Photos: Le Parisien / Icon Sport
world Cup
Ile-de-France, the first training center for the World Cup
In Doha, for the World Cup, the Ile-de-France team shines with a thousand lights, with 28 players and two coaches.
Here they are.
Arnaud Detout, Lionel Chami, Laurent Pruneta and Stanislas de Livonnière
November 22, 2022
Twenty-eight players and 2 coaches are taking part in the World Cup in Qatar with one thing in common.
They are not part of the same selection or the same club but they have passed and have often even started to play football in the Paris region.
And the seven Ile-de-France districts are all represented!
Among the 28 players (to which are added two coaches), there are 11 Tricolores including PSG star Kylian Mbappé but also Cameroonians, Tunisians, Portuguese and even Qatari.
Injuries in recent weeks have lowered the quota as France could have counted on Paul Pogba (Roissy, Torcy), N'Golo Kanté (Suresnes), Presnel Kimpembe (Eragny), Mike Maignan (Villiers-le-Bel) and Christopher Nkunku (Fontainebleau).
Four years ago, Ile-de-France residents numbered eight.
Earlier still,
How then to explain this progression which makes Ile-de-France, the most important nursery of world football in front of the agglomeration of Sao Paulo (Brazil)?
It is not only a question of demography even if approximately 18% of the French population lives in the Parisian agglomeration, that is to say 12 million inhabitants.
“We have the most important training activity in France, declares Ali Moucer, the regional technical director.
Last year, we had 5,000 educators in training in Ile-de-France.
Ile-de-France clubs welcome a lot of young people.
In U9, U10 and U11, the kids have to be 100% in training if they want to be in the first group and play as the first team in their category.
From 9 to 14 years old, they compete in high-intensity regional competitions.
"From 9 to 14 years old, they compete in high-intensity regional competitions"
Ali Moucer, Regional Technical Director
The Paris League has 290,000 licensees with a 20% increase, despite the Covid, for ten years.
This year again, a third of the young people in the training center come from the Paris region.
Gilles Bibes, head of training at the ACBB (Athlétic club de Boulogne-Billancourt), who recruited and trained 4 players (Marcus Thuram, Geoges-Kévin Nkoudou, Hannibal Mejbri and Jean-Pierre Nsamé) present at the World Cup in Qatar also highlights the quality of training, but not only.
“We have high-performance coaches, we offer a higher quality of training compared to other clubs in the region, he says.
Here, we increase the intensity of performance.
A U13 match in the Paris region does not have the same intensity as in the provinces.
You have to fight to win in your club.
There are also 3 or 4 training sessions per week plus specific sessions.
The trainer continues.
“Street football is essential in the apprenticeship of great, very technical players.
You have to manage to play 7 against 7 matches on 30m2.
You are on your own and inevitably you progress very quickly.”
The percentage of Ile-de-France residents in the national selections is not about to fade.
Last year, 97 boys and 65 girls from Ile de France were selected in the U16 to U23 categories of the French teams.
A tsunami.
Location of clubs
Click on the dots to find out more
Filter by nationality
All
Cameroon
UNITED STATES
France
Morocco
Portugal
Qatar
Senegal
Tunisia
39 players
Adrien Rabiot
France
Age:
27 years old
Passed by:
Créteil, US Alfortville
Current club:
Juventus (Italy)
In 2018, Adrien Rabiot was not afraid to slam the door of the France team before the World Cup in Russia.
Deschamps' decision not to call him among the 23 Blues had driven him crazy, knowing that he had been continuously called up to the France team since 2016. Also, the defensive midfielder had then declined a place on the list of substitutes and had notified its position in writing to the FFF.
Dismissed for two and a half years, the Juventus player will finally play the World Cup and probably as a holder.
A satisfaction for the native of Saint-Maurice (Val-de-Marne) who lived a childhood playing in several clubs in the Paris region but not only (Créteil, US Alfortville, Manchester City and Pau) before joining the center PSG training in 2010. After 9 years with the capital club punctuated by 6 French championship titles, 2 French Cups and 4 League Cups, Rabiot left PSG free in 2019 to join Juventus Turin.
“Leaving home, where we grew up, has a positive impact.
We meet other people.
We also learn another language and Italian rigor.
The training sessions are hard, there is a lot of tactical work… All of that has brought me a lot,” the man told us last year.
Aissa Laidouni
Tunisia
Age:
26 years old
Passed by:
Montfermeil
Current club:
Ferencváros (Hungary)
He grew up and was trained in Montfermeil before leaving at the age of 19 for Angers.
