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In what is a plot straight out of a movie, an 11-year-old football prodigy living in an <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=odisha&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Odisha</a> slum has defied all odds to be selected to train at the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=bayern+munich+academy&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Bayern Munich Academy</a> in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=germany&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Germany</a> for two months. 
 <keyword id="1073457" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Chandan-Nayak">Chandan Nayak</keyword>, who lives in the <keyword id="3590986" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sabar-Sahi-slum">Sabar Sahi slum</keyword> in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=bhubaneshwar&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Bhubaneshwar</a> is one of the lucky ones to be selected for an all-expense-paid junior football camp to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=munich&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Munich</a>. 
 
On hearing the news, an ecstatic Chandan who is a self-confessed <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=lionel+messi&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Lionel Messi</a> fan said that he wished to become a player for the Indian team one day and thanked his coach for the support. 
 Talking to ANI, his coach <keyword id="3590984" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="jayadev-mahapatra">Jayadev Mahapatra</keyword> shed light towards the plight of Chandan’s underprivileged family. 
 
"His family is a broken one. His father had deserted him at a very young age. His mother works as a servant at various places and is able to manage the family. She has sacrificed a lot to ensure that her children are brought up in a proper way. Chandan coming from a poor family stands as a sign of bravery because against all odds, he has proved his talent," said Jayadev. 
 
 
 
According to him, Chandan was spotted when he was very young due to his talent and has been training with him for the last four years- with the past year consisting of some rigorous training akin to the ones seen in international clubs. 
 
That’s not all. At 11 years old, Chandan is also the youngest player to be selected for the academy. 
 
“The selection criteria says that the age should be between 14 to 16 and being an 11-year-old kid he was not allowed but we asked them to give him a chance, he surprised everyone,” stated Jayadev. 
 
One can only hope that the sky is the limit for this young genius. 
 
Image credit: ANI

This 11-year-old football prodigy from an Odisha
slum is going to train at Bayern Munich Academy

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="704" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Lionel-Messi">Lionel Messi</keyword> has reportedly told <keyword id="6039" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="FC-Barcelona">FC Barcelona</keyword>'s new coach <keyword id="380330" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ronald-Koeman">Ronald Koeman</keyword> that he is closer to leaving the club than staying.</li><li><a href="https://www.rac1.cat/info-rac1/20200820/482917916800/messi-barca-koeman-bartomeu-temporada.html">According to RAC1,</a> <keyword id="6355806" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="messi">Messi</keyword> held crisis talks with Koeman on Thursday, with the Argentine telling the Dutch manager that he "does not see his future at <keyword id="6355518" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="barcelona">Barcelona</keyword> clearly."</li><li>Barcelona finished the 2020 season trophyless for the first time since 2007/08, and ended the campaign with a devastating 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich.</li></ul>Lionel Messi has reportedly told FC Barcelona's new coach Ronald Koeman that he is closer to leaving the club than staying.<a href="https://www.rac1.cat/info-rac1/20200820/482917916800/messi-barca-koeman-bartomeu-temporada.html">According to RAC1,</a> Messi cut short a holiday in the Pyrenees for crisis talks with Koeman on Thursday, with the Argentine star unsettled by Barcelona's 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League. During the meeting, Messi is understood to have expressed his displeasure at the club's situation to Koeman and told the Dutch manager that he "does not see his future at Barcelona clearly" and is leaning towards leaving rather than staying.Barcelona finished the season trophyless for the first time since 2007/08, with a number of the club's big money purchases failing to make an impact. The club's president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, has also been heavily criticized from within for changing Barcelona's philosophy, relying heavily on expensive transfers and aging players while neglecting youth and not investing in the club's hallowed academy, "La Masia."Koeman, who was appointed as replacement for the sacked Quique Setien on Wednesday, has insisted he wants Messi to stay and says he sees the 33-year-old as a key part of his plans."He is the best player in the world and the best player in the world you want in your team, you don't want him playing against you," <a href="https://www.insider.com/lionel-messi-transfer-never-closer-koeman-plans-talks-keep-him-2020-8">said Koeman.</a>"As a coach I would love to work with Messi because he wins matches. If he's at the ability and level he has always shown I'd be more than happy for him to stay."Messi's current contract with Barcelona, which features a buy-out clause of over $700 million, runs until June 2022.Read more:<a href="https://www.insider.com/lionel-messi-transfer-never-closer-koeman-plans-talks-keep-him-2020-8">Lionel Messi has 'never been closer' to leaving Barcelona, but his new boss says he plans to fight to keep him at the club</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/lionel-messi-transfer-only-manchester-city-psg-could-afford-star-2020-8">$700 million Lionel Messi may be on his way out of FC Barcelona, but only 2 teams on the planet can actually afford to buy him</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/lionel-messi-transfer-barcelona-star-to-leave-after-bayern-loss-2020-8">Lionel Messi has demanded to leave FC Barcelona after the club's humiliating 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/cristiano-ronaldo-offered-to-join-lionel-messi-at-fc-barcelona-2020-8">FC Barcelona has been offered the chance to sign Cristiano Ronaldo, meaning he could finally join forces with Lionel Messi and create the world's deadliest attacking duo</a>

Lionel Messi has told Barcelona's new coach he is closer to leaving than staying, and doesn't 'clearly' see his future at the club

