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Nothing in Martin Odegaard’s path to greatness but himself

By on January 22, 2015

Not even a year ago Martin Odegaard was a youth team player at Stromsgodset, and it was only last May that the then 15-year-old signed his first professional contract.  It stands testament to his astronomical rise that ten months on, with only twenty-three professional club appearances to his name, he has just signed a contract with Real Madrid, the reigning Champions League winners, on a contract rumored to be worth £4,160,000-a-year.  The past year was about realizing his aspirations of becoming a professional footballer, as if that were ever in doubt, and the next year he will devote to becoming a professional footballer for Real Madrid, but the top club in the world.  In fact, he has upwards of a decade to realize this one.

Due to the way it went down, Odegaard is in the best place possible.  He will be playing for Real Madrid Castilla, the club’s second team, while training with the first team.  Some of the best footballers and coaches in the world – Zinedine Zidane is in charge of Castilla – will make sure Odegaard is nurtured to the best he can be.  Born to two former professional athletes, his father a former Norwegian international, he has always been in safe hands, but now he has taken the next step and is in hands that have the ability to make him the world’s best footballer, should be deliver.  He had the best clubs around the world lining up for him, and his decision to sign for Madrid wasn’t one taken without thought.  At the moment, he is in perhaps that best place he can possibly be.

Odegaard won’t have the pressure of performing at the level of the first team immediately.  Real won’t want to rely on him – nor do they require him – for years to come.  He should be given time to develop, consistent with the decision for him to play with Castilla and the least amount of pressure possible on a sixteen-year-old with his publicity and aspirations.  Even so, if Odegaard is to become the world’s best he’ll need to be mentally prepared to accept unrealistic pressure.  Real will be able to help him with that.

Given he is in the best place possible, the only thing standing in his way of achieving the goal is himself, both physically and mentally.  If he can’t cope with the pressure now, he can hardly be expected to cope with such ten times more meaningful at the world stage.  If Odegaard isn’t prepared to make personal sacrifices now to become the best he can be he was never meant for the role.

And perhaps most importantly, if he simply isn’t talented enough – the largest worry.  All players develop at a different rate – just because he has blossomed early doesn’t mean he will be the best of the bunch.  You only have to look as far as disappointments due as Freddy Adu in the US to know the risk in placing too many hopes on Odegaard.  Then again, Adu didn’t have the care of Real Madrid to nurture him.  All signs point to a grounded person and significantly talented player in Odegaard – exactly the type to succeed at the highest level – and given his situation it certainly looks as if Odegaard is set to become the best player he can possibly be over the next few years; the question is if that player is the world’s best.

Photo credit: Wikipedia Commons

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.