Sport: Soccer
Jack Wilshere was born in 1992, made his Arsenal debut in 2008 and his international debut in 2010, dates that bear testament to the 20-year-old’s rapid rise but also, coincidentally, denote dark years for England’s soccer team.
England expects, always, and it expects most of those players yet to disappoint on the biggest stage. Such a cynical appraisal, however, does scant justice to one of European soccer’s brightest stars, a tenacious playmaker with technical gifts and tactical nous hitherto uncommon among his countrymen. In an outstanding and sometimes astounding first full season with club and country he performed more like an excellent player than just an exciting prospect – not least in two supernaturally mature UEFA Champions League performances against Barcelona.
Comparisons have been made, inevitably, with the wasted talent of Paul Gascoigne, but while he has committed his share of youthful indiscretions Wilshere seems an altogether happier sort, bound by a close-knit family and expertly handled by his club off the field. He is an open and likeable presence on Twitter, amassing a healthy 1.4 million followers and maintaining his international profile despite spending the 2011/12 season out injured.
Nike has already put the Wasserman client at the heart of its key campaigns, as has Pepsi, while EA Sports put him alongside Wayne Rooney on the cover of its best-selling Fifa 12 videogame in the UK. Wilshere will miss Euro 2012 but his stock, ironically, will rise further if England struggle through an awkwardlooking assignment in Ukraine. SportsPro
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