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The German <keyword id="79630" type="SPORT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Bundesliga">Bundesliga</keyword> has more Americans playing in it than any other top-flight league in Europe.</li><li>Insider spoke with Bayern Munich's Chris Richards and RB Leipzig's Tyler Adams about why that is.</li><li>Both players told us how <keyword id="3382939" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Christian-Pulisic">Christian Pulisic</keyword> inspired their moves to Germany, as did the opportunity to play first-team football at such a high level.</li></ul>Aspiring <keyword id="3071" type="SPORT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Soccer">soccer</keyword> stars always want to emulate their heroes.And when a 17-year-old Christian Pulisic scored his first Bundesliga goal for Borussia Dortmund against Hamburg SV in April 2016, he changed the benchmark for young Americans aspiring to make it in pro soccer.No longer did the United States' finest young stars want to follow in the footsteps of Clint Dempsey and Tim Howard and play in the English <keyword id="52458" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Premier-League">Premier League</keyword>, nor did they want to try to emulate the achievements of Landon Donovan in MLS — they wanted to go to Germany.Currently, no top-flight league in Europe boasts more Americans, nor USMNT internationals, than the Bundesliga, and several more stars have secured big-money moves away from Germany to other elite European leagues in recent years.There's Tyler Adams at RB Leipzig; <a href="https://www.insider.com/weston-mckennie-usmnt-star-closes-in-33-million-juventus-transfer-2020-8">Weston McKennie, who moved from Schalke to Juventus this summer</a>; Werder Bremen's Josh Sargent; Bayern Munich's Chris Richards; Wolfsburg's John Brooks; and of course, Pulisic, the most expensive American soccer player ever after his move to Chelsea."I would say he's paved the way for so many Americans to look at, you know, how they set their goals and their mindsets," Adams, a 21-year-old Leipzig midfielder who also plays for the US national team, told Insider of Pulisic."Everyone is going to have their own development path. For me I was able to play in the MLS at first and then move to Europe, where as [Christian] thought that coming to Europe right away was more beneficial, so he took that route."His pathway and how he's developed is special, and it set the pathway for a lot of Americans believing that they are capable to make that move," continued Adams, who shot to stardom <a href="https://www.insider.com/champions-league-rb-leipzig-beat-atletico-tyler-adams-hits-winner-2020-8">when he scored a last-minute winner for Leipzig in a Champions League quarterfinal last season</a>.<h2>Pulisic joined Dortmund at just 15 years old</h2><div type="image" title="Pulisic" height="1254" width="1673" msid="78679405" hostid="261"></div>Having spent most of his youth career playing for the PA Classics, a US Soccer Development Academy club, in his hometown of Hershey, Pennsylvania, Pulisic turned down Barcelona to join Dortmund in 2015.<a href="https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/how-did-christian-pulisic-make-it-into-the-european-big-leagues-dortmund-2765-1243">According to the Bundesliga</a>, the move was in part engineered by his father, Mark Pulisic, who, with the help of the London-based consultant Rob Moore, put the two parties in contact.After moving to the Ruhr, Pulisic quickly established himself as one of the club's hottest young stars, scoring 10 and assisting eight goals in just 15 games with the Dortmund youth teams — earning him a first-team call-up less than a year after moving from America.He made his Bundesliga debut in January 2016 and over the next 3 1/2 seasons went on to score 19 and assist 26 in just 127 first-team games before a $75 million move to Chelsea.Since Pulisic moved to Dortmund as a teenager and took the Bundesliga by storm, a total of eight fellow Americans have made the switch to the German top flight, all seemingly attempting to emulate Pulisic in one way or another. One of those is the 20-year-old Chris Richards, who signed for Bayern Munich from FC Dallas in January 2019."Seeing Christian at Dortmund was definitely a factor in me choosing to come to the Bundesliga," Richards, who made his Bayern first-team debut in June, told Insider."Christian is only two years older than me, and seeing him come over to Germany and have an almost immediate impact made me very optimistic that this was the right league for me."<h2>It's not just Pulisic attracting the Americans to Germany, however</h2><div type="image" title="Tyler Adams" height="1000" width="2000" msid="78679409" hostid="261"></div><a href="https://football-observatory.com/IMG/sites/atlas/en/">A study by the CIES Football Observatory in 2019</a> found that the average age of the starting XI's in the German top flight was just over 26 – the lowest in any of Europe's top five leagues.Last season, Borussia Dortmund, which finished second in the Bundesliga behind Bayern Munich, boasted an average team sheet age of slightly under 26.Adams' RB Leipzig, which finished third and made the Champions League semifinal, had an average age of just over 24."The main reason that a lot of young players want to come here is you see player after player given their opportunity to go out there — whether they make a mistake the first game or not, they're trusted that they are only going to get better with more minutes," Adams, who moved from the New York Red Bulls to Leipzig in 2019, said."For me, when I made the move to Germany, that was one of the main reasons, it was a clear development plan for me in how I can continue to get better as a player, and as a person, and continue to grow."It's one of the main reasons I'm really enjoying my time at Leipzig."<h2>The clubs take great care of their young stars</h2><div type="image" title="Pulisic" height="1331" width="1780" msid="78679410" hostid="261"></div>When Christian Pulisic moved to Dortmund as a 15-year-old, the club took care of him as a person as much as it did as a player, according to Doug Harris, the chairman of Pulisic's childhood club, the PA Classics."What was cool, and I credit Dortmund with this, is that they understood that bringing a 15-year-old from the States [was a big move]," Harris told Insider when asked about his former player's switch from America to Germany."They made accommodations for his father to come along, and so his father was right there."Harris said that Dortmund gave Pulisic's father, a former professional indoor soccer player, a job working for the club's youth programs."Christian and Mark were living in an apartment over there for those years, and it was all part of Dortmund's plan to say, 'Hey, we've got a parent and we've got a player, let's develop them together.'"It was just a good formula. It's turned out to be a really good formula."Adams, though older than Pulisic when he moved to Germany, says he received similar treatment from Leipzig to help him settle."Essentially, what Leipzig does to help the players that come in, is handle everything off the field so that they can focus on what's going on on the field," he said."I was able when I got here to have an apartment set up and everything like that already, so I didn't have to stay in a hotel when I first arrived. People don't quite notice just how big of a difference that can really make when you're not trapped in one single room, you know."Having my parents be able to come over every now and then and help me with that is also key, because you don't realize when you're living on your own in the US, you're still able to travel back home whenever, but now having such a large distance, it's nice to be able to see them when I can."<h2>Germany also has a style of play that suits Americans</h2><div type="image" title="Chris Richards" height="1000" width="2000" msid="78679411" hostid="261"></div>"I think so many American players are attracted to the Bundesliga because of the playing style," Richards told Insider."The Bundesliga is a very physical and technical league, and that appeals to us Americans more than any other league."Adams concurs with his countryman, telling Insider the style of play was "almost exactly the same" as at the New York Red Bulls."We literally played the same way — high press, high energy, create chances quickly, and keep the opponent on its toes the whole game," he said. "So when I came to Leipzig, it was easy to fit into the system."Even the Bayern Munich and Germany icon Lothar Matthäus, who won seven Bundesliga titles from 1984 to 2000, as well as the World Cup for West Germany in 1990, has suggested the American style of play perfectly suits that of the Bundesliga."We're happy to have these young Americans in the Bundesliga because they're excellent players and they have everything we like to see in Germany," <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2805982-made-in-germany-why-the-bundesliga-became-a-breeding-gro">he told Bleacher Report</a>."They're strong in defense, rapid in attack, and they can score goals. We have a similar mentality. It's not so difficult for Americans to come to Germany. It's much harder when they have to play in Spain, for example, or Italy – different soccer, different mentality."<ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/jesse-lingard-interview-paul-scholes-ibrahimovic-and-lockdown-life-2020-8">Jesse Lingard, Manchester United's forgotten star, discusses using lockdown to reinvigorate his career, and why Paul Scholes is the greatest ever</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-chris-smalling-has-built-a-new-life-at-roma-2019-10?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">Befriending old enemies, training with Italy's next superstar, and being vegan in the land of pasta: How Chris Smalling built a new life in Rome away from Manchester United</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vinicius-jr-is-the-worlds-best-youngster-says-dani-alves-2019-9?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">Dani Alves says a 19-year-old Brazilian is the most talented young soccer player in the world, and his latest wonder goal for Real Madrid proves why</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/christian-pulisic-can-be-the-tiger-woods-of-american-soccer-2019-8?r=US&amp;IR=T&amp;_ga=2.96220572.1819826853.1601888930-1665028666.160007647200076472">Christian Pulisic can be the Tiger Woods of American soccer, the Chelsea FC star's childhood club chairman says</a></li></ul>

