Chrisantus: missing from the top

Macaulay Chrisantus
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Macaulay Chrisantus was relatively unknown when he arrived in South Korea in August 2007 for the FIFA U-17 World Cup but the tournament ended in Septemeber with the six-foot tall striker emerging as the Golden Shoe winner.

The prodigious predator’s seven goals in the championship helped Nigeria win the U-17 trophy for the third time in 22 years after the Golden Eaglets won the maiden edition in China in 1985 and at Japan ‘93. Nigeria lost on penalties in the final of the Canada ’87 edition to the Soviet Union. The Golden Eaglets were beaten 3-0 by a Florent Sinama-Pongolle propelled French team in the final of Trinidad & Tobago 2001.

Germany’s Toni Kroos won the South Korea 2007 Golden Ball after he capped off a great performance in the competition with five goals to help his country to a third-place finish. Nigeria stopped Germany from reaching the final courtesy of goals from Chrisantus, Yakubu Alfa and Kabiru Akinsola in the 3-1 defeat of the highly-rated Europeans in the semifinals.

Chrisantus hogged the headlines after every game in South Korea, causing his fans and many Nigerians to salivate with optimism.

The then 17-year-old FC Abuja player was touted as the next Rashidi Yekini, and he was also tipped to become the next big thing out of Africa.

His size and offensive capabilities turned heads in Europe with the big clubs scrambling to get their hands on the young Nigerian.

Chrisantus would be the second Nigerian player to be in the spotlight after a standout performance at the U-17 World Cup.

“I’m very proud of my team and myself for reaching the goals we set before coming to Korea. Winning the World Cup and the Golden Shoe is a dream come true,” Chrisantus told FIFA.com after Nigeria beat Spain on penalties in the final.

“I scored twice when we came here for the Eight Nations Tournament, and I felt at the time that I would definitely go on and score more goals at the World Cup. But it wasn’t just down to me. My teammates played a big part too and I want to share the award with them.”

At the same competition in 1987, Philip Osondu received special praise after he shone in Canada. Zanza was touted for big things after he received the Golden Ball of the championship, after his breathtaking display of athleticism yielded the Golden Eaglets four goals from him.

Ironically, while the media focused on Chrisantus, the likes of Christian Benteke (Belgium), Danny Welbeck (England), Yann M’Villa (France), Eden Hazard (Belgium), David de Gea (Spain), Mamadou Sakho (France), Victor Moses (England) and Bojan Krkic (Spain) quietly exited South Korea after their countries were knocked out of the championship.

Although Toni Kroos was the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, his performance, which resulted in five goals to emerge as South Korea 2007 second highest goalscorer, was downplayed by Chrisantus’ gold medal.

But Kroos has since graduated to the German senior national team, and the Bayern Munich attacking midfielder has become an important player for Die Bayern. The 23-year-old six-footer, who featured for his country at the South Africa 2010 World Cup, has 35 caps for the German senior team.

Belgium were sent packing in the group stage of the competition, meaning Eden Hazard and Christian Benteke went home very early.

Hazard returned to France to continue his education at Lille, where he developed into a major player in the French league, and a regular member of the Belgian senior national team. Chelsea signed him for 32m euros last summer. Hazard, whose parents were footballers, is reportedly being paid a weekly wage of £110,000 by Chelsea.

Benteke also developed into a good player, nailing down a place in the Belgian senior national team since 2010. His superlative performances attracted interest from Aston Villa, who signed the striker from Genk on a four-year deal for a fee believed to be around £7m last summer.

The 22-year-old DR Congo-born player’s 15 goals in all competitions for Aston Villa this season have seen his stock rising by the day. His Premier League club have placed a £25m price tag on his head.

England were knocked out in the quarterfinals of the tournament by Germany but the English would be happy that Danny Welbeck graduated to the senior team and an important player for runaway Premier League leaders Manchester United.

Victor Moses was a regular in the English U-21 team before he switched his allegiance from England to his fatherland, Nigeria. The 22-year-old is playing for the 2012 UEFA Champions League Champions Chelsea. The former Crystal Palace and Wigan winger helped Nigeria win the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa on February 10.

Yann M’Villa was a regular in the heart of the French senior national team until he was banned from representing his country until June next year, after he broke camp rules while on duty with the U-21 team.

Mamadou Sakho, who was M’Villa’s teammate in the U-17 team, is one of the most-sought after defender in Europe today. Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, Newcastle and Juventus have been linked with the versatile 23-year-old Paris Saint-Germain player.

Goalkeeper David de Gea remained with the U-17 team to help Spain to win the 2009 edition of the championship hosted by Nigeria.

The 22-year-old’s impressive performances helped Atletico Madrid win the Europa League and UEFA Super Cup the following year. Manchester United signed the Spaniard for around £18m as Edwin van der Sar’s replacement.

But while de Gea, M’Villa, Hazard, Benteke, Welbeck, Sakho, Bojan, Kroos and Moses have progressed through the ranks to become major figures in Europe, Chrisantus is plying his trade at Spanish second division side Unión Deportiva Las Palmas.

Like Osondu, Chrisantus has not fulfilled his potential. He appears to have followed in the footsteps of Osondu, who never reached the Super Eagles. Chrisantus only made cameo appearances in the Flying Eagles (U-20 team). He was not selected for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada, where Nigeria crashed out in the quarterfinals, and the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, where the U-23 team won silver.

After a fierce fight, it was German Bundesliga side Hamburg that won the Nigerian’s signature after South Korea 2007 just as Belgian giants Anderlecht beat other contenders to Osondu at the end of Canada ‘87.

When Hamburg could not get the best out of the player they laboured so much to land in the market, they sent him on loan to Karlsruher SC in the summer of 2009. At the new club Chrisantus endured a stop-start season at Wildparkstadion, blighted by injuries and a loss of form.

Karlsruher, who extended his loan for another season, got tired of the 2007 U-17 World Cup second Most Valuable player and sent him back to his parent club in the summer of 2011.

But Chrisantus did not feature in The Dinosaur’s plan for the season, forcing them to again loan him to SV Frankfurt. The striker returned to Hamburg after his loan spell at Frankfurt. Since he did not feature in their plan, Chrisantus joined Las Palmas.

Osondu was dumped by Anderlecht after waiting in vain for seven years for the Nigerian they bought when he was 16 to develop into what they bargained for. Osondu moved to La Louviere where he played from 1994 to 1995. La Louviere, a club Osaze Odemwingie began his professional career in 2002 refused to extend his contract prompting him to join Union Saint-Gilles. The 41-year-old former El-Kanemi Warriors star played for Diegem Sport and later FC Merchtem 2000 where he ended his career in 2004.