"My training center is Montfermeil, 9-3," he smiles.
If he started in L1 in April 2016, he was stopped by an extra-sporting problem.
“Put in the cellar at Angers”, it is loaned to National, to Herbiers then to Chambly.
After Voluntari in Romania, he takes advantage of his arrival at Ferencváros in Hungary (champion in 2021 and 2022) to explode and discover the Champions League.
Selectable for both the Tunisian team and the Algerian team, he chose the Carthage Eagles in March 2021. "I don't regret
Aliou Cissé
Senegal
Age:
46 years old
Passed by:
PSG, RSC Champigny-sur-Marne
Current club:
Senegal (Senegal)
Born in Ziguinchor, Senegal, Aliou Cissé joined Val-de-Marne at the age of nine.
The family settled in the popular district of Bois-l'Abbé in Champigny-sur-Marne.
The versatile defender returned to PSG in 1998. He finished vice-champion of France in 2000 with the capital club even if his playing time remained limited.
After a more obscure end to his career in Montpellier, Birmingham City, Portsmouth and Sedan, he will reveal himself as a coach and more particularly as coach of Senegal.
At its head, its selection has two participations in the World Cup (2018, 2022), a lost final of the African Cup of Nations (CAN) in 2019 and a CAN won last February in Cameroon.
Alphonse Areola
France
Age:
29
Passed by:
ES Petits Anges, PSG
Current club:
West Ham (England)
Son of Filipino immigrants who arrived in France at the end of the 1980s, Alphonse Areola took his first steps in the Grenelle district (15th century).
He signed his first license at Les Petis-Anges, a club located at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
"Alphonse came to us at the age of 5 in the beginners category," said Patrick Lautric, head of the youth teams.
At that time, he was still a little chubby and played in the field, left back.
He was a very discreet child.
His young destiny changed during an indoor tournament in Seine-Saint-Denis.
“We were in Romainville, confides the main interested party.
I was 7 years old.
Our usual goalkeeper was injured.
I took the opportunity to try out the post, just for fun.
» Recruited by PSG, Areola finished his training with the club of the capital before
to be loaned (Bastia, Lens, Villareal) and to return there in 2016 but he will never succeed in imposing himself there.
Today he has an understudy role at West Ham (Premier League).
Axel Disasi
France
Age:
24 years old
Passed by:
Paris FC, Senlis, Villiers-le-Bel
Current club:
Monaco (France)
After Villiers-le-Bel, he played for Senlis when he came to Paris FC at the age of 16.
"Honestly, he hadn't caught our eye more than that then, no one could ever have said that he had the profile of the very high level", said Mathieu Lacan who nevertheless quickly upgraded him to U19.
“He impressed me with his serenity, his calm and the power he exuded.
He had a lot of maturity, he was clearly ahead.
“He started in L2 at 17 years old.
“I did not need to reassure him, remembers Hervé Lybohy, the former captain of the PFC with whom he was aligned in defense c
Christopher Wooh
Cameroon
Age:
21 years old
Passed by:
Chantilly, Puiseux Louvres
Current club:
Rennes (France)
The young centre-back, 21, wanted more playing time and exposure in preparation for a World Cup call-up with the Indomitable Lions.
Last summer, his wish took shape when Lens, who nevertheless wanted to keep him, could not refuse the massive offer from Stade Rennais in the last hours of the summer transfer window: €10 million with a percentage on the most -value on resale.
The young Wooh saw his salary quadrupled in Brittany.
And with only one selection, he is playing his first World Cup.
A sacred trajectory for the Francilien who started football in Val-d'Oise within the Puiseaux-Louvres club before continuing in Chantilly (2010-2016) where he was spotted by Nancy.
It is within the Lorraine club that he completes his training and then takes his first steps as a pro in L2 in 2021.
Epassy quote
Cameroon
Age:
29
Passed by:
Paris FC, Red Star
Current club:
Abha Club (Saudi Arabia)
After having known Red Star, Paris FC and INF Clairefontaine, the goalkeeper traveled a lot: Rennes, Lorient, CD Guijuelo (D3 Spain), Avranches, Epinal then Greece (Levadiakos, Lamia, OFI Crete).
Last season he was voted the best goalkeeper in the Greek league.
“Among young people, he was always outclassed, remembers Reda Bekhti, who trained him at Paris FC.
People don't know him too well, but he's a top goalkeeper."
This season, he plays in the Saudi club Abha Sport Club.
