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Madin Mohammed: the next Zidane or another overhyped kid?
Posted 18 Feb 2009 at 06:05 AM by Ollie Irish
Football folks are creaming themselves over Madin Mohammed, a six-year old boy wonder who plays like a pocket-sized version of Zinedine Zidane.
Freakishly talented kids are often hailed as "the next Zidane" (although "the next Messi" is more likely these days), but in the case of Madin the comparison at least holds water.
Like ZZ, MM is French-Algerian. Like ZZ, MM has an alliterative name - sub-editors and sponsors love those. Like ZZ, MM possesses awesome ball control. In fact, I've never seen a kid with such magical feet, touch and balance. Check him out:
When it comes to tricks and flicks, it takes a lot to impress me but this kid is unreal. It's not difficult to see why he is being tracked by the likes of Real Madrid and Chelsea (according to the tabloids, anyway). For his age, Mo's range of skills is astonishing. Or maybe he's a little robot programmed by Konami?
As good as he is now, of course there's a good chance Madin will never make it as a pro. I've lost count of the number of wonder kids who have been tipped to take the game by storm but were never heard from again.
Remember Sonny Pike, the English kid who joined Ajax's Academy of Excellence at the age of seven? He broke down in his teens and gave up any dream of pro football, choosing instead to pursue a career in sports psychology. And good luck to him.
Madin has another decade before he'll get near a professional team's first XI. So much can happen in that time. For now, let him enjoy his football and let's hope his parents don't push him too hard.
Freakishly talented kids are often hailed as "the next Zidane" (although "the next Messi" is more likely these days), but in the case of Madin the comparison at least holds water.
Like ZZ, MM is French-Algerian. Like ZZ, MM has an alliterative name - sub-editors and sponsors love those. Like ZZ, MM possesses awesome ball control. In fact, I've never seen a kid with such magical feet, touch and balance. Check him out:
When it comes to tricks and flicks, it takes a lot to impress me but this kid is unreal. It's not difficult to see why he is being tracked by the likes of Real Madrid and Chelsea (according to the tabloids, anyway). For his age, Mo's range of skills is astonishing. Or maybe he's a little robot programmed by Konami?
As good as he is now, of course there's a good chance Madin will never make it as a pro. I've lost count of the number of wonder kids who have been tipped to take the game by storm but were never heard from again.
Remember Sonny Pike, the English kid who joined Ajax's Academy of Excellence at the age of seven? He broke down in his teens and gave up any dream of pro football, choosing instead to pursue a career in sports psychology. And good luck to him.
Madin has another decade before he'll get near a professional team's first XI. So much can happen in that time. For now, let him enjoy his football and let's hope his parents don't push him too hard.
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Mostly what he has is ridiculous coordination for a six year old.
That and either a tremendous fascination for spending countless hours in the yard, alone, playing with a ball OR a father who makes him do it.
Either way you're right - more often than not these clips are the last we ever see of these kids.Posted 18 Feb 2009 at 06:36 AM by Bill Archer 
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Bill, I call insanely pushy father. But the kid's poise is better than that of any other pre-teen I've seen a vid of.Posted 18 Feb 2009 at 06:47 AM by Ollie Irish 
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wow, i coach 6 - 10 year olds and i'm blown away by this kids co-odination at 6 years old
bearing in mind an average kid at 6 can barely use the inside of their feet and have the loosest idea of positioning etc this kids is un-natural! his balance, brain, co-ordination and quickness are just amazing
i like u wonder if he will burn out, maybe everything is easy for him now but it will become harder for him as he ages and it gets more physical
good luck to the kid
reminds me of the football version of this kid
Posted 18 Feb 2009 at 07:56 AM by thebigman
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Man I bet the other kids parents on his team flipping hate that six year old...
Posted 18 Feb 2009 at 09:01 AM by Outwide
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See also "Adu, Freddy." Please don't doom yet another kid's future with the ponderous weight of expectation. When he's 16, then we can crown him the next... whatever.
Posted 18 Feb 2009 at 09:13 AM by Untroubled by Reason
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I like the how the basketball video stated that he did this 4 hours a day. When does he do his schoolwork?
Posted 18 Feb 2009 at 09:45 AM by Soccerglue
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Umm, Freddy got it in his teens...16 might be a litlle earlyQuote:Originally Posted by Untroubled by Reason
See also "Adu, Freddy." Please don't doom yet another kid's future with the ponderous weight of expectation. When he's 16, then we can crown him the next... whatever.Posted 18 Feb 2009 at 10:51 AM by uniteo
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He's definitely special. I think he may do quite well as he seems to have the missing ingredient many tricksters lack. It isn't so much his skills, which are beyond belief, but the fact that upon completion of each move he actually gets his head up and is looking for a man or space. You see kids in High School that have a handful of rehearsed moves but still don't use them in any sort of useful manner. This kid truly seems to use many of them to create space..Posted 18 Feb 2009 at 10:52 AM by ianai
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Look up Eric Valentine...aka Lil Dinho. He's 8 now I think, but he's got similar skills to that MM kid. Difference is, he's an American living out in Virginia. I've spoken with his dad a couple of times and I don't get the impression that he's the type of dad that forces Eric to do anything. The kid just loves to play. I even think there is a thread or two on here dedicated to the kid.
Posted 18 Feb 2009 at 01:02 PM by GVPATS77
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This is Eric Valentine:
I think this sort of stuff is important in the U.S.. Few people here care whether the U.S. wins in curling or field hockey, so it makes little difference as to what aspects actually win curling matches. But if stuff like the tricks above make the sport more attractive to watch to more people, that shouldn't be dismissed by the folks already converted.Posted 18 Feb 2009 at 02:59 PM by voros
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