Tim Vickery column

By Tim Vickery
South American football reporter

I'm writing this in the stadium at Luque, Paraguay, where a round of matches is taking place in the South American Under-20 Championships.

Palermo is a lumbering centre-forward of limited ability. But it is because he was prepared to fail that he has succeeded so often

It takes me back to the first time I was here - an occasion not difficult to recall. In the 1999 Copa America Argentina striker Martin Palermo missed three penalties in a match played here against Colombia.

This has often been used as a stick to beat Palermo, but I disagree. I think it honours him.

You could certainly argue that someone else should have taken the third penalty. But that would have meant finding a legal way of stopping Palermo.

He suffered the foul, and before anyone else had moved he'd tucked the ball under his arm and marched straight to the spot.

Palermo ran the risk of looking ridiculous because he trusted in his ability to score. This time he was wrong. But it was precisely because he was prepared to fail that he has succeeded so often.

He is a lumbering centre-forward of limited ability. But his wholehearted and fearless approach has ensured that he has wrung full value out of everything he has been given.

He came back from serious injury and at the age of 33 is still a key figure for Buenos Aires giants Boca Juniors.

There are plenty of youngsters currently on show in Paraguay with much more natural ability than Palermo.

The South American Under-20 Championship is always a goldmine and this version is no exception; Alexandre Pato, Lucas and Leandro Lima of Brazil, Juan Pablo Pino of Colombia, Alexis Sanchez of Chile, Ever Banegas and Maxi Morales of Argentina and Edinson Cavani of Uruguay all look promising.

Will they all fulfil their potential? One who should be among them already seems to have fallen by the wayside.

In 2004 when Paraguay won South America's Under-16 title the star player was attacking midfielder German Segovia.

Paraguay then took him to the 2005 Under-20 Championships where, still just 16, he showed flashes of genuis - fluid running with the ball and wonderful timing in his passing.

Two years later, on home ground, I expected him to be one of the highlights of the current tournament. But he has not even made the Paraguay squad.

Aged 16, Montano had the world at his feet, but it wasn't to be

When I ask local journalists about him I am answered with a sad shake of the head. Segovia's lifestyle, it seems, leaves a lot to be desired.

There should still be time for Segovia to get his career back on track. But it is unlikely that such a possibility still exists for an earlier version of the South American wonderkid.

Here in Luque, back in that same 1999 match where Palermo missed his penalties, Colombia unleashed 16-year-old sensation Jhonnier Montano.

Here was talent in pure form. He scored a cracking goal and looked every inch a future global superstar.

But it all came too soon - especially the move to Europe that left him kicking his heels on the bench or in the stands and unable to cope, Montano lost discipline along with his momentum.

He has just turned 24 - in theory he should be hitting his peak. In fact, he is an overweight figure struggling to make an impression in the Colombian second division.

The differing fates of Palermo and Montano stand out as the lesson of Luque - one which is screaming at the South American youngsters treading the pitch today.

Talent is fantastic, but on its own, it is never enough.