Fode Ballo-Toure
Senegal
Age:
25 years old
Passed by:
AS Eragny, PSG
Current club:
AC Milan (Italy)
Born in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine to a Malian father and a Senegalese mother, Fodé Ballo-Touré grew up alongside Presnel Kimpembe in Éragny [95].
He joined the PSG training center at the age of 10.
Left winger by training, he accepts to be placed a notch lower and to evolve in defense.
He joined the reserve team (CFA) of the Parisian club from 2014. At the end of his trainee contract with PSG, he freely signed up with Lille OSC in 2017. But PSG did not hear him that way and seized the League (LFP) on the grounds that LOSC requested its trainee before the regulatory date.
The northern club is sentenced to a fine of €15,000, of which €10,000 is suspended.
Simple adventure, because Ballo-Touré will be Lille, before continuing in Monaco in 2019, then at the prestigious AC Milan two years later.
Georges Kevin Nkoudou
Cameroon
Age:
27 years old
Passed by:
ACBB, ES Petits Anges, PSG, Solitaires de Paris
Current club:
Besiktas (Turkey)
Born in Versailles, Georges-Kévin Nkoudou started playing football at Les Petits-Anges (Paris VIe) then at Solitaires Paris IXe before being spotted by PSG.
He joined the capital club's pre-training center in July 2008 as an extern.
After 2 seasons, the Parisian club does not offer him to join the training center.
On trial at the ACBB, he took part during the summer in the Gothia Cup, the famous international tournament in Sweden.
“While he was asked, Georges-Kévin told us on the return bus that he wanted to stay with us because he found the atmosphere great, recalls his former coach Sébastien Fraboulet.
At the start of the school year, we upgrade him to U17 Nationals and he continues to perform well.
He was going 1000 km / hour on the side and had finished top scorer.
One year later,
he signs a trainee contract in Nantes.
He discovered the L1 there before leaving for OM then Tottenham (Premier League).
Hannibal Mejbri
Tunisia
Age:
19
Passed by:
ACBB, Paris FC
Current club:
Birmingham (England)
“At 10, he was already being asked to pose for photos.
For a kid his age, it can be confusing.
But he has always lived well with this notoriety, ”explained his father Lotfi to us.
A nugget coveted by the biggest European clubs when he played for Paris FC, the kid from the 20th century joined Monaco in 2018 then Manchester United (for 10 million euros) in 2019. French international U16 then U17, he made a choice strong by opting in June 2021 for the selection of Tunisia, the country of his parents.
“I hope my choice will insp
Ibrahima Konate
France
Age:
23 years old
Passed by:
Paris FC
Current club:
Liverpool (England)
The defender grew up in the 13th arrondissement and played for Paris FC for five years before leaving for Sochaux in 2014. "He arrived at 11 years old with us, he came from the PUC and I had spotted him during a detection on the schedule of Déjerine, told Frédéric Hébert, the current sports director of the PFC.
Like the players who grew up very quickly, he was not very coordinated then.
But he had great potential and was already very strong athletically.
In U14, we finished champions with a big generation.
I saw him get a pro contract but not necessarily reach such a level.
But he worked well.
Leipzig is a club that is ahead and does not hesitate to trust very young players in central defense like him.
In 2021, Liv
Jean-Charles Castelletto
Cameroon
Age:
27 years old
Passed by:
Brétigny
Current club:
Nantes (France)
“I played against Rooney, Schweinsteiger, Mata or Depay”, declared to the Parisian the central defender of Nantes and Cameroon, 27, when he was only a 21-year-old kid, playing at Red Star in 2016-2017.
Castelletto was referring to the double encounter between Manchester United and his then club Club Brugge in the preliminary round of the Champions League - 3-1, 4-0 in 2015-2016.
“Rooney had scored a hat-trick for us, but it was not me who scored him, he laughed.
Old Trafford is really very impressive.
This reinforced my desire to give everything to reach this level one day and taste these atmospheres again.”
The Cameroonian international since 2017, born in Clamart, started football in the Paris region in Brétigny,
Jean-Pierre Nsame
Cameroon
Age:
29
Passed by:
ACBB, Clichy, Drancy, Le Bourget, Pierrefitte-sur-Seine
Current club:
Young Boys Bern (Switzerland)
Arrived in France during his childhood, Jean-Pierre Nsamé lives with his parents and his large siblings in Pierrefitte in Seine-Saint-Denis.
At the Gustave-Courbet college, he spent recess playing football with his comrades, scoring goal on goal.
“I saw him play at every recess, he was a super endearing and very mature kid for his age,” recalls Matthieu Bideau, the recruitment manager for FC Nantes who was then a PE teacher in college.
