Found this article written on May 10,
2008.
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.''
