The ManicaPost
JUVENTUS forward Moise Kean became the first player born in this millennium to play in the Champions League when he appeared as a substitute in his team’s 3-1 win away to three-time Europa League champions Sevilla.Kean, who was just 16 years and 267 days old on Tuesday, climbed off the bench at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan with just six minutes remaining, his arrival quickly coinciding with Juventus moving back ahead on their way to victory.
With the game level at 1-1 and Sevilla down to 10 men following the first-half sending off of Franco Vazquez, the Italian giants needed a goal.
And with Keane on the field, it soon came as a cross from the right was cleared to defender Leonardo Bonucci who drove home from the edge of the box.
Bonucci’s effort made it 2-1 and followed goals before the break from Sevilla’s Nicolas Pareja and a penalty from Claudio Marchisio.
Mario Mandzukic made it 3-1 in added time and while the win sent Juventus into the Champions League knock-out stages, it was Kean who dominated the headlines.
His achievement was his second landmark in less than a week, the young Italian who was born to Ivorian parents having become the first player born after 2000 to appear in Serie A in Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Pescara.
A promising young striker, Kean played youth football with Torino before signing with Turin giants Juve in 2010. He was born on February 28, 2000 and becomes the sixth-youngest player to figure in Europe’s premier club competition. Former Chelsea and Nigeria defender Celestine Babayaro is the youngest player to have ever featured in the Champions League. He was 16 years and 87 days old when he played for Anderlecht in 1994.
While Kean might not have broken the record as the youngest Champions League player of all time, the future certainly looks bright for a man who has already played at the highest level of European football.
Represented by Mino Raiola – the same agent boasted by Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s – Kean has been linked with moves to Arsenal and Manchester City.
Despite his appearances for Juventus, Kean is yet to sign a professional deal with the Serie A champions and they could yet lose him to the Premier League. – Dailymail Sport