The latter spoke about it to Didier Roumazeille, the technical manager of Le Bourget who then dominated youth competitions in the 93. The manager of Le Bourget observed him for the first time in a gymnasium during a 6 against 6 match on a field of handball as part of an inter-school tournament.
“His physical and technical qualities were obvious,
says Didier Roumazeille.
I then went to Jean-Pierre's parents to convince them to enroll him in the club.
The dad accepted while being very demanding on the academic level.
His qualities as a scorer do not leave Angers unmoved, where he took his first steps in the professional world.
Karim Boudiaf
Qatar
Age:
32 years old
Passed by:
Gennevilliers, Racing, Rueil
Current club:
Al-Duhail SC (Qatar)
Karim Boudiaf est un enfant de Gennevilliers. Sa mère est marocaine, son père algérien. À 16 ans, joueur à Rueil-Malmaison, il est repéré par le FC Lorient et intègre le centre de formation. Cette première expérience avec le foot de haut niveau tourne court puisqu'il finit par se faire exclure. « Des bêtises de jeunes, élude dans So Foot Reda Baiben, un recruteur basé en région parisienne, où Boudiaf revient après ce premier échec en Bretagne. Il avait pris une licence au Racing et je l'ai suivi toute sa saison chez les U19. En juin 2008, j'ai insisté pour qu'il fasse ce match d'essai avec Nancy alors qu'il était prêt à partir pour le Red Star. » Boudiaf s’est ensuite laissé charmé par les sirènes du Qatar alors qu’il peinait à décrocher un premier contrat pro à Nancy. A 19 ans, il opte pour la sécurité matérielle en acceptant l’offre du club de Lekhwiya (futur Al-Duhail) et l’option d’une naturalisation cinq ans plus tard. Aujourd’hui, il se félicite de son choix, ainsi qu’il l’a confié à So Foot : « J’ai 32 ans, je vais jouer la Coupe du monde. (…) Je gagne bien ma vie, dans un pays où je me sens bien, et où j’ai passé presque la moitié de mon existence. Je pense qu’une fois ma carrière de joueur terminée, je resterai à Doha pour y vivre avec ma famille.»
Karl Tolo Ekambi
Cameroon
Age:
30 years old
Passed by:
FC Gobelins (Paris 13 Atlectico), Paris FC
Current club:
Lyon (France)
His stronghold extends from the streets of the Château des Rentiers to Chevaleret in the 13th arrondissement where he grew up and where he remains very attached.
“As soon as Karl has free days, he returns to his neighborhood, explains Namori Keita, the technical general manager of Paris 13 Atletico, his former club.
He never detached himself from his basic friends.
He kept it simple, he's not a gambler.
He never took himself for another.
He didn't do a football training center, but he did a life one.
»
Until 2014, Karl Toko Ekambi was part of a rap group MZ under the pseudonym MC Loka, with his friends from the neighborhood.
After having stopped football for two years, he had revived with the U19s of Paris FC.
His market value then exploded with his transfers: 400,000 euros from Paris FC to Sochaux in 2014, 1 million euros from Sochaux to Angers in 2016, 18 million from Angers to Villarreal in 2018 then 14 million euros in Lyon in 2020.
Kingsley Coman
France
Age:
26 years old
Passed by:
PSG, Sénart-Moissy
Current club:
Bayern Munich (Germany)
C'est le titi parisien qui a inscrit l'unique but de la finale de la Ligue des Champions avec le Bayern Munich contre le PSG. Après avoir démarré le foot à Sénart-Moissy entre 6 et 8 ans, Kingsley Coman intègre le centre de formation du club de la capitale. Doué, le Parisien de naissance devient le plus jeune joueur de l'histoire du club à faire ses débuts en L1 contre Sochaux alors qu'il est âgé de seize ans, huit mois et quatre jours. Il s'engage avec la Juventus le 7 juillet 2014, après avoir refusé un contrat professionnel au PSG, ayant peur d'obtenir peu de temps de jeu dans ce club lors de la saison suivante. « J'avais mes raisons de quitter le PSG, avait expliqué sans détour l’attaquant du Bayern Munich, après avoir transité par la Juventus, en marge de sa première sélection face à l’Allemagne en match amical le 13 novembre 2015. Elles sont très longues mais, si j'étais resté, je ne sais pas si j'aurais autant appris. A Paris, j'étais considéré comme un petit jeune du centre de formation. Certes, c'est ce que j'étais. Mais j'avais aussi l'impression que, quoi que je fasse, je n'aurais pas eu la possibilité de gagner des places dans la hiérarchie… » En 9 saisons chez les pros, il a toujours été sacré champion national que ce soit au PSG, à la Juventus Turin ou au Bayern Munich.