US soccer's best young players are moving thousands of miles from home and flocking to Germany, and it's all down to one man: Christian Pulisic

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6356687" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="canada" source="Orion">Canada</keyword>'s mens team has just qualified for its first World Cup in 36 years, and only its second ever.</li><li>The team's success is down to embracing the ethnically diverse nature of modern Canada, experts and players say.</li></ul>In January 2017, the Canadian men's national <keyword id="11897666" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="soccer" source="Orion">soccer</keyword> team was ranked as the world's 120th best international team by FIFA, five places behind the tiny African nation of Equatorial Guinea.Roll forward just five years and the Maples Leafs are now ranked 38th — ahead of traditionally strong soccer nations like Norway, Turkey, and the Ivory Coast — and for the first time in 36 years, Canada will hear its name called during the FIFA World Cup Draw, which will be held on Friday.Coach John Herdman's exciting young team booked its place at this summer's tournament in Qatar on Sunday with a 4-0 win over Jamaica in what was the penultimate game of a mightily impressive qualification campaign that has seen Canada lose just two out of 14 games. "When I first took over and I said, 'We're going to qualify for the World Cup', I don't think they believed us," Herdman, who became manager in 2018, said after the win over Jamaica."I think this country never believed in us because we've given them nothing to believe in. They believe now."<h2>French connection</h2>The Canada team that will travel to Qatar in November is very different to the squad in the years before Herdman took over, picking players from across Canada's hugely diverse set of demographics to great effect.Of those who played for the Reds in the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup, only a few remain in the current 23-man roster. Midfielder Atiba Hutchinson is now the captain, Bayern Munich's Alphonso Davies — who was 16 at the time — remains the team's talisman, and Milan Borjan has kept his place as first choice goalkeeper.Junior Hoilett, Jonathan Osorio, Sam Adekugbe, and Lucas Cavallini also remain as regular features in the squad.Surrounding those veterans now, however, is a group of fresh, younger players, handpicked by Herdman. Importantly, many of those youngsters could have chosen to represent different countries. Striker Jonathan David, who has scored 17 times for LOSC Lille this season, was born in New York and spent his formative years in Haiti, while fellow forward Iké Ugbo was born and raised in the UK.Midfielder Stephen Eustáquio represented Portugal as a junior, teenager Ismaël Koné was born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and Cyle Larin is eligible for Jamaica through his parents. Star-player Davies, who is still only 21, was born in the Buduburam refugee camp near Ghana's capital, Accra."Not everyone's actually Canadian, like, Canadian Canadian on the team," Canada international Theo Corbeanu, who played for Romania as a youth, told Insider."If you look at the team, we all have different backgrounds, and many come from places where football was the main sport for them growing up."For example, my parents are immigrants, and my family always loved football, never played it, but loved it. So I grew up watching it, and most of the team has that, you know, they've already been brought up in that culture. That's why this group is so special."<div type="image" title="Theo Corbeanu of Milton Keynes Dons applauds the crowd as he leaves the pitch after being substituted during the Sky Bet League One match between Milton Keynes Dons and AFC Wimbledon" height="1276" width="1701" msid="90572054" hostid="261"></div>Fielding players born outside of the country or who could have represented other nations is a tried-and-tested method of finding success on the field in international soccer.France's 2018 World Cup-winning national team is the strongest example of that. 20 of France's 23-man squad at the tournament were either immigrants — for example Samuel Umtiti, Thomas Lemar, and Steve Mandanda — or the children of immigrants, such as Kylian Mbappe, whose mother is Algerian and father is Cameroonian.Canada has the eighth largest immigrant population in the world, with foreign-born people making up about one-fifth of the country's 38 million populace.A large proportion of that immigrant population has ancestry that traces its roots back to France and Africa. French colonists settled in Quebec, formerly known as New France, in the 17th century and later brought African slaves to the colony with the permission of King Louis XIV.In the 19th century, thousands of enslaved African migrants then came to Canada from the United States by way of the "Underground Railroad" — a network of secret routes and safe houses used to escape the slave trade south of the border.Dennis Marciniak, a <keyword id="11893855" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sports" source="Orion">sports</keyword> reporter and photographer based in Toronto, says that despite the troubling means by which many of Canada's immigrant population came to the country, the national soccer team is now reaping the benefits, just like France."Having Canadian players born outside of Canada has helped tremendously," said Marciniak, who himself is an immigrant from Poland."Canada is a country of immigrants where it is encouraged to retain the heritage and traditions of your homeland, which I felt first hand growing up here."Many players had an option to represent Canada or their country of origin. In the past, most would choose to represent their home nation, but Jonathan David and Alphonso Davies are part of the first generation to stick with Canada and that will only open the door for others."The roster being full of international last names couldn't be more quintessentially Canadian."