Despite what you may perceive to be a face-tattooed, tech-obsessed, and mannerless generation, today’s kids have actually become increasingly nice with it on both the pitch and the streets. We seem to see phrases like “the next Messi” or “the 12-year-old Ronaldo” thrown around quite liberally these days, but a lot of times they’ll have some merit rather than being clickbait fodder.
We’ve scoured the web for some of those in the former category to perhaps dilute your cynicism of the future, and prove that at least the game of football is in good hands (or feet?).
10. No Ball, No Problem
They say that all you need is a ball — but we’re not always lucky enough to have one at our disposal. For 12-year-old Argentine baller Igna, a can of Red Bull fills in quite nicely, though we’re not sure if this counts as reusing or recycling…
9. Group Therapy
Sometimes, you need a group session to unlock that inner creativity that’s begging to see the light of day. That apparently seems to be the case with Swiss freestyler Simi, whose mix of uppers and sits is quite impressive for being just 14 years old.
8. You Clip, I Clip, We Clip
Hailing from Gernamy, 17-year-old Dana Embacher’s favorite trick is the Clipper, and it definitely shows. It’s one thing to be able to do the trick on its own, but to be able to incorporate it into buttery-smooth combos like Dana does is quite impressive.
7. Wait for the Drop…
Though she’s only been playing the street game for about one year now, 12-year-old Paige Cook has earned trials with prestigious EPL clubs such as Arsenal and Tottenham. She’s taken her pitch skills to the pavement and it seems as if she’s developed a bit of showmanship along the way!
6. Backyard Ballin’
With lowers like this, it’s not a surprise that England-based freestyler Ben Jefferies looks up to Erlend Fagerli. Though the 12-year-old rising star hasn’t competed in a tournament in his young career, he’s headed to the UK Championships later this year.
5. Next Little Pele?
With a nickname like “The Next Little Pele,” the bar is set pretty high for 5-year-old Hudson Beaubien. But one look through his vast highlight reel on his Instagram page will slowly convince you that he just might have a shot at fulfilling those expectations.
4. Young Champ
Winning the youth division of the 2018 Pannahouse Invitationals, Shiou Morikawa is the street’s next big star. At 14 years old, he’s got control and technicality that those twice his age would kill for. We know for a fact we haven’t seen the last of this Japanese phenom.
3. Cheeky Tricks
Another 14-year-old baller with a bright future, Jojje Lingard has caught the eye of many as one to watch. The Swedish prospect already has a bevy of awards under his belt, including a third place finish in last year’s Super Ball Intermediate Tournament and Best Trick at the recent Ghetto Games in Latvia. We’ll see if he can continue his success this weekend at Super Ball 2018!
2. 1v1 Showdown
Just about every baller has some fond memories of playing a little backyard one-on-one with a good childhood friend. This is like that but on steroids. If you haven’t heard of 4-year-old prodigy Arat Hosseini, we suggest you catch up and check out some of this kid’s highlights. Here we see him going up against 6-year-old Nikan, who apparently has no fear when it comes to defense. It’s hard to believe these kids are as young as they are.
1. Triple Threat
Coming in second to Shiou at the CPH Invitationals Youth Tournament, Mehdi Amri has the three qualities you love to see in a street baller — incredible ball control, strong defense, and immense swagger. He shows off all three in this clip from the Invitationals, quickly blocking a would-be panna, showboating, then executing a flawless panna of his own. Goodness.
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