Wonderkid list from 2002 goes viral with Rooney and talkSPORT hosts included

The popular football publication shared a list of their top 20 stars to watch in the years to come back in 2002, a task that is clearly hard to get right given the varying levels of success of those on the list.

At the top of the list was Wayne Rooney, a name that no one can contest as a star of his generation.

Playing for Everton at the time, Rooney went on to become Manchester United's top scoring player in a glittering career that saw him win just about every honour that club football has to offer.

Rooney's success is in stark contrast to the list's number two starlet, Thomas Butler, whose time at Sunderland ended on a sour note with injury and a legal dispute seeing him fall from prominence.

Kolo Toure, Grant Leadbitter, John O'Shea, Milan Baros, Kieran Richardson and Jeremie Aliadiere were all players who enjoyed relative success in their career, with all seven making the cut for the top 20.

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Meanwhile, talkSPORT hosts Jermaine Pennant and Carlton Cole were also included.

Pennant was 15 when Arsenal paid Notts County £2m for him in 1999 and scored a hat-trick on his Premier League debut in 2003. He later played for Birmingham City, and for Liverpool where he started the 2007 Champions League final, as well as stints at Portsmouth and Stoke City before moving into punditry.

Cole started his career with Chelsea in 2001 before enjoying loan spells with Charlton and Aston Villa.

At Chelsea, his manager, Claudio Ranieri said of his fast forward: "I've never coached a young player like Carlton. He's fantastic even though he hasn't really started his career yet. He has a very long contract, and, in my opinion, a very big future at Chelsea."

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However, he left for his own progression in 2006 with Ranieri replacement Jose Mourinho signing Didier Drogba and Hernan Crespo and his most successful years as a player came with West Ham where he scored 67 goals and provided 33 assists in 293 appearances.

Kolo Toure also features high on the list having been signed by Arsenal as a youngster after impressing manager Arsene Wenger in a trial where he stopped the best strikers in the world at all costs.

MATCH MAGAZINE'S WONDERKIDS OF 2002

20. Michael Chopra (Newcastle United)

19. Liam Ridgewell (Aston Villa)

18. Luke Wilkshire (Middlesbrough)

17. Jeremie Aliadiere (Arsenal)

16. Chris Shuker (Manchester City)

15. Darren Carter (Birmingham City)

14. Kieran Richardson (Manchester United)

13. Filipe Oliveira (Chelsea)

12. Hugo Viana (Newcastle United)

11. Milan Baros (Liverpool)

10. Stefan Moore (Aston Villa)

9. John O'Shea (Manchester United)

8. Vicente Vuoso (Manchester City)

7. Carlton Cole (Chelsea)

6. Jermaine Pennant (Arsenal)

5. Grant Leadbitter (Sunderland)

4. Adam Chambers (West Bromwich Albion)

3. Kolo Toure (Arsenal)

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2. Thomas Butler (Sunderland)

1. Wayne Rooney (Everton)