This Thursday, Kurt Zouma will face his “best enemy”.
It's not himself, but Olympique Lyonnais.
A personal derby for this player trained at AS Saint-Etienne, who is nevertheless a native of the capital of Gaul.
However, he is now an enemy in the Rhône.
Trained at FC Vaulx-en-Velin during his childhood, six kilometers from Groupama Stadium, the current home of OL, he joined the rival at 14.
This defender, of Central African origin, continued his training at ASSE, before being launched into the deep end two years later, at 16 years and 11 months.
Under the orders of Christophe Galtier, the young Kurt made 22 Ligue 1 matches during the 2011-2012 season when he was not yet of age.
Having left for the Premier League very early, for Chelsea at the age of 19, Zouma never
never crossed paths with Olympique Lyonnais again.
This will be done this Thursday evening (9:00 p.m.) during the quarter-final first leg of the Europa League.
However, in the midst of media and legal turmoil, the central defender no longer displays his former solidity.
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“
Lyon is my city, but I have green blood
”
“
I was trained in Saint-Etienne, it's my school, it's where I started.
I have a little green blood in quotes.
Even though I'm from Lyon, I love this city, it's my city, I was born there, I lived there.
But in terms of football, it was the Greens who allowed me to be a pro, it's my club
, "explained Kurt Zouma to
Canal +
in 2017. Five years after this declaration, the Lyonnais by birth but Stéphanois at heart, will receive his "enemies" at West Ham's London Stadium, while he is pointed out by some, including his own supporters.
On February 8, the British tabloid
The Sun
published a video of Kurt Zouma, filmed at his home.
In the images, filmed by Yoan Zouma, also a footballer, we saw the French international hitting his cat several times.
A video that caused a scandal and has been viewed several million times on social networks.
Read also“I thought you were a good guy”: Frank Leboeuf’s violent charge against Kurt Zouma
Sanctions then regrets
Quickly many Internet users signed a petition demanding legal action against the French player.
A petition that collected more than 200,000 signatures in just a few days.
Immediately, East London club West Ham also issued a statement condemning the player's actions.
Kurt Zouma is then fined around 300,000 euros, or two weeks' salary.
A sum that the
Hammers
subsequently donated to English associations that fight against animal abuse.
"
I want to apologize for my actions
," the 27-year-old responded in a statement.
“
There are no excuses for my behavior, which I sincerely regret.
I also want to say how deeply sorry I am to everyone who was upset by the video.
I want to assure everyone that our two cats are perfectly fine and healthy
.”
In this media turmoil, several brands have turned against Kurt Zouma.
Starting with its sponsor.
“
We have closed our investigation and we can confirm that Kurt Zouma is no longer an athlete under contract with Adidas
,” the brand told AFP.
“Something that is inadmissible, intolerable and of an unspeakable cruelty of course.
I'm sure he realized it but these images are shocking and unbearable.
»
Didier Deschamps, for France 3.
An act that made the whole football world react, starting with Didier Deschamps, questioned a few days after the fact.
“
I was very surprised by Kurt.
It is something that is inadmissible, intolerable and of course an unspeakable cruelty.
I'm sure he was aware of it, but these images are shocking and unbearable
, ”testified the coach on France 3. “
An obviously shocking act of violence,
for Noel Le Graet.
This gratuitous, stupid and nasty act of violence seems all the more astonishing since I have never heard of Kurt Zouma being badly spoken of.
On the contrary, he is a boy known to be respectful, positive.
However, I note his apologies.
I hope he learns the lesson from it
” nuanced the boss of the FFF in a statement sent to AFP.
Read alsoAnimal abuse: Kurt Zouma's brother suspended by his club
Shouted to by his own supporters
This video was released just hours after West Ham's 1-0 win over Watford.
Yet present in the group and announced as a starter for the next match, Kurt Zouma had finally withdrawn at the last minute during the trip to Leicester on January 13.
The former Chelsea player made his return with the Hammers, as a starter, on February 19 against Newcastle on the 28th day of the Premier League.
"
He's better, but it took him a few days to recover
," explained David Moyes, the London club's coach before the match.
"
I think he's probably very disappointed with what he's done and thinks about it a lot, no doubt, but overall we tried to push him forward.
He is very popular with supporters given the performances he has achieved throughout the season.
We hope he can focus on his football and we will give him all the support we can until he gets back to his best level.
“Yet on the ground, Kurt Zouma was heckled by his opponents, and whistled by his own supporters.
