The daughter of a pioneer of French soccer

The captain of Olympique de Lyon, Wendie Renard, called Mamá Pato by her teammates , is considered the head of the team of footballers who already have five European cups, like Alfredo Di Stéfano's Real Madrid. But there is another player of the same generation, Eugenie Le Sommer (Grasse, France, 31 years old), without whom it would not be possible to understand the overwhelming power of the Lyon team in the last decade.

• Europe belongs to Lyon

Le Sommer lost the starting title this season, to the benefit of Nikita Parris, but the expulsion of the English attacker for a double yellow in the semifinal of San Mamés opened the doors of the title again. He celebrated by scoring Olympique's first goal in the 24th minute, and contributing to the third, in a very hard shot from the edge that his teammate Gunnarsdótir deflected. The area is its natural habitat. That is why she is the highest historical scorer for the French team, with which she has 269 goals, in addition to 80 with the French team.

Hunger for titles

Le Sommer was asked in an interview how it is possible that after winning nine leagues, seven French cups and six European cups - with that of San Sebastián there are seven -, she was still hungry for titles, and assured that she is a total competitor : at a soccer or tennis game, or at passing practice in training. Defending our titles gives me extra strength. Losing in 2013 against Wolfsburg and falling in the last 16 against Potsdam in 2014 was very difficult to accept, that frustration I have not forgotten ”.

The Olympique player always had the support of her family. They all formed a curious group of fans during the 2015 World Cup in Canada. His parents, his in-laws, his brothers - there are seven and she is the only woman - accompanied him to the World Cup event. Her mother, Claudine, was also a footballer, at a time when the sport of the ball discriminated against women. He played for Paris Saint Germain in 1982, and at first he did not welcome Eugenie to become a football fan: “It's not that I didn't want her to play, it's just that after learning about the game and having been a relatively talented like her, she was aware of the challenges women face, ”she confessed in an interview with The Telegraph. She told her daughter: “When you are little, soccer is fun. You can play with your friends and with the boys from school, you can win games and score goals, but after that there is nothing for us ”.

From judo to football

But things have changed. Eugenie lives off football and has become one of the three Olympique de Lyon players who have won seven European Cups. “My parents played soccer when they were young, but when I told my mother that I wanted to play too, she was reluctant to let me join a local club. I was only four years old when I started playing, so I had no idea what had happened before and I was too young to understand her reasons. "

Claudine took her daughter to a judo club to get soccer out of her mind, but there was no way. Eugenie insisted. "I liked judo, but soccer more." Her mother, despite reluctance, was passionate. She played until she was 47 years old. She already had two children when she sent a letter to the president of PSG to tell him that he had to quit football, among other things because he did not charge to play and depended on the salary of her policeman husband, who was frequently transferred. But she did not completely quit until an injury definitively separated her. Now, Claudine applauds her daughter's decision to bet on the sport of the ball: “I am very happy for her and for women's football. I also have a feeling of revenge for all those who criticized me over the years, for all those people who said it was a men's sport, that football was violent and that it would hurt me.