<h2>American influence </h2>For a long time, the US was best known as the destination of choice for soccer superstars who were coming to the end of their careers.That reputation started with Pelé joining the New York Cosmos in 1975, which prompted European icons such as Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff, Bobby Moore, and George Best to cross the Atlantic. After the formation of Major League Soccer in 1996, America's renown for being a retirement home only grew, especially following David Beckham's high profile move to Los Angeles Galaxy from Real Madrid in 2007. In recent years, however, that reputation has shifted and the division has now become something of a feeder league for Europe. The launch of a league-wide academy system, investment from wealthy owners, increased supporter interest, and restructured league rules, most notably the Designated Player rule — which effectively caps the number of overseas stars MLS teams can field — have all helped the league discover, shape, and eventually sell on American prospects.A number of <a href="https://www.insider.com/why-do-american-soccer-stars-move-to-germany-christian-pulisic-2020-9">Americans playing in Europe's top leagues</a>, like <a href="https://www.insider.com/rb-leipzig-tyler-adams-side-could-struggle-no-timo-werner-2020-9">Tyler Adams</a>, Giovanni Reyna, and <a href="https://www.insider.com/weston-mckennie-juventus-breaks-serie-a-record-celebration-harry-potter-2021-2">Weston McKennie</a>, started their careers in the MLS.Fortunately for Canada, MLS' growth has coincided with the addition of Canadian teams to the league — first Toronto FC in 2007, then Vancouver Whitecaps in 2011, and lastly CF Montreal in 2012. All three have benefited from the improvement of MLS and have been able to produce some notable exports of their own, including Corbeanu and Davies.Seeing Canadians shine in the MLS has also prompted European clubs to go fishing at clubs operating in Canada's own leagues. Jonathan David, for example, was plucked from local side Ottawa Internationals by Belgian club Genk before he moved on to Lille."MLS is a big part of why the Canadian team has evolved the way it has," said Corbeanu, adding that the success of former MLS stars in Europe has acted as a catalyst for the rest of the team to improve. "When I came into the team in 2020, there was this crazy hype around certain players and I think that got everyone going and got most of the team motivated."When you see someone like Alphonso Davies, who went from Vancouver to Bayern and <a href="https://www.insider.com/champions-league-final-result-bayern-munich-beat-psg-sixth-title-2020-8">won a Champions League,</a> everyone then like set out a plan that we're going to change this programme around and now that it's happened, it's insane."<div type="image" title="Alphonso Davies of the Vancouver Whitecaps celebrates his goal during a match between Orlando City SC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC at BC Place on June 9, 2018 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Christopher Morris" height="1368" width="2000" msid="90572057" hostid="261"></div>Marciniak says that MLS has also helped increase the popularity of soccer in Canada, which in-turn allowed for the establishment of the Canadian Premier League in 2019.The CPL aims to develop Canadian talent by having a minimum number of Canadian players on each team's roster, and an annual draft of players from Canadian universities."MLS has had a massive impact on Canada's success," said Marciniak."Not only has MLS raised awareness that the soccer is being played professionally, and locally at a lower level, but it has also helped to provide the amazing infrastructure the national team enjoys today."Without MLS, I do not believe the Canadian Premier League would be viable in its current form."<h2>'Brotherhood'</h2>Canada making use of its immigrant population and the infrastructure provided by MLS has without doubt helped make the team the strongest it's been in decades.However, strong teams don't always succeed. Just look at European Championship winner Italy, which failed to qualify for Qatar. Sometimes the best teams are just that, the best teams — a group so tightly knit that the big hurdles become small hurdles and the impossible becomes possible. Canada is a prime example and on the pitch the group's togetherness is clear to see.Against Jamaica, left-back Adekugbe sprinted forward on almost every attack, desperate to help his team clinch the goals that would send them to Qatar. Each time playmaker Eustáquio had possession and lifted his head, he had three or four options screaming for the ball. Tajon Buchanan, Hoillet, David, and Larin pressed ferociously from the front, and when Jamaica did manage a rare shot on goal, goalkeeper Borjan screamed at his defenders to do better.When the final whistle went and Canada's place in Qatar was confirmed, Herdman and the coaching staff stormed the pitch to embrace the players, some of whom dropped to their knees in tears.<div type="image" title="Canada celebrates after the final whistle following a 2022 World Cup Qualifying match against Jamaica at BMO Field" height="1284" width="2000" msid="90572059" hostid="261"></div>"Around the team, everyone believes in this brotherhood," said Corbeanu. "We say it so often, but it's not just the saying, everyone really believes it."It's a group full of good people and everyone respects each other so much. The biggest thing about the success of the team is who the people are and how they are as people, first of all, that's the most important thing."At the end of the day, if everyone has each other's respect and there are no individuals, then it's bound to be a good team."As for how Canada will fare in Qatar, Corbeanu, who hopes to be at the tournament himself, believes the team could pull off something special."I think there's going to be a massive, massive surprise coming up," he said.Canada will be hoping, at the least, to improve its result from the country's only previous World Cup in 1986, when the team lost all three games and failed to score a single goal.The Maple Leafs will find out their Qatar schedule Friday when the World Cup draw takes place in the country's capital, Doha.