Whistles that remain, almost two months after the start of this story.
Read alsoFoot: Kurt Zouma whistled again against Newcastle
At West Ham, redemption then disillusionment
Arrived last summer at West Ham after seven seasons at Chelsea, punctuated by loans to Stoke City (2017-2018) and Everton (2018-2019), Kurt Zouma definitely changed clubs and saw another future after 154 games with the Blues and five trophies, including two Premier League (2015, 2017) and one Champions League (2021).
Priority target of David Moyes, the player trained at ASSE officially joined West Ham on August 28 and then knew his fourth club in England, he who had not yet played in the Premier League with Chelsea.
To strengthen his central defense, David Sullivan, the president of the Hammers, signs a check for 35 million euros in favor of the neighbor.
“
Obviously, I was in a team that was doing really well
, confided the new
Irons
player shortly after his arrival.
But coming here allowed me to play more.
It's a club that wants to progress and develop and I want to be part of this project.
»
The defender the Hammers needed
The least we can say is that the Frenchman, who is in his seventh season in the Premier League, immediately imposed himself.
Substitute against Southampton on September 11, Kurt Zouma is aligned from the start by David Moyes against Manchester United during the 5th day of the championship on September 19.
A starting place that the native of Lyon will not leave for eleven games in a row in the Premier League.
At 27, the one who is nevertheless one of the youngest in this aging defense (only Ben Johnson, 22, and Issa Diop, 25, are younger than him) imposes himself in the axis of West Ham.
Installed alongside Angelo Ogbonna at the start of the season, Kurt Zouma is now aligned with Craig Dawson,
since the long injury of the Italian defender (rupture of the cruciate ligaments on November 4 for Angelo Ogbonna).
Issa Diop, fourth central defender in the hierarchy, is chomping at the bit on the bench.
The former Toulouse has only played eleven league games.
Read alsoAbused cat: the British SPA wants Kurt Zouma and his brother to be prosecuted
Kurt Zouma fitted in perfectly until a first disappointment.
On December 4, the 27-year-old right-hander was injured against… Chelsea.
The former Blues, forced out in the 71st minute of play, after a hamstring injury.
The French international is then away from the field for a little over a month.
It was against Manchester United on January 22 that he made his return to the league, a few weeks before the "drama".
Kurt Zouma in tears after his exit against Chelsea on December 4, 2021. Panoramic.
Hero then Zero
Announced as holder on February 13 against Leicester, five days after the publication of the video, Kurt Zouma is finally absent and last minute package.
The player felt feverish in training.
He will return to competition on February 19 in a match against Newcastle.
Yet at home, the Hammer is whistled by his own London Stadium audience at every touch of the ball.
His adversaries try to take advantage of the situation to destabilize him, notably by shouting cats at him.
Since then, Kurt Zouma has regained his indisputable starting place at West Ham.
He's still booed by English audiences, though the whistles are fading as the weeks go by.
Sportingly, the defender alternates the very good and the almost catastrophic.
He sometimes appears as the boss of this defense, trying to guide, replace, swear in or help his teammates, who are older and for the most part all older than him at the club (only Craig Dawson arrived this summer too).
But on some occasions, the 27-year-old seems completely lost on a pitch, not knowing what to do.
This was particularly the case during the derby against Tottenham.
On March 20, West Ham took the water at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
A brace from Heung-Min Son and an own goal from… Kurt Zouma.
The Frenchman slightly deflects the South Korean's shot into his own goal and allows Spurs to take the lead in the 9th minute.
A 3-1 defeat for the Hammers that day, and the former Chelsea defender is among the players most to blame for this collective wreckage.
Absent from the Blues
A catastrophic performance for the international with eleven selections with the Blues, which occurred three days after the last list of Didier Deschamps.
Installed in the rotation of the axis of the France team, the West Ham player was this time absent from the list.
A purely sporting choice warned the coach.
“
I don't know if it's a strong choice (not to select Kurt Zouma, editor's note).
I don't know because I didn't take it systematically.
In October, he was not there.
In November, he came because Raphaël Varane was injured.
It remains a sporting choice, only sporting as for all the choices I make
”explained the world champion coach, who did not want to return to the controversy.
This Thursday, Kurt Zouma will return to Europe, he who has only started three times this season in the Europa League, and a personal derby against Olympique Lyonnais.
It remains to be seen who of his public or the enemy people will whistle him the loudest.
Read alsoMatrix, Braille, foreign languages ... Leboeuf's message to Zouma diverted to infinity
