Class of 2013/14: UEFA Europa League discoveries
Published: Thursday 15 May 2014, 11.06CET
As ever, the 2013/14 UEFA Europa League proved a brilliant platform for up-and-coming talent; UEFA.com's team selects ten performers we have surely not heard the last of.
Name: Alan
Age: 24
Club: FC Salzburg
Position: Forward
Alan arrived from Brazil in summer 2010 and has never had a more influential role than he has this season. The numbers speak for themselves: 26 goals and eight assists in the Austrian Bundesliga, plus four goals and as many assists in the UEFA Europa League. It has been a long path for Alan – full name, Alan Douglas Borges de Carvalho – since tearing a cruciate ligament in August 2011. That injury halted his early progress outside his homeland and resulted in 18 months on the sidelines.
Age: 24
Club: FC Salzburg
Position: Forward
Alan arrived from Brazil in summer 2010 and has never had a more influential role than he has this season. The numbers speak for themselves: 26 goals and eight assists in the Austrian Bundesliga, plus four goals and as many assists in the UEFA Europa League. It has been a long path for Alan – full name, Alan Douglas Borges de Carvalho – since tearing a cruciate ligament in August 2011. That injury halted his early progress outside his homeland and resulted in 18 months on the sidelines.
Alan later admitted his spell out of the game was difficult to take. "There were times when I thought I would never be able to play again," he said. "However, now I am back and I appreciate football a lot more." Together with UEFA Europa League top scorer Jonatan Soriano, he is part of a potent strike force that yielded 57 league goals this term. "I am feeling at home here and now see myself as half-Austrian."
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