Martin Odegaard is as much a citizen of YouTube as he is of Norway. The 16-year-old midfielder, Real Madrid’s latest signing, has only played 26 competitive senior matches but there are hours of highlight footage on the internet—all of which is set to thumping hair salon techno because of course it is. More than 80,000 people have watched a brief clip-job of his national team debut against the United Arab Emirates. The reason? Odegaard has been declared a prodigy, the greatest young talent in world soccer, the next Messi, and on and on it goes.
Read More: The Fascist Italian Soccer Ultra Who Killed a Rival Fan
Videos by VICE
The fact that Odegaard’s move is already being dissected in such authoritative terms says as much about the current, claustrophobic global soccer climate as it does about the young player himself. His move to Spain is either the right move or the wrong move, depending on who you read. Either way, there won’t be a clear verdict for a few years, but the noise and hype are only going to get louder. Even in the starlet obsessed soccer world, Odegaard stands out. Murky as he is as a player, he is expected to excel.
Still, signing with Real Madrid, a squad that is notorious for rearranging their team year after year because they can, is a brave choice. Many very good players, like Juan Mata and Javi Garcia, come through the Real cantera only to find it impossible to break into the vaunted starting XI. Odegaard’s gambit may work out and he may be hoisting Real’s eleventh European Cup soon, or not. That’s fine. Don’t view Odegaard as an imminent prodigy just yet—the sport’s history is littered with would-be prodigies.
And for all their hype, as soon as a prodigy flounders or regresses, they are forgotten, victims of their own press clippings. Freddy Adu may have turned out to be a decent player had he not been anointed the savior of U.S. Soccer, but when he found himself contract-less at 25, the soccer world gave him no sympathy. Adu, like so many flameouts before him, can never be just himself. He’s a cautionary tale, the man who never was.
The thing about “next Messi” meme is that there is only one Messi and always an endless stock of heirs apparent. If Odegaard falters, the hype machine won’t get introspective. Pundits and transfer rumor hawks will blame Odegaard for failing, not themselves for creating an inhospitable climate. He will be forgotten and everyone will find new teenagers from Botswana or Nepal or Suriname to drool over. In the shifting, ruthless, bustling world of big money soccer, you’re only hot as long as you’re unknown.
Hopefully, for his sake and for Norway’s, Odegaard will make it work. He has immense skill and his pedigree is as such that if Real can’t find room for him, he’ll have his opportunities elsewhere. But in the meantime, let him be Martin Odegaard. He doesn’t have to be a new Lionel Messi or Ronaldo. Enjoy his skill and marvel at his efforts to lead Norway to Euro 2016, but know that he isn’t obligated to be anyone’s superhero. He’s just a kid, after all.
