Footie Central | Football Blog Blogging the football world
Mathew Briggs, who started his career at Fulham of the Premier League, and now plays as a full-back at Colchester United in the third division of the English league, remains the youngest Premier League debutant when he replaced Moritz Volz after 77 minutes in a fixture against Middlesbrough in May 2007 in what was a 3-1 defeat for the Londoners. Despite the early start to his professional career, Briggs has not been able to standout thus far.
In the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund were required to take permission from Nuri Sahin’s mother before fielding him due to the midfielder being under age! The prodigiously talented Turk made his Bundesliga debut at the tender age of 16 years, 335 days on 6th August 2005. The midfielder, now 27, is back at the Signal Iduna Park after a stint with Real Madrid in the Spanish league and a brief spell with Liverpool in the English Premier League. He has gone on to become a fixture in the Turkey national team, having made close to 50 appearances for them.
Here’s young Nuri Sahin asking Ronaldo for his shirt. From a ball boy to a professional footballer.
In the Italian top flight, Amedeo Amadei made his top flight bow at just 15 years, 280 days on 2nd May 1937 for Roma. He went on to have a very successful career as a forward and played over 500 games for several clubs, including Napoli, Atalanta and Inter besides Roma. He also earned 13 caps with the Italian national team and contributed seven goals to the Azzuri’s cause.
Laurent Paganelli, who is currently a journalist for Canal +, since 1997, is the youngest debutant in the French top flight. He played his first game for Saint-Etienne when he was just 15 years, 10 months and 3 days old. He went on to feature for SC Toulon, Grenoble, Olympique Avignonnais and Nyonnais before hanging his boots in 1992.
Francisco Bao Rodriguez Sanson made his La Liga debut at the age of 15 years, 8 months and 11 days for Celta Vigo in a game against Sevilla on 31st December 1939. He still remains the youngest La Liga debutant.
Wasi is a keen fan with loads of knowledge about the game. He has written for some of the world’s leading soccer websites and is a major Barcelona and Pune City FC fan. He loves the Champions League and watches 200+ EPL games & La Liga games per season.