OSLO: After just four senior starts and three goals Norway’s Martin Odegaard has become one of hottest properties in world football, with Europe’s elite clubs queueing up to take a look at the 15-year-old Stromsgodset attacking midfielder.
His father Hans Erik Odegaard said the teenager, who has spent time with Manchester United and Bayern Munich, has been the subject of over 30 enquiries from Europe’s top clubs.
“I can’t name the clubs, but almost regardless of who you name, they have been in contact with us,” Odegaard senior told newspaper Verdens Gang.
His son has electrified Norwegian football since making his senior debut in a top-flight match against Aalesund in April, becoming the youngest player in the history of the Tippeligaen.
Odegaard went on to become the youngest scorer in the Norwegian league when he netted the final goal in a 4-1 win over Sarpsborg.
He followed that up with a stunning performance against Sandnes Ulf, scoring one goal and creating two more in a 3-1 victory and prompting comparisons in style with Barcelona’s Lionel Messi.
With his quick, mazy dribbling and incisive passing, the left-footer’s play bears more than a passing resemblance to the diminutive Argentinian, and the question for Norwegian champions Stromsgodset will be how long they can hold on to him.
Verdens Gang reported that clubs such as Barcelona, Manchester United, Manchester City, Juventus, PSG and Ajax have visited Stromsgodset’s Marinelyst home ground to see Odegaard in action.
“We want Martin to develop,” said his 40-year-old father, who has also played professionally in Norway, adding that it would be impossible to visit all the clubs that have been in contact.
“That (development) has been the focus over the years. If you start to think about other things, I think the development comes to a halt,” Odegaard said.
Pique relishing return of ‘angry’ Suarez
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique believes an “angry” Luis Suarez will be desperate to prove himself when he has served out a four-month ban for a biting incident at the World Cup.
Uruguay striker Suarez was given a nine-match international suspension and banned from all football-related activity for four months by FIFA after he bit Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup in Brazil last month.
Barca have since lured him from English Premier League side Liverpool and the 27-year-old could make his debut for the Catalan club in the La Liga “Clasico” against Real Madrid at the end of October.
“I expect that he (Suarez), like anybody who has the possibility of doing their work taken away from them, will be feeling rage,” Pique said at a news conference at Barca’s pre-season training camp in England.
“For the time being he has to wait,” added the Spain defender. “When he returns he will be full of desire to show that he is one of the best forward on the planet.”
Suarez will join Argentina captain Lionel Messi and Brazil forward Neymar in a formidable attack as Barca seek to bounce back from a disappointing 2013-14 season when they failed to win major silverware for the first time in six years.
They have a new coach at the helm in former Barca and Spain midfielder Luis Enrique and begin their La Liga campaign at home to Elche on the weekend of Aug. 23/24.
Neymar aiming to return
Neymar’s injured back is healing well and he is aiming to return to action in a friendly for his club Barcelona on Aug. 18, the Brazil forward said on Thursday.
“I am recovering bit by bit from the injury and I will arrive in Barcelona at 100 percent,” Neymar, who is due back at Barca on Aug. 5, told reporters at a promotional event in Japan.
“I want to have a good season and I would like to help my teammates get good results,” he added.
Barca play Mexican side Leon in the friendly at the Nou Camp on Aug. 18, with the winners awarded a trophy named for the Catalan club’s founder Joan Gamper. They begin their La Liga campaign at home to Elche the following weekend.
Top European clubs eye Norwegian teenager Odegaard
Top European clubs eye Norwegian teenager Odegaard
Middle East war puts Asian Football Confederation in a tricky situation
- Asian football has long been structured around regions, with competitions split between East and West
- With conflict in the Middle East escalating on Feb. 28, the AFC was forced into emergency mode as the knockout stages of its club competitions approach
DAMMAM: Football in Asia has never been an easy task to manage. Long flights, numerous time zones, conflicting calendars, vastly different football cultures and — perhaps more than any other confederation in the world — politics.
While the war in the Middle East falls under the AFC’s umbrella, its direct effects have so far been limited to the clubs in West Asia. Asian football has long been structured around regions, with competitions split between East and West, although for a period, the second-tier AFC Cup operated in five separate regions.
As a result, AFC club competitions in East Asia continued uninterrupted in the first week of March. A crowd of 31,225 watched Johor Darul Ta’zim’s historic 3-1 victory over Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the AFC Champions League Elite round of 16. Bangkok United defeated Tampines Rovers in the AFC Champions League Two quarter-final, and an all-Cambodian clash between Phnom Penh Crown and PKR Svay Rieng in the AFC Challenge League ended in a 4-1 victory for the visitors.
The situation in West Asia, however, is vastly different.
With the conflict in the Middle East escalating on Feb. 28, the AFC was forced into emergency mode as the knockout stages of its club competitions approach.
Within 24 hours, the confederation announced that all first-leg matches involving West Asian clubs in AFC competitions would be rescheduled until further notice. The same decision was taken for the second-leg matches fixtures just 48 hours later.
Domestic football has also been heavily disrupted. Leagues in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Lebanon have been postponed indefinitely, with matches continuing behind closed doors in Jordan.
Leagues in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iraq and Syria continue to operate, but flights in the region are limited.
With the season already compressed by the FIFA Arab Cup, FIFA Intercontinental playoffs and the upcoming FIFA World Cup, member associations throughout the Middle East now find themselves scrambling alongside the AFC to solve a problem that ultimately lies outside their control.
Another issue looms on the horizon. The AFC Champions League final stage will be hosted in Saudi Arabia next month for the second year in a row. While football has not halted in the Kingdom and the security situation is stable, it remains to be seen whether East Asian clubs will be willing to travel if the conflict continues.
What is the real solution, fans ask?
One proposal that has been circulated is to centralize the knockout rounds from the Round of 16 stage instead of the quarter-finals. That option, however, presents its own challenges. East Asian clubs have already begun their journey in the round of 16, and the idea of centralized hosting has historically not been popular across the continent.
When Saudi Arabia and Qatar were selected to host the AFC World Cup Qualifiers fourth round last year, the decision sparked backlash from Indonesia, Iraq, Oman and the UAE. More recently, journalist Ali Al-Marshoud claimed on Saudi sports program “In the 90” that the UAE’s Al-Wasl rejected a proposal for their AFC Champions League Two quarter-final against Al-Nassr as a single-leg match in Jeddah.
The AFC therefore finds itself in a difficult position. It cannot control regional geopolitics, nor can it influence government policies. At the same time, there is no guarantee that East Asian clubs will travel to the region, or that West Asian clubs will agree to surrender their right to play matches at home.
The conflict has also begun to affect international football.
With the FIFA World Cup intercontinental playoffs scheduled for later this month and Iraq facing a crucial qualifier in Mexico on March 31, uncertainty continues to grow.
In a statement released by the Iraqi Football Association, officials confirmed they were in constant contact with FIFA and the AFC regarding potential travel complications.
Head coach Graham Arnold is currently unable to leave the UAE, while several players and staff have struggled to obtain visas to Mexico due to embassy closures. All the while flights through Iraqi airspace have been suspended.
Political complications are not new to Asian football. For years, Saudi and Iranian clubs played each other at neutral grounds. Conflicts in Syria, Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon also forced the AFC to adopt special arrangements at various times. And of course, the COVID-19 pandemic, which fundamentally reshaped the state of football in Asia.
Yet the current situation presents a different scale of challenge.
For the first time in modern history, the AFC must navigate a regional conflict that touches nearly every part of the confederation. With the season entering its decisive stages and the largest World Cup in history approaching, solutions must be found quickly, or Asian football risks a crisis that could reshape the continental game.