Canada's men's soccer team learned lessons from world champions France to bounce from rock bottom to a first World Cup in nearly 4 decades

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="704" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Lionel-Messi">Lionel Messi</keyword> leaving Barcelona would be the biggest transfer ever in football — both in financial value and sheer gravity.</li><li>Selling probably the best player who has ever lived doesn't make much sense at first glance.</li><li>However, for both Barcelona and Messi himself, striking a deal to take him away from Spain would ultimately be a good thing.</li><li>Messi leaving would allow Barcelona to undertake the rebuild they desperately need to return to the top of world football.</li><li>For Messi, joining another team would help secure his legacy as the greatest player of all time and reunite him with two of the most important figures in his career.</li><li>In short, Messi should leave Barcelona and never look back.</li></ul><a href="https://www.insider.com/lionel-messi-leaving-barcelona-shocking-move-after-years-with-club-2020-8">Lionel Messi shocked the sporting world this week</a> by announcing his intention to leave <keyword id="6039" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="FC-Barcelona">FC Barcelona</keyword> after almost two decades.If he does leave, which is looking increasingly likely, Messi's departure would be <a href="https://www.insider.com/lionel-messi-transfer-would-be-good-investment-soccer-finance-expert-2020-8">the biggest transfer ever in football — both in financial value and sheer gravity</a> — and bring down the curtain on possibly the greatest club dynasty in the sport's history.It will also make perfect sense, and almost certainly end up being good news for everyone involved.<h2>A decade and a half of dominance is over</h2><div type="image" title="Messi Champions League" height="1249" width="2500" msid="77825303" hostid="261"></div><a href="https://www.insider.com/photos-lionel-messi-fc-barcelona-career-by-year-2020-8">Since Messi's debut in 2004,</a> Barcelona has won La Liga 10 times out of a possible 16, won the Champions League four times, and the Spanish domestic cup, the Copa del Rey, six times.During that time, the club also pioneered a new football style — tiki-taka — which went on to dominate pitches around the world and was employed by the vast majority of successful professional sides for a number of years.On a personal level, while at Barcelona, Messi has won six Ballons d'Or, more than anyone else in history — and broken pretty much every scoring record. He has scored 634 goals for Barcelona, more than any other player in club football history.There is no way of looking at Messi's time at Barcelona as anything other than a total success. However, to put it simply, Messi and Barcelona have come to the end of their road together.<h2>Barcelona needs a total rebuild, and it doesn't need the distraction of Messi</h2>Messi is still one of, if not, the best player in global football, but he's also a player on a downward trajectory.At 33, he still has several years left as a pro, but he's just come off his worst season in over a decade when it comes to goals scored, and the characteristics that have made him arguably football's GOAT are in decline.He has always relied on pace, agility, and incredible technical skill. While the skill is still there, his agility and sheer speed are starting to deteriorate and will keep doing so as a physiological certainty. The start of Messi's decline towards retirement coincides with a period in time in which Barcelona itself is probably the worst it has been in terms of overall quality during the time Messi has been at the club.Since losing Brazilian star <keyword id="6359232" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Neymar">Neymar</keyword> to <keyword id="103734" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Paris-Saint-Germain">Paris Saint Germain</keyword> in 2017, Barcelona has looked less and less elite as a team, culminating in its humiliating 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich earlier this month — an event which apparently prompted Messi to decide it is time to move to new pastures.<div type="image" title="Griezmann" height="1000" width="2000" msid="77825305" hostid="261"></div>After gaining a reputation for its transfer policy's success, in recent seasons, the club has made a series of ill-thought-out, expensive signings that have not yielded success. Last summer's $140 million signing of France's Antoine Griezmann and the February of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/martin-braithwaite-signs-for-barcelona-club-adds-324-million-release-2020-2">Danish journeyman Martin Braithwaite</a> are just two examples of profligate, hasty transfers in recent years.The club has also turned away from its famous La Masia academy somewhat, with just four of the starting eleven against Bayern coming through the academy.Effectively, to reach success — aka winning the Champions League for the first time in six years — the team needs to be completely rebuilt from the ground. Rebuilding a team on the foundation of a 33-year old who pretty clearly doesn't want to be there makes very little sense.Not only is Messi too old to build a new team around, but he's also too much of a distraction.With him at the club, Barcelona would have to focus its attacking play and system around Messi, and constantly make sure he is happy, as it has done ever since he emerged as the world's best player.As has become clear in recent weeks, the effort and energy required to do that <a href="https://www.insider.com/lionel-messi-chose-to-leave-barcelona-after-told-privileges-over-2020-8">are no longer worth it.