A dazzling integration.
A month and a half after winning his first two caps in blue against Austria and Denmark in the Nations League, AS Monaco defensive midfielder Youssouf Fofana (23) was selected this Wednesday by Didier Deschamps to participate in the World Cup in Qatar (November 20-December 18).
Here are five things to know about this Ile-de-France player who worked for Espérance Paris XIX, Red Star and JA Drancy.
He played with Amine Harit and Moussa Diaby at Espérance Paris XIX
Originally from the Orgues-des-Flandres district in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, Youssouf Fofana started playing football at the age of 6 at Espérance Paris XIX.
The small Parisian club evolves at the departmental level but has the gift of finding nuggets.
The kid evolves with two teammates who will follow the same trajectory as him, that of professional and international football.
They are Amine Harit (Marseille) and Moussa Diaby (Bayer Leverkusen, German D1).
If the first, passed by the teams of France from U18 to Espoirs, became Moroccan international (14 caps), Youssouf and Moussa evolve, them, with the French selection directed by Didier Deschamps.
"Amine, Moussa and Youssouf were very talented and mature players both on and off the pitch," said Loss, their former coach.
in our columns last month.
I remember that they even prepared the jerseys and the licenses.
Their journey makes our young people dream.
»
He left INF Clairefontaine without a club
Passed by the U19, U20 and Espoirs selections (1 cap), the 23-year-old midfielder also spent two years at the National Football Institute (INF), which trained some of the biggest names in French football. .
Unlike Kylian Mbappé or Thierry Henry, the child of Paris XIX did not have the expected success.
Indeed, while his comrades left for the training centers, the young Youssouf remained at the dock, finding no professional club to welcome him (in 2014).
"It's the biggest regret of my life because it's not really the fault of the clubs," he said in September in the columns of L'Équipe.
My fault is to have thought, like many, that at Clairefontaine, I did not need to work and that I would have a club.
»
He almost stopped at Drancy
After his failure at the INF, the Parisian by birth agrees to take three steps back by returning to the life of an amateur player.
He joined Drancy, first in U16, then in U17 where he was sent to the B team. His ego took a hit and he was even very close to saying stop.
“You touch on a sensitive point… When you look back, it's a fairly atypical course but I quickly got up,” he said on September 19, when honoring his first summons to Blue.
Also a few months away from the baccalaureate, Fofana had seriously considered cutting back to focus on his studies.
That was before Strasbourg spotted him and signed him as a trainee...
The 2019 League Cup, his only trophy
After a conclusive trial, Youssouf Fofana joined Strasbourg in 2017, who had initially spotted one of his teammates.
But he only signed a simple agreement at first.
"Strasbourg had recruited another of my players as an intern, explained Himed Hamma, the coach who relaunched him with the U19s from Drancy, in Le Parisien in February 2021. I called their recruiter, telling him that I didn't disagreed, that Youssouf deserved the same contract.
I was heard.
“After six months in reserve, Fofana joined the Strasbourg pro group then exploded during the 2018-2019 season where he participated in the victory in the Coupe de la Ligue even if he did not come into play in the final against Guingamp ( 0-0 after, 3-1 on pens).
He formed an intractable pair with Aurélien Tchouaméni in Monaco
Arrived at AS Monaco during the 2020 winter transfer window from Strasbourg, Youssouf Fofana will impose himself in the midfield under the orders of Robert Moreno before the stoppage of L1 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The following season, he formed a formidable pair of defensive midfielders with Aurélien Tchouaméni who had just joined the Rocher club.
Under the leadership of Niko Kovac then Philippe Clément, ASM will have two great seasons, finishing on the podium each time (3rd in 2021 and 2022).
The two friends play together in the middle 38 times (L1 and Coupe de France) in 2020-2021 then 42 times (L1, Coupe de France, Champions League and Europa League) last season, being decisive in the good results of the ASM.