Die Welt on Odegaard: The wonderkid's Madrid "setback"
The German daily and Austrian journal Kurier analysed the Norwegian's trajectory since his arrival at Real Madrid.
To coincide with Germany’s World Cup qualifying match against Norway – for which Martin Odegaard was omitted and played with the under-21s instead – the national press analysed the player’s evolution at Real Madrid since his arrival in January 2015 at the age of 16.
German daily Die Welt spoke of Odegaard’s “setback” at the Spanish club and recalled the superlatives used to describe the player when half of Europe was vying for his signature: “Wonderkid,” “The talent of the century,” and the “Star of the new Norway.”
"Spends his weekends in provincial football"
“Two years on, his future appears unclear. He remains at Castilla, where he spends his weekends playing provincial football against teams like Rayo Majadahonda or Zamudio,” Die Welt noted.
Odegaard at RM Castilla
Austrian daily Kurier asked: “What has changed since he arrived at Real Madrid, other than he has aged a year and a half? Not much. Instead of playing in the Premier League or Ligue 1, he continues to play in the modest scenery of Segunda B.”
Kurier picked up on quotes made by Odegaard recently – “I fell more mature as a person and a player. I’m stronger and better physically” – and said: “The proof of that remains to be seen.”
Die Welt spoke to several people for an opinion on Odegaard.
"With us, he'd be playing in the Champions League"
“With us, he’d be playing in the Champions League,” said Borussia Mönchengladbach sporting director Max Eberl.
“Everything happened too quickly for him. The Dutch league would be a good place to start,” said former Norway international Kjetil Rekdal, who won 83 caps for his country.