Callum Hudson-Odoi

Callum Hudson-Odoi

When Eitan was in the thick of his football career, I wondered what it would have been like to see Wayne Rooney or David Beckham or Christian Ronaldo in their early years as players - would each have dominated the sport in similar fashion as they did in the Premiere League ?

Well, my question answered by Callum Hudson-Odoi who Eitan defended in the 2014 Surrey Cup Under-13s final when Hampton School defeated Whitgift on the last of the PKs in the most thrilling football match I have watched to this day. Callum, for his part, went on to play for Chelsea and now the resurgent Nottingham Forest where he plays 'winger' and has scored five goals this season, so far, including the Saturday winner against Manchester City. 

Eitan recalls the Surrey Cup when Hampton's strategy to staff two defenders on Callum who seemed to barely to notice the inconvenience. I recall a kid who was slippery as an eel and as sure footed as anyone I had seen on the pitch at age-13. He read the field perfectly and always in the right place to set up the action or to make a strike. 

Now, interviewed after the Man City match, I observe a thoughtful young man who gives credit for the game-winner to the team-mate who set up the angle. Callum is football at its best.