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Idols
Jean
Carlos Chera - The Early Years
He
may well be a future sports idol...but it's really too early to
tell.
At 4-foot-6,
weighing all of 77 pounds and only 9 years old, Jean Carlos Chera
won't be able to play in the European Union until he turns 18.
But that's
not stopping Manchester United and other top teams from courting
the young soccer genius who currently plays on the youth teams
of Associacao Desportiva Atletica in Brazil.
It was only
when the club featured a video clip of the child prodigy on its
Web site that word spread - as it often does on the Internet -
like lightning.
In fact, it
was Jean Carlo's own lightning speed displayed in the videos (up
against other youth players Jean Carlos is seen scoring goals
from midfield) that reportedly attracted teams from the U.K.,
Germany, France and Portugal among others.
For now, team
officials are fielding calls from far-flung soccer clubs around
the globe and trying to keep the youngster out of the media
spotlight for as long as possible.
Jean Carlos
Chera may be one of the youngest players to grab the attention
from European clubs, but he's not the only one - which may explain
the rush to sign with the world's top soccer clubs.
It was two
years ago that Manchester
United tried to attract the interest of a 14 year-old American
soccer phenomenon, Freddy
Adu, who later signed with D.C. United of Major League Soccer.
also
see -> David
Beckham | Michael
Owen | Ronaldo
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