Odegaard: The Norwegian kid who made national debut @ 15

Martin Odegaard the 22 year old Real Madrid ace who joined Arsenal on loan on Wednesday afternoon looks every bit one that is ready to deliver.

But playing for top clubs and rubbing shoulders with the high and mighty in the game did not come the way of Odegaard by chance.

At 15 years and 253 days he already made a debut for Norway against UAE in an international friendly in 2014 according to Gulf News.

At a time when some of his mates were either still watching the game on television or struggling to find their feet in an academy.

He became at that time the youngest ever player to represent Norway on a senior international level in the tie that took place in Stavanger. But is surprising that football runs in the family with a footballer father Hans Erik

“This is a dream come true. This is something I have dreamt about since I was a little boy,” he said at the time. “I am shocked.”

Odegaard was named as one of coach Per-Mathias Hogmo’s 19-man squad for that particular match. The manager clearly had a glimpse into the future, because he was sure of young Odegaard’s talent before the boy had even made a name for himself.

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“[He] would be one of this year’s rising stars,” said Hogmo. “I am looking forward [to] seeing him in action.”

The game ended in a 0-0 draw, but it mattered not to Odegaard’s bright road ahead. Odegaard had already scored three goals in 14 appearances at Stormsgodset Toppfotball, his club at the time. With the move to Arsenal the dream certainly is about to grow bigger for Odegaard.