FOLLOWING INFAMOUS FOOTSTEPS

ROBERT J WILSON ON THE CHALLENGE FOR YOUNG FOOTBALLERS WHEN COMPARISONS ABOUND...

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COMPARISONS always tend to occur when a promising footballer arrives on the scene.

It's difficult to escape them.

Expectation and pressure are heaped onto young shoulders.

Many simply crumble under the weight of being labelled the new... whoever. They struggle to live up to the hype and waiting in the wings will be someone prepared to knock them off their pedestal.

In many ways, there is no greater compliment than being compared to the all-time greats of the beautiful game, but at times it can all become too much.

Many lose their way. Others fall way short of the legend they are trying, perhaps unwisely, to live up to.

There are a few, though, who can sit comfortably in that elite company. They embrace it and can even surpass it.

Talented Brazilians have the burden of wearing the famous No.10 of their three-time World Cup winner Pele.

The 'golden ten' can weigh heavy on fragile shoulders, but the likes of Zico, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Kaka did the shirt proud and enjoyed stellar careers at the highest level.

Neymar probably didn’t quite hit the heights that his early career promised, largely because of injuries and off-the-pitch troubles, but he is still Brazil's record goalscorer with 79 goals after surpassing Pele’s tally of 77.

Many thought Neymar would lead the football-mad country to their first World Cup success since 2002, but it never materialised.

In neighbouring Argentina, Diego Armando Maradona emerged from the shantytowns of Villa Fiorita to conquer the footballing world at Mexico ’86. Maradona began that glorious journey in his homeland, playing for Argentinos Juniors and Boca Juniors before making the lucrative move to Europe to join Barcelona in 1982 and then Napoli.