</a>Barcelona would be better advised to cut its losses, cash in on Messi (<a href="https://www.insider.com/lionel-messi-transfer-barcelona-star-faces-legal-battle-over-contract-2020-8">contract dispute permitting</a>), and <a href="https://www.insider.com/lionel-messi-transfer-barcelona-team-next-season-suarez-pique-2020-8">rebuild the team around younger stars like Ousmane Dembele and Frenkie de Jong.</a><h2>Messi can cement himself as the greatest of all time with a move</h2>For the player himself, leaving Barcelona makes almost as much sense as it does for the club. Messi has won everything he could possibly win at Barcelona, and quite frankly, he could do with a new challenge — particularly if he wants to cement his place as the greatest football player of all time.As it stands, <a href="https://www.insider.com/lionel-messi-transfer-only-manchester-city-psg-could-afford-star-2020-8">there are two realistic options of where Messi could go on leaving Barcelona</a>, both of which have compelling cases to attract him, and ones that go far beyond any rationale for staying in Spain.<h2><keyword id="39498" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Manchester-City">Manchester City</keyword>: A reunion with the best manager he ever had</h2><div type="image" title="Pep Guardiola" height="1000" width="2000" msid="77825306" hostid="261"></div>The first is the English Premier League side Manchester City. The big attraction here is the manager, <keyword id="75736" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Pep-Guardiola">Pep Guardiola</keyword>. Guardiola, the father of tiki-taka, is undoubtedly Messi's favorite ever manager, and the one with whom he enjoyed the most success."Guardiola is the best of all," <a href="https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/messi-pep-guardiola-man-city-17056988">Messi said in a 2019 interview.</a>Messi played under Guardiola for four years, winning three La Liga titles, two Champions Leagues, two Spanish Cups, and four Ballons d'Or.The Argentine's admiration for Guardiola runs so deep that <a href="https://www.insider.com/lionel-messi-transfer-told-pep-guardiola-wants-to-quit-barcelona-2020-8">he reportedly let the City manager know of his plan to leave Barcelona before he'd even told the club.</a>That admiration is mutual, with Guardiola calling Messi "the best player I have ever seen and probably the best I will see."<a href="https://www.insider.com/lionel-messi-transfer-manchester-city-plans-move-for-barcelona-star-2020-8">Joining Manchester City</a> would not only give Messi the chance to link up with his favorite coach but also prove himself in the Premier League, which is widely regarded as the toughest, most physical league in elite football.For years, Messi's doubters have questioned whether he could perform at such a high level on a "wet Tuesday night in Stoke" — a stereotypical scene of a character-building cold, rainy winter's eve in an anonymous English town. If he signs for City, he could finally prove that he can do just that.<h2>Paris Saint Germain: Linking back up with an old friend </h2><div type="image" title="Neymar" height="1412" width="2825" msid="77825308" hostid="261"></div>If he does leave Barcelona, Messi's other option is to move to French champions and Champions League runners-up Paris Saint Germain.What would most likely draw Messi to Paris is his former teammate Neymar.Messi and Brazilian star Neymar played together between 2013 and 2017, a time in which Neymar became one of the world's top players, winning a treble with Barca and finishing 3rd in the voting for the 2015 Ballon d'Or, aged just 23.During that time, they became great friends, and Messi has spoken numerous times since Neymar moved to France of his desire to bring the Brazilian back to Barcelona.Neymar wants Messi to come to Paris too, with the star reportedly begging bosses of the Qatari-owned club to sign his friend and former teammate.<h2>Messi vs. Ronaldo finally decided?</h2>Signing for either Paris or Manchester would also give Messi a great chance of winning one or more extra Champions League trophies. Both clubs have strongly targeted the tournament in recent years, admittedly without much success.Winning another Champions League or two would help <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cristiano-ronaldo-or-lionel-messi-the-winner-is-clear-for-big-games-2018-4">Messi cement his place above his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo in the standings of best players in history.</a>Ronaldo has won the Champions League five times — once with Manchester United, and four times with Real Madrid — while Messi has won the tournament four times with a single club.Portuguese star Ronaldo has also won league championships in three countries (England, Spain, and Italy) to Messi's one.Although Messi's superior number of Ballons d'Or — six to Ronaldo's five — means he is generally considered a greater player than Ronaldo, winning domestic and European silverware with a team from either England or France would effectively settle that debate.<div type="image" title="Ronaldo and Messi" height="728" width="1457" msid="77825309" hostid="261"></div>Messi leaving Barcelona would be undoubtedly tough for all involved.Barcelona would lose the best player it has ever had, while Messi would be leaving the only team he's played professional football for, the only job he has ever had as an adult, and the city he has lived in for almost two decades.Ultimately, however, Messi and Barcelona is a story that has reached its end. Both parties should admit it, say goodbye, and move on.It is for the best.

