“I can only say I was not so professional when I was 16,” added Basten.
Kolkata: Dutch legend Marco van Basten feels that successful organisation of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, will open up new avenues, ushering a new era in Indian football. [caption id=“attachment_4179203” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]![File image of Former Dutch player Marco van Basten. Reuters]()
File image of Former Dutch player Marco van Basten. Reuters[/caption] The chief officer for technical development, FIFA, Van Basten said: “Football in India will get a new horizon with the U-17 World Cup.” The Dutch icon will see the final on 28 October along with Croatian legend Zvonimir Boban, who is now the deputy secretary general of FIFA. Van Basten, a three-time winner of Ballon d’Or had come after watching Spain’s 3-1 win over Mali in Mumbai on Wednesday. “I can only say I was not so professional when I was 16,” the FIFA ‘World Player of the Year’ in 1992, summed up the performance of the teams in this U-17 World Cup. He further said Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are football’s equivalent to Roger Federer-versus-Rafael Nadal in tennis.
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