Over the past six editions, our spectators in Drongen got to see a lot of top performers in the making. Some of them are now shining on the highest stage. A portrait of a few absolute eye-catchers.
Jeremy Doku and strong RSC Anderlecht in 2017
Every year, we also award individual trophies at our KDB Cup. These of best player, best goalkeeper, top scorer and the fair-play award. One eye-catcher on that list of honours is Jeremy Doku, who became top scorer in 2017. The Manchester City and Red Devils winger then played at RSC Anderlecht, with whom he was in a team with Killian Sardella (base player at RSC Anderlecht), Marco Kana (loaned by Anderlecht to KV Kortrijk), Eliot Matazo (meanwhile AS Monaco, on hire at Antwerp as a replacement for Arthur Vermeeren) and Anouar Ait El Hadj (now KRC Genk) reached the final against FC Barcelona. It was perhaps one of the strongest teams we saw at work at our KDB Cup.
Take another look at footage from the semi-final, in which RSC Anderlecht knocked Chelsea FC 1-3. Jeremy Doku scored twice. https://youtu.be/2KWv3kEu2s8?si=W1mARAnJSOOZHziY
Precocious Barça in 2016
The boys who participated in our first edition, in 2016, were all born after 1 January 2021. Meanwhile, the talents of that time are therefore 22 to 23 years old. An age at which most players have already made their first breakthrough. Barcelona stood out then for very mature play. With in goal Arnau Tenas, today reserve goalkeeper at PSG. But the team was only really steered by the precocious Eric Garcia Martret, who has since played a European Championship, a World Cup and the Olympics with Spain. 'Eric', meanwhile, made some 70 appearances for Barça, was on the pitch with Kevin De Bruyne at Manchester City in between, but gained playing minutes at Girona this season. Other standouts in that team were Nico Gonzalez (now FC Porto, son of Deportivo legend Fran) and Ansu Fati (loaned by Barça to Brighton), although he barely got into action in Drongen due to injury. In midfield, the frivolous Adrian Bernabe. After a stopover at Manchester City, the young Spaniard led Italian side Parma to promotion to Serie A this season.
Hat-trick hero for Portugal
We continue with a player from our very first winner. SL Benfica won the final from Austria Vienna in 2016. To the celebration then: Gonçalo Ramos. He broke through in 2021 at the club he won our tournament with. The striker experienced a dream at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when he scored a hat-trick for Portugal, against Switzerland. Immediately three goals in his first starting place. It went around the world. The goalscorer also scored smoothly for PSG in France today and with Portugal has Roberto Martinez as national coach, who visited our tournament in 2019. Have they talked about the KDB Cup together yet? Who knows!
A treat for the eye, a pearl for Germany
The biggest eye catcher? We have a beanie for every player who was active at our tournament. But it is clear that Jamal Musiala does stand a long way. Barely 21 years old, the German Briton just completed his fourth season as a base player at Bayern Mûnchen and grew into an absolute star performer at the German record champion. In 2017, he finished fourth at our tournament. He did so in the shirt of Chelsea FC. In 2019, he moved to Germany. The graceful midfielder will also be an eye-catcher in the German selection at the European Championship in his homeland soon.
A laundry list of top talents
So are many more players who made a name for themselves in the meantime. The Spanish Gavi (2019, FC Barcelona) and Pau Cubarsi (2022, FC Barcelona), for example. Also Anthony Gordon (2016, Everton and meanwhile Newcastle FC and the England national team). But also Red Devils Johan Bakayoko (2018, RSC Anderlecht, now PSV), Zeno Debast (2018, RSC Anderlecht), Roméo Lavia (2018 and 2019, RSC Anderlecht, now Chelsea FC) and Charles De Ketelaere (2016, though at then he was mostly injured, Club Brugge, now Atalanta). And we could go on and on!
Each his own way
It is noticeable that some players get a chance with a first team a little earlier, others later. One player opts for a long-term contract at a club only to be loaned out (several times). The other immediately opts for a contract at a new club. Some players are unlucky with injuries, others discover that a professional career is not for them and opt for studies abroad, for instance.
"It is very interesting to follow the trajectory of the guys who have passed with us," says Brecht Schelstraete, a volunteer within the KDB Cup communication cell since 2016. He keeps detailed records of the players. "Most of the boys are steadily building their careers. We see many of them making smart moves in every transfer period. And that can include keeping patience for just a moment, getting and seizing an opportunity and then suddenly being launched. So each talent is plotting his own path."
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