Lionel Messi leaving Barcelona would be the biggest and most shocking transfer in football history — but it would make perfect sense for everyone

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full"><div><div class="image">REUTERS/Sergio Moraes</div></div></div>In June of 2000 Germany finished dead last in its group at the European Championship. They scored one goal in three games, losing to Portugal 3-0 in their final match.
"At the turn of the millennium German football stared disaster in the face - it completely lacked a professional foundation," the writers of <a href="http://static.bundesliga.de/media/native/autosync/dfl_leistungszentren2011_gb.pdf">a 2011 report from the Bundesliga</a> later said of the state of German soccer after the tournament.
You could say that Germany's road to lifting the 2014 World Cup trophy at the Maracana started then, 14 years ago, when the Germans "stared disaster in the face" and promptly built the world's most successful soccer factory.
A 2011 report commissioned by the Bundesliga, <a href="http://static.bundesliga.de/media/native/autosync/dfl_leistungszentren2011_gb.pdf">"10 Years Of Academies: Talent pools of top-level German football"</a> is a thorough assessment of the youth system that turned the German national team into a juggernaut.
After the 2000 Euros Germany poured all its resources into producing great players starting at the grassroots level.
It borrowed methods from countries like Holland - nations with small populations that have developed unique systems of identifying potential players in order to compete with larger countries - and instituted expensive and far-reaching reforms.
In February of 2001 the Bundesliga made it mandatory for all 18 top-flight professional teams to run a youth academy - essentially a school for promising soccer players, with teams and coaches going all the way down to the under-12-year-old level. Later, academies became mandatory for all 36 professional teams in the top two German divisions.
Here's a little more explanation from <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/26/sports/soccer/as-europe-struggles-germany-invests-heavily-in-soccer.html?pagewanted=all">the Bundesliga's 10-year report on its academy system</a>:
"For clubs to be issued their license (the precondition for admission to any official competition), they had to hire full-time youth coaches, whose respective qualifications are taken into consideration when grading the academies, with those earning higher grades receiving higher funding. Moreover, appropriate training grounds had to be build, a medical department establish and co-operation with schools initiated."
The better your academy is, the more funding you get. Under Bundesliga rules, a club with a top-rated three-star academy gets an additional $400,000 in funding every year - which is significant for smaller teams.
Between 2001 and 2011 professional teams in Germany spent ~$681 million on the development of youth soccer, according to the Bundesliga report. At the same time, the German Football Association - the body that controls the national team itself - started <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/26/sports/soccer/as-europe-struggles-germany-invests-heavily-in-soccer.html?pagewanted=all">its own $13-million per year youth initiative</a>. According to the New York Times, there are now 366 German FA-operated youth centers in the country, which serve 25,000 kids.
Over years and years, the investment paid off.
By the 2011-12 season, more than half of all Bundesliga players were part of the German academy system at one time. A full 20% of Bundesliga players came through the youth academies of the clubs they played for. The average age of the league went from 27 years old to 25 years old. In total, there were 5,400 players aged 11 to 22 in professional academies.
The sheer volume of youth teams after the 2001 academy mandate created a demand for professional coaches - all of which were categorized and graded under new qualification guidelines. 
In 2013, two German teams - Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich - met in the final of the Champions League.
At a great cost, Germany built a system that efficiently identified young players, gave them professional coaching, developed their skills in a professionalized environment, and turned them into great players.
That system is now starting to spit out one star player after another. Many of the stars of Germany's World Cup-winning team are products of the post-2000 system. Mario Gotze (Borussia Dortmund), Mats Hummels (Dortmund), Manuel Neuer (Schalke), Per Mertesacker (Hannover), Toni Kroos (Hansa Rostock), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), and Mesut Ozil (Schalke) all came through Bundesliga academies.
Fourteen of the 23 players who won the World Cup are 25-year-old or younger.
All of those guys could still be around for the 2018 World Cup, assuming they aren't replaced by the next generation of academy-grown players.
This isn't an accident. It's not a once-in-a-lifetime "golden generation" of players. It's the result of a sustainable system that should continue to produce great players for the foreseeable future.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image">REUTERS/Kai PfaffenbachGermany's Bastian Schweinsteiger carries the World Cup trophy.</div></div></div>
Germany has a lot of things going for it as a soccer nation. The sport is insanely popular there, perhaps more than anywhere else in Europe. It's the 2nd-largest country in Europe in terms of population, giving the national team a large pool to choose from. It has a large, thriving economy relative to its neighborhoods.
When you take all those inherit advantages and apply a well-funded, incredibly thorough youth system, you get the sort of juggernaut national team we saw emerge in Brazil.
The 2014 World Cup was the end of a process that took more than a decade and a ton of money. In terms of Germany's dominance on the world stage, though, it's just the beginning.

