Special envoy to Sens
Right side corner for Paris Saint-Germain.
The number 10 of the Rouge et Bleu takes off, raises his right arm, and looks for the head of one of his teammates at the far post.
Described thus, the situation has everything of an action played by professionals.
Except that it takes place in Sens, on the occasion of the Tournoi sans frontières, competition for U14s.
Read alsoFoot: at 15 the Brazilian nugget Endrick impresses during the Montaigu tournament
A professional decor
This Sunday, April 17, on this sunny day, many elements recall the highest level of football in the decor and atmosphere of the important Sénonais sports complex.
The best clubs in France are present: Paris Saint-Germain, Olympique de Marseille, Olympique Lyonnais, Stade Rennais, OGC Nice, RC Lens or Toulouse Football Club - winner of the last edition organized before the health crisis, and defeated in the final this year against the Phocaeans - to name a few.
But during the four days of the tournament, the Burgundian lands are also trodden by foreign formations such as Sparta Prague, Servette Geneva, La Gantoise or Borussia Mönchengladbach, considered by connoisseurs as one of the favorites of the competition. because of their young players”
already much disciplined
.
Read alsoTransfers: PSG would have made “a blank check” to Kylian Mbappé to convince him to stay
In the morning, the arrival of the teams is calm.
The background music doesn't quite drown out the noise of the few rolling suitcases of teenagers, all - without exception - dressed in their work tracksuits.
A few - they are very rare - get out of their vans or their buses with headphones in their ears to put themselves in their "
bubble
" before the start of the matches.
On the three lawns, footballers in training already have certain reflexes that are found in their elders.
In the match between AJ Auxerre and Servette Genève, the instructions of the Auxerre goalkeeper, launched with a rocky voice, punctuate (almost) each pass like a metronome: “
Slide!
» ;
“
Watch out, back!
» ;
“
Depth!
".
His cries mingle with those, much more disorderly, of supporters - mainly parents or family members - who encourage, advise, exhort, get enthusiastic or annoyed depending on the situation, sometimes while waving a flag at the image of their club.
SEE ALSO -
Mbappé, Ramos and Marquinhos: PSG's 0-3 victory against Angers SCO
A "
talent nest
" which has seen the emergence of many 2018 World Champions
If in certain aspects the Tournoi sans frontières looks like a professional competition, it is neither more nor less because the level is very high.
Since its creation in 1994, it has developed considerably, quickly becoming a (the?) real benchmark in its field: “
It's a very good quality tournament.
It offers us the possibility of facing foreign teams like Sparta Prague or Servette Geneva.
These are quality formations, it's another football
, "says
Le Figaro
Thomas Leyssales, head of pre-training at Paris Saint-Germain.
It is for this reason that foreign teams do not hesitate to make the trip…even to cross the Atlantic.
In 2014, Toronto FC came to face European clubs.
Four years earlier, it was Paranaense who took part;
thus becoming the first Brazilian representative in the history of the competition.
Read alsoPremier League: Paul Pogba, towards a sad end at Manchester United
And who says very high level says great players.
Karim Benzema, Antoine Griezmann, Raphaël Varane, Ousmane Dembélé, or even Vincent Kompany, the names are not lacking when it comes to quoting important professionals who participated in the Tournoi sans frontières in their youth.
Figures sometimes say more than words: among the 23 French World Champions crowned in 2018, 17 of them walked the lawns of Yonne during the Pasqual weekend during their pre-training.
A real “
talent nest
”, as indicated by the competition on its social networks.
“
This tournament has a reputation, a reputation, on the national territory for a very long time.
It is recognized as a very good competition.
We cannot have legitimacy over time by chance”
, tells
Le Figaro
Franck Raviot, coach of the Blues goalkeepers and sponsor of the 2022 edition.
SEE ALSO -
The TSF final between OM and Téfécé
An important instrument of progression for young people
The Tournoi sans frontières is also an opportunity for clubs to see young players in a different light: "
Sometimes we have a vision of the boys in the championship or in the club, there we put them in what is best in France and you can really see what they have in mind in understanding the game, the speed of execution, the management of emotions
, ”explains for
Le Figaro
Ludovic Graugnard, head of pre-training at Téfécé.
This type of competition, which is very intense physically, makes it possible to highlight certain qualities or shortcomings, especially on the mental level.
As Thomas Leyssales points out: “
What you notice in a tournament are the mental aspects of the youngsters.
Because as the competition progresses, we realize that there is a lot of fatigue.
We can see certain attitudes, players who have a great self-transcendence, who manage to go to the end of themselves and who also manage to keep this lucidity to offer the game that we want.
