Issue 3 20/05/19
Weekly Magazine Unofficial Weekly Magazine for Football Index Traders
WorldCupWonderkids With the U20 World Cup kicking off on 23rd May, we have a look at a few of the stars set to shine...
“Q: What do Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero and Paul Pogba have in common? (Aside from the obvious of being some of the best players in the world.) A: They’ve all been named the best player at the under-20 World Cup.” Summer youth tournaments are an opportunity for us to see the stars of tomorrow on a world stage. It might not quite get the coverage of the senior versions - and rightly so - yet in a day and age where vacuuming up the youth talent can benefit financially in the future, stadia will be filled with scouts searching for the next big thing. Of course, success at youth level is no guarantee of success later on. Messi and Aguero
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may have also won the Golden Boot at their tournaments with 6 goals, yet so too did the 2009 winner of both accolades, scoring 8 goals: Dominic Adiyiah. (Nope, me neither.) And he was succeeded by Henrique Almeida; anyone? And yet, there is nothing greater than getting a glimpse of the future and the potential on offer. So in a time when capital appreciation in youngsters is rife on the Index, we have a look at a few you may want to add to your radar...
Portugal
Like France, the European champions should be feeling excited about the talent they have coming through. Francisco Trincao (£0.97) a man we featured last week in the Wonderkid Profile and Golden Boot winner at last year’s under-19 Euros - will look to lead the line alongside Rafael Leao: hot property after a breakthrough season at a Lille side who finished second in Ligue Un, securing Champions League football for next season. Meanwhile, their midfield will be bossed by Gedson Fernandes (£1.28), one of world football’s hottest properties who has been linked with a host of top clubs. It is such talent that will see the Portuguese start the tournament as 7/1 second favourites.
France
If life wasn’t good enough for the current world champions, it looks like the future could be just as bright with the continued talent being produced. Les Bleuets start the tournament as 9/2 favourites, and it’s unsurprising with the talent bursting through. Dan-Axel Zagadou (£0.70), Moussa Diaby (£1.06) and Moussa Sylla (£0.64) have all shown promise as they’ve broken in to first teams at Borussia Dortmund, Paris SaintGermain and Monaco, yet it is Amine Gouiri who is perhaps the main man to keep an eye on. He was top Gouiri scorer at the 2017 under-17 Euros with 7 goals, and Current Price followed this up with a further 5 at World Cup later that year. He then netted another 4 goals at the 2018 £1.15 under-19 Euros. Sadly for the attacker, he suffered a cruciate ligament injury not long after, robbing him of what should have been a breakout season at Lyon. The stage is surely set now for him to announce himself and kick-start his career.
Bad Week
Ruben Loftus-Cheek: Just as he was starting to feature regularly for Chelsea, he ruptures his achilles in a friendly. He will now miss the club’s Europa League final, as well as England’s Nations League finals.
Good Week
Man City: The first team to retain the Premier League trophy in a decade followed up by becoming the first team to win the domestic treble, adding the FA Cup this weekend. Frighteningly consistent.
Best of the Rest The World and European Champions may be the favourites for the tournament, Leao Current Price but there £1.45 isof plenty talent elsewhere. Diego Lainez (£1.18) has already impressed for Real Betis since becoming the second most expensive Mexican in history in January, whilst senior team boss Roberto Mancini has already called up Andrea Pinamonti (£0.70) for a training camp. Timothy Weah’s (£0.86) potential is clear, even if he may have a lot to live up to with such a famous dad, whilst Argentina’s Agustin Almendra (£0.82) is another who we have previously featured in our Wonderkid Profile. The list could go on with many others we haven’t yet mentioned: Andriy Lunin (£0.28), Erling Haaland (£0.83) and Nicolas Schiappacasse (£0.51) are just three more. And yet whilst none of these are guaranteed to continue the path to super-stardom, there might just be one that we can say ‘we saw them first’. And for Indexers, the biggest question is whether any are worth a 3-year hold.