Here's The Secret To Germany Becoming The Most Dominant Soccer Team In The World

GettyZidane, Aouar, and Guardiola.<ul class="summary-list"><li>Houssem Aouar has been described as "incredible" by Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11679/11566594/pep-guardiola-heaps-praise-on-incredible-houssem-aouar">according to Sky Sports.</a></li><li>He also turned down Liverpool in 2016, and cites Zinedine Zidane as his idol, whom he told <a href="https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/videos/houssem-aouar-lyon-remember-the-name">The Players' Tribune</a> "made me love football." </li><li>The 21-year-old was one of Lyon's stand-out players last season, scoring seven goals and producing seven assists, and has now been touted to move to either Real Madrid or City.</li><li>He would prefer a move to the latter, however.</li><li>"You wouldn't like to go to City?" Aouar said when asked about a potential move to The Etihad, <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2838133-lyons-houssem-aouar-talks-up-pep-guardiola-amid-manchester-city-rumours">according to Bleacher Report.</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/soccer-news?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=TIR=TIR=T">Read more of our soccer coverage here.</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></li></ul>Pep Guardiola calls very few players "incredible."But the 21-year-old French kid Houssem Aouar is one of them."[Aouar] is a very good player. He is incredible," said the Manchester City manager of the Olympique Lyonnais youngster last year, <a href="https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11679/11566594/pep-guardiola-heaps-praise-on-incredible-houssem-aouar">according to Sky Sports.</a>"He's always very calm with the ball at his feet, with an excellent technical quality." Guardiola made his comments about Aouar, who was just 20-years-old at the time, having just watched him dominate City's midfield - consisting of Fernandinho, David Silva, and Riyad Mahrez - during a 2-2 draw in the UEFA Champions League in November 2018. The Frenchman put in a near perfect performance at the Groupama Stadium on the night, completing 100% of his dribbles, 90% of his 62 passes, and making five tackles. City's midfielders were also unable to dispossess him even once throughout the whole 90 minutes.The display saw Aouar announce himself to the footballing world in style, however, his ascension to the top had been coming long before. <h2>Aouar says he knew of his talent since he was a youngster</h2>Aouar's love for football was forged in the multicultural streets of Lyon, before he was snapped up by his boyhood club in 2009, aged just 11.After being nurtured by the club's famous academy - which has been responsible for producing some of Europe's current top players including Alexandre Lacazette, Karim Benzema, and Corentin Tolisso - Aoaur started to realize the value of his ability."Around 15, 16, that's when I told myself I could do something great," <a href="https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/videos/houssem-aouar-lyon-remember-the-name">he told The Players' Tribune.</a>In 2015, aged 17, he made his first appearance for Lyon B, and two years later the first team came calling, with then-coach Bruno Genesio handing him his professional as a late substitute in the UEFA Europa League against AZ Alkmaar.Wearing the number 25 shirt, Aouar very nearly bagged himself an assist in the 90th minute after bursting with pace on the counter and finding himself with just one Alkmaar defender and the keeper, between him and four adjacent teammates. He had laid on Nabil Fekir for an easy finish, however the shot was saved. Fortunately for Lyon, Jordan Ferri swept home the rebound to make the score 4-1, but unfortunately for Aouar, he had to wait to register his first goal contribution in a white shirt. He didn't have to wait long, though. A week, in fact, was all it took him to make his mark, scoring his side's sixth goal in a 7-1 victory in the return leg at the Groupama."I remember everything clearly," he told The Players' Tribune, reminiscing about the goal. "Lacazette sends me a lobbed ball through. I manage to control it and pass it to Christophe Jallet, on his right side. Reuters/Robert PrattaAouar slots home his first Lyon past Alkmaar keeper Tim Krul."He passes it back directly to me. I find myself facing the goalkeeper, and I slide the ball right between his legs."I was proud. Honestly really proud. I wanted to scream. I remember that I dedicated that goal to my mother. It was a really special moment for me. And, like I said, especially because I scored here, in Lyon, in my city."<h2>And many more of those special moments followed shortly after </h2>Subsequent to his exploits against Alkmaar, Aouar quickly became a regular feature in Lyon's first team.In the 2017-2018 season, in the absence of Tolisso who had just moved to Bayern Munich, he made 31 starts in both Ligue 1 and the Champions League, scoring seven goals and producing six assists - which was enough to see him earn a nomination for FIFA's Golden Boy award as one of the best young players in the world. The following season, his stock further increased as he made 44 appearances, scored seven goals, and made seven assists. Only midfield partner Tanguy Ndombele and forward Bertrand Traore stepped out for Lyon more during the campaign.His performances drew comparisons to the FIFA World Cup winner Zinedine Zidane - the man Aouar says he idolized growing up."I think Zidane was the player who made me love football," he told The Players' Tribune. "Because of his way of playing and his behaviour. He is a great player and he's French. So yes it really is [him]."Aouar also says he used to imitate Zidane as a boy on the streets of Lyon. "When I was a boy, like most kids, I used to pretend to be another player," <a href="https://www.ligue1.com/ligue1/article/aouar-i-used-to-love-watching-lisandro.htm">he told Ligue 1.</a> "It was usually Zidane."<h2>He now could follow in his idol's footsteps </h2>A number of clubs are now keeping tabs on Lyon's 21-year old superstar, including Zidane's Real Madrid. Zidane himself said he would be keen to take on the $66 million youngster at the Santiago Bernabeu as an alternative to Manchester United's Paul Pogba, whom he admits is out the club's price bracket, <a href="https://www.donbalon.com/futbol/laliga/zidane-olvida-pogba-pide-otra-estrella-centro-campo">according to Don Balon.</a>But Madrid isn't the only club interested. Liverpool and Manchester City are also reportedly after the midfielder.The former, Aouar rejected, albeit nearly a half-a-decade ago. "Before I signed my first professional contract with Lyon in July 2016, Liverpool were interested in me," he told Planete Lyon, <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/03/lyon-star-houssem-aouar-reveals-rejected-liverpool-transfer-move-8304848/">via the Metro.</a>"I thought about it hard with those close to me on the decision I needed to take, what was better for my progression. I opted for Lyon because it is the club of my heart and my aim was to succeed here, in [Lyon]."Manchester City, and Pep Guardiola, the man who called him "incredible", however, Aouar is unlikely to turn down should it come knocking. "You wouldn't like to go to City?" Aouar said when asked about a potential move to The Etihad Stadium, <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2838133-lyons-houssem-aouar-talks-up-pep-guardiola-amid-manchester-city-rumours">according to Bleacher Report.</a>"It is a great European club and all players have this urge to play for the biggest European clubs, which in addition is led by Guardiola, who for me is a reference as a coach. Guardiola has seen everything before."It is extremely good to play his teams and that's what I like, his way of seeing football."Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/erling-braut-haland-says-manchester-united-rumors-are-boring-2019-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">A 19-year-old scores so many goals he's starting to sleep with his winning footballs, calls them his 'girlfriends,' and says Manchester United links are 'boring as f---'</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jadon-sancho-once-compared-to-neymar-but-now-worth-more-2019-8?r=US&amp;IR=T">Jadon Sancho, a 19-year-old who has been compared to Neymar, is now worth far more than the declining Paris Saint-Germain super forward</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/christian-pulisic-touted-for-big-things-at-chelsea-2019-8">The Hazard-esque American sensation Christian Pulisic has been heralded as a 'big signing' with 'more to come' after UEFA Super Cup performance</a> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-warren-buffett-billionaires-donate-money-2017-10">On Giving Tuesday, see how Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are changing the world like no other humans in history</a></h3>

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This 11-year-old football prodigy from an Odisha slum is going to train at Bayern Munich Academy

Poulomi Das

Lionel Messi has told Barcelona's new coach he is closer to leaving than staying, and doesn't 'clearly' see his future at the club

Barnaby Lane

US soccer's best young players are moving thousands of miles from home and flocking to Germany, and it's all down to one man: Christian Pulisic

Barnaby Lane

Canada's men's soccer team learned lessons from world champions France to bounce from rock bottom to a first World Cup in nearly 4 decades

Barnaby Lane

Lionel Messi leaving Barcelona would be the biggest and most shocking transfer in football history — but it would make perfect sense for everyone

Will Martin

Here's The Secret To Germany Becoming The Most Dominant Soccer Team In The World

Tony Manfred

A Zidane-like 21-year-old has rejected a move to Liverpool FC, has been called 'amazing' by Pep Guardiola, and is already valued at $66 million

Barnaby Lane

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