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From the heart of Italy to every corner of the world. Literally. The echo of what happened on Thursday in the Umbrian village of Solomeo, where the Cucinelli Theater was an elegant and perfect stage for the announcement of the 25 finalists of the 2023 European Golden Boy award, resounded deafeningly across the globe. This demonstrates how this award now has the attention of everyone, and it also demonstrates how the recognition of young talents, which is the essence of the award, is considered indispensable for the development of world football.
The highly anticipated list of the 25 Under-21 players from European teams who will compete for a place in the award’s hall of fame has primarily captured the attention of the major “powers” of our continent, as well as the Italian audience, which did not want to miss one of the most intriguing stages of this journey towards the announcement of the winner.
The Spanish press celebrated the dominance of Real Madrid’s ace, Bellingham, in the Golden Boy Index, but also Balde and the “wild card” assigned to the Barcelona gem, Yamal. The German press highlighted their compatriots Musiala and Wirtz, ranking 2nd and 5th in the Index, along with Tel, another player from Bayern. Even the Bundesliga dedicated extensive coverage to its “own” talents still in the running. Across the English Channel, the “Mirror” leads a series of headlines celebrating not only Bellingham but also the presence of Colwill and former Atalanta player Hojlund, who has joined Manchester United. France, always well-represented among the award finalists, received praise from Le Parisien for Zaire-Emery and Mathys Tel, as well as Gourna-Douath and Diouf, and the Ligue 1 also applauded the four candidates. Portugal made a triple impact with Antonio Silva, Diomandè (who plays for Sporting), and the wild card Joao Neves. In Turkey, the name that appears on the headlines of major newspapers is Güler, who received another available wild card.
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Certainly, the presence of Romeo Jozak, director of the “Future Falcons” project, on the Solomeo stage, discussing the aforementioned project and the Saudi model for talent development, ensured that all the details about the announcement of the finalists also reached Saudi Arabia. Al Sharq al Awsat, a pan-Arab newspaper owned by Saudis and considered the most widely circulated in the Arab world, dedicated an opening to the event. The European Golden Boy also made its way to Syria, thanks to the Nina press agency, and to Morocco, where the fortunes of El Khannouss, one of the favorites for the Golden Boy Web, are closely followed, as reported by the al Bab information site.
From Solomeo to Europe, Africa, Asia, and all the way to South America, where pensalibre.com, elimparcial.com, and terra.com provided comprehensive coverage of the European Golden Boy, recounting its history and highlighting the great champions who have won the Absolute Best award. Adding further prestige to this list is the attention from Fabrizio Romano, a journalist guru of the transfer market, whose Twitter account (or X) became the most influential in the world last August.
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But it’s not just the national and international press that dedicated ample space to the 25 finalists of the European Golden Boy. Clubs wasted no time and celebrated on their official websites and social profiles, offering congratulations and good wishes for the presence of one (or more) of their players in this prestigious list. Starting with Real Madrid and Barcelona, and then also Bayern Munich, Leipzig, Benfica, Manchester United, Sporting, Genk, Salzburg, PSG, Lens, Girona, Brighton, and finally, Atalanta, to celebrate the only Italian in the running, Scalvini.
