http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23671341-5006068,00.html
Australian 10-year-old wins over Manchester United
By Dave Murray in Manchester
May 10, 2008 12:00am
AUSTRALIA'S soccer whiz kid Rhain Davis finished his first season with Manchester United this week - and there's no sign the club has any plans to let him go.
Rhain, 10, made international headlines when the world's most famous club saw his talents on a DVD and signed him up to their elite youth academy last July.
His family packed up their home in bayside Brisbane and moved 17,000km to give him a shot at stardom.
All indications are that Rhain continues to make a good impression at the Red Devils, with the family under strict instructions to keep quiet about his progress.
"We don't want to put any more pressure on him, he's still just a kid,'' dad Mark told The Saturday Daily Telegraph.
A club source said the end of the season was the time young players found out if they were staying on at the academy.
"Sometimes a player who is good at 11 or 12 doesn't develop any further and isn't good when they are 13,'' he said.
Rhain's grandfather sent Manchester United the now-famous DVD of his grandson weaving through opponents with ease.
Copies placed on internet site You Tube have been viewed an incredible 6.5million times and sparked a string of copycats from all over the world, all wanting to be just like Rhain. Comparisons were made between Rhain and child prodigies Wayne Rooney and Ronaldo.
Living in a rural area on the outskirts of Manchester, Rhain has been getting a taste of what it would be like to be a star.
His modest house is in one of Manchester's most sought after areas and club legends Rooney, Wes Brown and manager Sir Alex Ferguson are only a short drive away.
In contrast to the public fields he used in suburban Brisbane, he now shares Manchester United's Carrington training grounds with the sport's legends. The grounds are un-signposted and sit like Fort Knox in the middle of farmland.
Players and authorised visitors must first be given permission to pass through a set of boom gates monitored by a security camera.
A narrow path runs for more than 500m to the main entrance, where security guards are posted and two sets of tall fences keep out unwanted guests.
More than a dozen local and international fans were given permission to gather outside the entrance for autographs and pictures when The Saturday Daily Telegraph visited the grounds this week.
The club's stars emerged after a training session and cruised off in luxury cars worth more than the homes of some of their waiting supporters.
"Your normal Audi is just bog-standard, everyone gets one of those because that's the club's sponsor,'' one waiting fan said. "If you want something extra you have to pay for it.''
Brazilian star Anderson was one of those who had wanted an "extra'', speeding off in a $150,000 Audi R8. The players had been preparing for one of the biggest months in the club's history.
With two wins they could win the dream double of both the Premier League and Champions League titles.
They are rewarded handsomely for their talents, creating huge stakes for young players like Rhain if they can beat the odds and make it through to the elite level.
Striker Rooney, 22, and centre back Rio Ferdinand, 29, earn more than $200,000 a week. The club wasn't talking about Rhain's prospects of joining them however. "Our policy is that we don't discuss junior players,'' a spokeswoman said.
One reason for the secrecy is that many of the young hopefuls won't last, with about 30 kids Rhain's ageall being assessed and tested through weekday training sessions and weekend games.
"We don't tend to hear too much about the young lads until they start breaking through,'' said Manchester sports reporter Stuart Mathieson.
"Most people in England want to play for Manchester United and there are plenty of young lads who think they're good enough and their parents think they're good enough.''
Australian 10-year-old wins over Manchester United
By Dave Murray in Manchester
May 10, 2008 12:00am
AUSTRALIA'S soccer whiz kid Rhain Davis finished his first season with Manchester United this week - and there's no sign the club has any plans to let him go.
Rhain, 10, made international headlines when the world's most famous club saw his talents on a DVD and signed him up to their elite youth academy last July.
His family packed up their home in bayside Brisbane and moved 17,000km to give him a shot at stardom.
All indications are that Rhain continues to make a good impression at the Red Devils, with the family under strict instructions to keep quiet about his progress.
"We don't want to put any more pressure on him, he's still just a kid,'' dad Mark told The Saturday Daily Telegraph.
A club source said the end of the season was the time young players found out if they were staying on at the academy.
"Sometimes a player who is good at 11 or 12 doesn't develop any further and isn't good when they are 13,'' he said.
Rhain's grandfather sent Manchester United the now-famous DVD of his grandson weaving through opponents with ease.
Copies placed on internet site You Tube have been viewed an incredible 6.5million times and sparked a string of copycats from all over the world, all wanting to be just like Rhain. Comparisons were made between Rhain and child prodigies Wayne Rooney and Ronaldo.
Living in a rural area on the outskirts of Manchester, Rhain has been getting a taste of what it would be like to be a star.
His modest house is in one of Manchester's most sought after areas and club legends Rooney, Wes Brown and manager Sir Alex Ferguson are only a short drive away.
In contrast to the public fields he used in suburban Brisbane, he now shares Manchester United's Carrington training grounds with the sport's legends. The grounds are un-signposted and sit like Fort Knox in the middle of farmland.
Players and authorised visitors must first be given permission to pass through a set of boom gates monitored by a security camera.
A narrow path runs for more than 500m to the main entrance, where security guards are posted and two sets of tall fences keep out unwanted guests.
More than a dozen local and international fans were given permission to gather outside the entrance for autographs and pictures when The Saturday Daily Telegraph visited the grounds this week.
The club's stars emerged after a training session and cruised off in luxury cars worth more than the homes of some of their waiting supporters.
"Your normal Audi is just bog-standard, everyone gets one of those because that's the club's sponsor,'' one waiting fan said. "If you want something extra you have to pay for it.''
Brazilian star Anderson was one of those who had wanted an "extra'', speeding off in a $150,000 Audi R8. The players had been preparing for one of the biggest months in the club's history.
With two wins they could win the dream double of both the Premier League and Champions League titles.
They are rewarded handsomely for their talents, creating huge stakes for young players like Rhain if they can beat the odds and make it through to the elite level.
Striker Rooney, 22, and centre back Rio Ferdinand, 29, earn more than $200,000 a week. The club wasn't talking about Rhain's prospects of joining them however. "Our policy is that we don't discuss junior players,'' a spokeswoman said.
One reason for the secrecy is that many of the young hopefuls won't last, with about 30 kids Rhain's ageall being assessed and tested through weekday training sessions and weekend games.
"We don't tend to hear too much about the young lads until they start breaking through,'' said Manchester sports reporter Stuart Mathieson.
"Most people in England want to play for Manchester United and there are plenty of young lads who think they're good enough and their parents think they're good enough.''
exactly what I was going to say. To be honest if this Davies kid turns out to be a great player from an United point of view it would suit us for him to play for England. Won't see hardly any round the world trips that will badly affect his fatigue. It's bad enough when Tevez has to fly out to Argentina