Chrisantus, while compatriot Osimhen moved to VfL Wolfsburg a year after the tournament at the end of 2015. However, the quartet were unable to prevail with the Bundesliga clubs. However, Donovan then became a star in his homeland and Osimhen, now at Galatasaray, is now one of the best goalscorers in the world.
Springboard U17 World Cup? This is what happened to the outstanding players
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
Part 3 of the series: This is what became of the outstanding professionals of the 2013 tournament
Part 4 of the series: This is what became of the outstanding professionals of the 2015 tournament
Part 5 of the series: This is what became of the outstanding professionals of the 2017 tournament
The Golden Ball winners of the U17 World Championships
1985: William (Brazil)
1987: Philip Osondu (Nigeria)
1989: Jim Will (Scotland)
1991: Nii Lamptey (Ghana)
1993: Daniel Addo (Ghana)
1995: Mohamed Al Kathiri (Oman)
1997: Sergio Santamaría (Spain)
1999: Landon Donovan (USA)
2001: Florent Sinama-Pongolle (France)
2003: Cesc Fabregas (Spain)
2005: Anderson (Brazil)
2007: Toni Kroos (Germany)
2009: Sani Emmanuel (Nigeria)
2011: Julio Gómez (Mexico)
2013: Kelechi Iheanacho (Nigeria)
2015: Kelechi Nwakali (Nigeria)
2017: Phil Foden (England)
2019: Gabriel Veron (Brazil)
2023: Paris Brunner (Germany)
The Golden Boot winners of the U17 World Championships
1985: Marcel Witeczek (Germany)
1987: Moussa Traoré (Ivory Coast)
1989: Fode Camara (Guinea)
1991: Adriano (Brazil)
1993: Wilson Oruma (Nigeria)
1995: Danny Allsopp (Australia)
1997: David (Spain)
1999: Ishmael Addo (Ghana)
2001: Florent Sinama-Pongolle (France)
2003: Cesc Fabregas (Spain)
2005: Carlos Vela (Mexico)
2007: Macauley Chrisantus (Nigeria)
2009: Borja Bastón (Spain)
2011: Souleymane Coulibaly (Ivory Coast)
2013: Valmir Berisha (Sweden)
2015: Victor Osimhen (Nigeria)
2017: Rhian Brewster (England)
2019: Sontje Hansen (Netherlands)
2023: Agustín Ruberto (Argentina)
The Golden Glove winners of the U17 World Championships
2009: Benjamin Siegrist (Switzerland)
2011: Mathias Cubero (Uruguay)
2013: Dele Alampasu (Nigeria)
2015: Samuel Diarra (Mali)
2017: Gabriel Brazao (Brazil)
2019: Matheus Donelli (Brazil)
2023: Paul Argney (France)