Dividend Winners 13/05 - 19/05
13/05/19 Single Match Day Media Buzz Eden Hazard 870 Goalkeeper/Defender Cedric Soares 180 Midfielder Ivan Perisic 180 Forward ✴ ✴ ✴ Matteo Politano 182
17/05/19 Single Media Day Media Buzz
14/05/19 Treble Media Day Media Buzz
18/05/19 Treble Match Day Media Buzz Raheem Sterling 700 Goalkeeper/Defender ✴ ✴ ✴ Manuel Akanji 227 Midfielder Florian Thauvin 217 Forward Memphis Depay 222
First Paul Pogba Second Antoine Griezmann Third Eden Hazard
690 440 430
15/05/19 Treble Media Day Media Buzz First Antoine Griezmann Second Paul Pogba Third Eden Hazard
790 460 320
16/05/19 Treble Media Day Media Buzz First Ruben Loftus-Cheek Second Raheem Sterling Third Wilfried Zaha
820 350 290
First Antoine Griezmann Second Sean Longstaff Third Ruben Loftus-Cheek
390 380 300
19/05/19 Double Match Day Media Buzz Gareth Bale 830 Goalkeeper/Defender Giovanni Di Lorenzo 141 Midfielder ✴ ✴ ✴ Fabian Ruiz 245 Forward 187 Suso Upcoming: 20/05 Single Match Day 21/05 Treble Media Day 22/05 Treble Media Day 23/05 Treble Media Day 24/05 Double Match Day 25/05 Treble Media Day 26/05 Double Match Day Footie: 91,072 - 37
5 Questions With... FI_Genesis You can follow FI_Genesis on Twitter @FiGenesis. He is the author of the brilliant Football Index French Talent blog, which can be found at www.fifrenchtalent.com.
Best Buy: There are a few I’ve been really happy with. Not on the French side, but I bought early into Kai Havertz, Joao Felix and Luka Jovic and exited each of those trades at over 100% profit. I’ve since bought back into Felix. Oops! I believe he’s a generational talent. I always tend to start selling back to market once I make 100% on a trade. Not always the whole lot but I like taking profit and moving it in to the next trade. Worst Buy: This one does sit in the French Port. Ousmane Dembele. Again, like Felix et al, he was one of my first buys on the Index. However he had personal and injury problems at the end of 2018, his price fell away, I panicked and I Instand Sold the lot. Needless to say he’s back in the French Port and I bought back in at a far higher price than I sold at. Despite this I’m calm now about his future, and I’m holding through the dip. Biggest Regret: Apart from the universal ‘I wished I’d signed up to Football Index earlier’ regret, I’d say on a trading basis exiting my first Joao Felix grade when I did. I was over 100% on him and couldn’t see his price going any higher because I didn’t see him moving abroad until 2020. I’d always had him pegged as a generational talent. His talent plus my regret and a large dose of FOMO saw me buy back in recently! I should have paused and trusted his talent! Best Tip: There are so many superb talents out there that are great value in the Index. I’ll give two tips, first a general one: invest in keepers now. They are superb value either for IPD flipping or holding and topping up for IPD and capital appreciation. There’s a market correction coming and plenty of keepers will jump in price. On an individual basis, I’ll go for a flier in Theo Hernandez. He’s been hovering around the 40p mark for a while. The rumours have him joining Napoli this summer. He needs a chance to show what he can do, and Carlo Ancelotti seems to be the man to offer him that chance. He’s fantastic going forward, though he still needs to knuckle down. Best Piece of Advice: Do your own research, watch loads of football, and don’t pump and dump. These are the classics and each holds plenty of value. However, how about this: simply have fun. Enjoy being rewarded for your football knowledge. Enjoy broadening your football knowledge. Enjoy engaging and debating about football on Twitter, Slack or wherever. Enjoy being an early adopter of a ground breaking product that adds a new element of fun and enjoyment to the sport we all love. That’s it really: just have fun!
Wonderkid Profile: Matheus Cunha With the hype of finding the next star of the future, Brazil’s rich history makes them an obvious hunting ground. It is therefore surprising to see 19 year old Matheus Cunha fly somewhat under the radar in a season that has seen him break in to a RB Leipzig side that will be enjoying Champions League football next season. Style of Play: A pacy winger who can also play in attack, Cunha showed he can both score and assist goals during his first year in Europe, where he scored 10 and assisted 8 in 29 league matches for Sion; form that earned him a move to his current employers. He has settled well in Germany, splitting his time evenly from the off and the bench across 32 appearances in all competitions, netting 6 goals along the way. His talent was no more evident than one of the goals he scored back in April against Bayer Leverkusen: one of the best you’ll ever see and a definite contender for goal of the season, he pirouetted on the edge of the box before audaciously dinking the ball over the goalkeeper. What’s Been Said? “He’s developed magnificently over the last year at SIon, but there’s still a lot more potential to tap into.” These were the words of head coach Ralf Rangnick upon Cunha’s arrival last summer. Whilst it’s unlikely he will transfer for a third time in as many years, staying at RB Leipzig could actually turn out to be the Current Price best for him. Leipzig secured 3rd place in the table, and thus Champions League football beckons. With continued rumours that teammate Timo Werner will be moving on this summer, Cunha could be the main beneficiary on club football’s biggest stage.
£0.82
Goodnight Robbery It was the end of an era at Bayern Munich this weekend as the league said goodbye to Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery. For a decade they terrorised full backs with their electric pace, winning 8 Bundesliga titles together. Next weekend’s German Cup will be the last time we see them together.
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