»
Read alsoSteve Savidan: "I have known intellectual precariousness"
Evolving in a context different from the domestic championship or regional tournaments, with very high opposition, is particularly formative for these apprentice footballers "
because they can discover themselves differently, assert themselves more, express themselves more
", explains Franck Raviot. .
Concretely, it's a competition that can serve as a trigger for them.
This is also what happened for one of the young people from Toulouse: “
We have revelations.
We have boys we were wondering about.
For example, against RC Strasbourg Alsace, we had doubts about one of our youngsters and he gave us a very high level match.
That is to say that some, in the face of adversity and the management of emotions, are able to surpass themselves
», Says Ludovic Graugnard, specifying that the staff will make a point at the same time collective and individual with the players at the end of the tournament.
A consensus exists among trainers: one should not have a hasty judgment at this age, and take the time, over several years, to develop the young people.
Franck Raviot shares this opinion: "
It's an age where there is such a morphological evolution, such a psychological mutation, you have to be measured on your opinions and show humility
", he corroborates.
This tournament, by its characteristics, plays a revealing role and promotes the progress of teenagers.
The tournament is hotly contested, with a lot of commitment.
TSF/Gilles Venet
Football business already present
Inevitably, in such a competition, the pressure is already felt.
Among the players, but also among their families.
In the opinion of the organization, it happens that parents, too involved in their dream of seeing their offspring go professional, have a little too assertive behavior.
This Sunday, April 17, it is not so.
The atmosphere at the edge of the lawns - between sun, music, smells of fries and sausages or even classic encouragement - resembles that which can be found on the grounds of amateur structures on weekends.
At least in appearance.
Because
football business
is already present.
“
Many recruiters
“, according to an organizer, have made the trip to spot nuggets or to establish reports on young people in particular who have already made a name for themselves on the circuit.
Among the teams that sent emissaries?
Manchester City or Ajax Amsterdam, to name but two.
Read alsoStudies, training, societal commitment… The (many) challenges for the footballers of tomorrow
It must be said that it is rare to be able to observe so many young talents at the same time in the same place.
This is a golden opportunity for recruiters.
Moreover, legend has it that in 2000, the leaders of Olympique Lyonnais took advantage of a meal - they were eaten together - to get closer to Hatem Ben Arfa, already perceived as a phenomenon, and take his contact ;
all without the knowledge of Stade Rennais with whom he was on trial.
Legends only engage those who believe in them.
Olympique de Marseille won the 2022 edition of the Tournoi sans frontières.
TSF/Gilles Venet
A tournament full of "meaning"
But the Tournoi sans frontières is not only the expression of the beginnings of the professional world.
It is also the essence of football, carried by "
a true, authentic side
", to use the terms used by Franck Raviot.
It is organized by an eponymous association and currently chaired by Raphaël Raymond, who also holds the position of media relations manager in the staff of the Blues.
“
This tournament is a hymn to joy and a hymn to the passion for football
,” adds the goalkeeping coach of the France team.
Passion materialized by the investment of the 120 volunteers, and the many host families, who work both on site, and upstream and downstream of the organization: "
I have almost always lived in Sens.
I play football, I know the environment well.
What I like is this diversity of population in a sporting challenge, this sharing.
It is happiness.
And in addition this year, the weather is nice
, ”explains the dynamic Audrey, sports coordinator of the competition.
Read alsoMedia, expose our champions, because they are worth it!
This diversity of population is at the very origin of the tournament.
Initially, the Tournoi sans frontières was created to allow young people from the city of Sens, particularly from disadvantaged neighborhoods, to participate in a great competition and face many teams.
Thus, in addition to the professional clubs, each year there is a local selection comprising the most deserving young players of the Grand Sénonais.
And it is because it is at the intersection of the professional and amateur worlds, between
football business
and passion, that the competition is so charming.
You just have to witness the explosion of joy, on the pitch and in the stands, when the first goal scored in the tournament by the young people of Senon against La Gantoise to understand it.
These teenagers, who are not destined - at least until now - to marry a career as a professional footballer, have the opportunity for several days to confront players who, for some, will tread the lawns of Ligue 1 or will wear the Blues jersey in a few years.
These are memorable memories for them: “
It was great.
There were a lot of people.
We are not used to playing in front of so many people.
I am proud to make the tournament.
From a young age, I wanted to participate
“Says shyly but with stars in his eyes Sullyvan, goalkeeper of the Grand Sénonais and outclassed.
It is by listening to them or seeing their smiles after the ovation to which they were entitled when they left the field, following their draw against the Belgian formation, that the Tournoi sans frontières takes on its full meaning. .