Odegaard shows he is not ready for Real Madrid and must be protected

COMMENT: The 16-year-old started for Norway during their thumping Euro 2016 qualifying defeat to Croatia and was anonymous for most of the game

By Tony Mahoney

All eyes were on Martin Odegaard on Saturday. The teenage wonderkid lined up for Norway in their Euro 2016 qualifier against Croatia - his first competitive start for his country.

The attacking midfielder has been tipped for greatness following his highly-publicised €4 million transfer to Real Madrid this January from Stromsgodset. At the age of just 16, he is already reportedly earning over €100,000 a week.

But based on his showing in Zagreb, Odegaard is a long way from being ready to make the jump from Madrid's reserve team to a senior side boasting seasoned stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Sergio Ramos.

This was perhaps best illustrated just shy of the hour mark. Odegaard picked up the ball midway inside the opposition half, but as he tried to turn towards goal he was mercilessly bullied off the ball by the outstanding Marcelo Brozovic.

Odegaard was catapulted to the ground and took the best part of 30 seconds to get to his feet. In a microcosm, this tussle summed up Odegaard's performance. While technically, he is a player who has everything - physically and mentally he was a boy playing a man's game.Many of his team-mates fared little better as Croatia dominated the Group H clash, racing into a 3-0 lead thanks to goals from Brozovic, Ivan Perisic and Ivica Olic. It was only when Vedran Corluka was red carded in the last 15 minutes that Norway offered anything going forward.

Yet it was team-mates Jone Samuelsen and Alexander Tettey - who grabbed a consolation - who took this late fight to the hosts. Bar a weak deflected effort from outside the area that trickled through to goalkeeper Danijel Subasic, Odegaard made no contribution in an attacking sense as Croatia eventually ran out convincing 5-1 winners.

"We feel very bad after such a big defeat," the starlet told reporters after the game.

"We were not direct enough, so we didn't create chances. We played well in the first half but much worse in the second. I exchanged jerseys with Luka Modric after the game."

Odegaard is perhaps the biggest teenage sensation since Freddy Adu hit the headlines over a decade ago. Earlier on Saturday, Adu signed for Finnish outfit Kuopion Palloseura.

That news should serve as a warning to Real Madrid and Norway that they must shield Odegaard from the limelight if he is to develop into a big star. The 16-year-old is not ready for the big time yet and he should be allowed to develop under the radar.