On 10th April, 2005 people in Goodison Park witnessed something unusual. The fans of Championship, currently known as Premier League, were shell shocked about what happened on the ground.
James Vaughan, at 16 Years, 270 Days, became the youngest goalscorer in the history of Premier League when he scored against Crystal Palace while playing for Everton.
It is 15 years since then and no player younger than Vaughan has scored in the Premier League. To be precise, no other player has come closer to match that record. He still remains the youngest goal scorer ever in the history of Premier League.
However, Vaughan’s top-flight career in England was short-lived. Despite getting a head start to his career in Championship, he couldn’t continue the good work.
Kyro Sports lists youngest goal scorers in the top five leagues of Europe. In addition, how these young goal scorers fared later in their careers has been discussed in the same piece. The top five leagues considered are Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, Bundesliga and Ligue 1.
#1) Premier League- James Vaughan (Everton)
Age: 16 years and 270 days
Opponent: Crystal Palace
Date: 10th April 2005
Mikel Arteta and Tim Cahill had doubled up the lead for Everton against Crystal Palace at Goodison Park. The entire Everton fans were waiting for one more goal after Arteta had scored his first for Everton in his loan spell.
Leon Osman picked up the possession in the midfield and set up Kevin Kilbane on the left flank. Kilbane fired the low cross to the near post. James Vaughan didn’t miss the opportunity to fire the ball to the back of the net.
The goal raised the sense of delight at Goodison Park. It is because of the victory had put Everton in the fourth position ahead of Liverpool. Importantly, he struck the goal in the 87th minute, after Mikel Arteta and a Tim Cahill double had put Everton in control. Apart from that, James Vaughan broke the record of James Milner who was the youngest goal scorer in the Premier League till then.
Vaughan broke the record held by James Milner when he struck in the 87th minute against Palace, after Mikel Arteta and a Tim Cahill double had put Everton in control.
The glittering start, however, didn’t justify Vaughan’s career. After being the youngest goal scorer, the player didn’t live up to his potential. Rather, he ended up being a nomadic player who has played for 12 different clubs across the United Kingdom.
After leaving Everton in 2011, he has played for several clubs like Norwich City, Huddersfield, Sunderland and Wigan Athletic. Currently, the player is in the League One, a third tier competition in England, on behalf of Bradford.Â
#2) Serie A- Amedeo Amadei (AS Roma)
Age: 15 years and 287 days
Opponent: Lucchese
Date: 09th March 1937
To be precise, Amedeo Amadei is the youngest ever goal scorer in the top five leagues of Europe. The record is still untouched for 83 long years and it shows how the feat achieved back in the 20th century is admirable.
The player also remains the joint-youngest player to grace the Italian league with the other player being Pietro Pellegri.
Amedeo Amadei was just 15 years and 287 days when he scored his first Serie A goal back in 1937. Though a tough match for AS Roma fans, they saw the star emerging for the side. Lucchese had thrashed Roma with a 5-1 margin with the consolation provided by lone goal of Amedeo Amadei.
In 234 games for the Italian outfit, Amadei went on to score 111 goals and is considered as the club great by both fans and the management.
He also went on to play for the other Italian clubs like Atlanta, Inter and Napoli apart from coaching them twice in the 1950’s and the early part of the 1960’s.
The player passed away at the age of 92 in 2013 and was recently inducted into the Italian football hall of fame in 2019.
#3)Â La Liga- Fabrice Olinga (Malaga)
Age: 16 years and 98 days
Opponent: Celta Vigo
Date: 18th August 2012
Fabrice Olinga is the name which stunned the name back in 2012 when he scored the solitary score of the game against Celta Vigo which had an end to end action. Few consider that the goal was all about the fortunes but one can’t deny the hard work and effort of the player to reach the level. In the Spanish top tier, Fabrice Olinga became the sensation and the youngest ever to score in the league.
The goal in the game is considered lucky because of the ball found the net because of its connection with the thighs of the player. After an inviting cross into the box, the player couldn’t handle the ball, tucking his thighs.
The goalkeeper was off his lines and couldn’t clear the ball. The connection was so powerful that the ball found the back of the net through the player who was few feet away.
Despite a promising start, the player moved to Cyprus top tier club Apollon Limassol. Further, he moved to Zulte Waregem in 2014 on a temporary basis.
However, the player moved to the Italian club, Sampdoria at the end of his spell at Apollon Limassol. The player picked a dispute with Sampdoria with regard to the registration. Currently, the player is at Mouscron, a Belgian top tier club.
#4) Bundesliga- Nuri Sahin (Borussia Dortmund)
Age: 17 years and 82 days
Opponent: Nurnberg
Date: 26th November 2005
The Borussia Dortmund player, Nuri Sahin, became the youngest goal scorer in both the league and for the club in 2005 after he became the youngest ever to debut in the German top flight. The player was 16 years and 334 days when he made his first senior appearance. Sahin scored Dortmund’s second goal in a 2-1 win against Nurnberg to feature in the record books.
The Turkish international found himself once again in the record books after he netted the winner for Die Schwarzglben against FC Nurenberg in 2005. The player was just 17 years and 82 days old when he scored for the “Men in Yellow”.
Though Nuri Sahin had a promising start to the career in Germany, he couldn’t live to the hype. Things became more difficult when he was out due to injury for a long time. Also, his spells at Liverpool and Real Madrid weren’t really convincing which added to his downfall. Currently, he is with Werder Bremen in the German top tier with 38 goals in a career spanning 378 games.
#5) Ligue 1- Richard Krawczyk (Lens)Â
Age: 16 years and 105 days
Opponent: Angers
Date: 08th September 1963
One of the legendary players in the history of French top tier, Richard Krawczyk was one among 11 youngest players to take part in the post-war regime. Moreover, the decorated player leads the way in the list of youngest goalscorers in the history of Ligue 1.
With his first-ever goal for the club at the age of 16 years and 105 days, Krawcyzk became the youngest goal scorer and helped Lens to a 2-1 victory over Angers in 1963.
The player had a nice time at Lens and became one of the best players with Polish descent to grace the league. He went on to play for Metz, Reims and returned to his boyhood club in 1976.
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