You had to be in Australia, in the middle of the Senior Women’s World Cup, to understand the dimension of Linda Caicedo. There was no press conference or stadium where they did not talk about her, her acceleration, her punch, her ambition despite being only 18 years old.
Now that impact is measured in awards and in one that is like a Ballon d’Or for the young talents of the world.
The Golden Girl and Golden Boy awards are a creation of the Italian newspaper Tuttosport to recognize the talent of footballers under 21 years of age. It is the first row before aspiring to the Ballon d’Or.
How is the winner chosen? You must win the vote of a jury made up of 50 journalists accredited in Europe, including representatives of Bild (Germany), Blick (Switzerland), A Bola (Portugal), L’Équipe and France Football (France), Marca and Mundo Deportivo (Spain), Ta Nea (Greece), Sport-Express (Russia), De Telegraaf (Netherlands) and The Times (United Kingdom).
Each journalist has the right to nominate five players and the jury assigns 10 points to the player they perceive as the most outstanding, 7 to the second, 5 to the third, 3 to the fourth and 1 point to the fifth.
In that complex vote, the Colombian Caicedo won, over the great favorite, the Spanish Salma Paralluelo, FC Barcelona player and U-17, U-20 and Senior world champion, in addition to the Champions League title and also a professional athlete. .