Kylian Mbappe
France
Age:
23 years old
Passed by:
Bondy
Current club:
PSG (France)
Tout le monde sait que la star des Bleus et du PSG a démarré le foot à l'AS Bondy, en Seine-Saint-Denis. Il formait alors une attaque redoutable avec son coéquipier et ami Jonathan Ikone, devenu lui aussi un joueur international. C'est son père Wilfrid qui l'entraînait à Léo-Lagrange. «Dès l'âge de 2-3 ans, Kylian me répétait tous les jours qu'il voulait jouer au football. Mais, j'ai attendu. Quand je l'ai emmené la première fois avec moi, j'ai vu qu'il était passionné donc je l'ai entraîné, raconte Wilfrid. Nous avions une règle. Ce qui se passe sur le terrain reste sur le terrain ou le vestiaire. À la maison, je redevenais le papa et il n'y avait plus de coach ou de briefing. Le plus drôle c'est qu'il a fallu un an et demi aux gens pour qu'ils sachent que Kylian était mon fils. Il ne m'appelait jamais papa et comme je travaillais au stade de 10 à 23 heures, c'était ma femme qui l'amenait puis le ramenait. Un jour Kylian m'a dit « papa » et tous les autres enfants se sont retournés en lui disant : « Tu dis n'importe quoi, Wilfrid n'est pas ton père ! (rire) »
Marcus Thuram
France
Age:
25 years old
Passed by:
ACBB, Olympique de Neuilly
Current club:
Borussia Moenchengladbach (Germany)
Called at the last minute within the French selection, the son of Lilian Thuram passed through the Paris region in his youth before joining Sochaux, Guingamp and M'Gladbach (Bundesliga).
After a year at FC Barcelona when his father ended his career there, Marcus Thuram began football at Olympique de Neuilly-sur-Seine between 2007 and 2013. Then he joined AC Boulogne-Billancourt for the next two years and between at the Hope Center of Clairefontaine.
“He was the tallest of the team because he was 1m85 at 15 years old but also the most childish, recalls his former coach at ACBB Sébastien Fraboulet.
He was always the first to mess with his friends, to make jokes … He was really the lifeline of the team.
This state of mind to integrate easily into a collective while creating the atmosphere undoubtedly convinced the coach to take him to Qatar.
Matteo Guendouzi
France
Age:
23 years old
Passed by:
PSG
Current club:
Marseille (France)
On le remarque par sa chevelure abondante, mais surtout pour son inlassable activité dans l’entrejeu. Né à Poissy dans les Yvelines, Mattéo Guendouzi signe à 6 ans sa première licence au PSG. Après sept années à l’école de foot, il rejoint le centre de préformation à Verneuil-sur-Seine (Yvelines). « Il était un garçon attachant, mais aussi un compétiteur. Il voulait gagner dans tout, la défaite pouvait l’affecter aussi bien lors d’un jeu à l’entraînement que sur un match, c’était viscéral pour lui, racontait Cédric Cattenoy, son entraîneur en U14 et U15, au Parisien en 2021. Il pouvait jouer milieu défensif, relayeur ou sur un côté. Au-delà de cette rage de vaincre, il possède une bonne vision du jeu et un bon bagage technique. Mattéo est capable d’orienter, de casser des lignes par la passe et il est très habile aussi bien du pied droit que du gauche. » En 2014, il quitte le PSG pour rejoindre le centre de formation du FC Lorient. Il fait ses débuts en pro avec les Merlus avant de partir à Arsenal (Premier League) où sa progression est stoppé en raison de sa relation conflictuelle avec le coach Mikel Arteta. Guendouzi se relance en 2021 à l'OM où ses performances lui permettent de décrocher ses premières capes en Bleu.
Montassar Talbi
Tunisia
Age:
24 years old
Passed by:
Les Lilas, Paris FC
Current club:
FC Lorient (France)
Born in Paris, he started out at Paris FC and Les Lilas, then followed his parents back to live in Tunisia when he was 12 years old.
“I was a Franco-Tunisian who came from Paris, there was nothing better than to prove on the ground”, explained the one who joined Espérance de Tunis, the most popular club in the country.
After Turkey (Rizespor), Italy (Benevento), Russia (Kazan), he found France by signing in Lorient.
On September 27, he lived “a great moment” in éga
Nader Ghandri
Tunisia
Age:
27 years old
Passed by:
Drancy, Ivry, Red Star
Current club:
Club Africain (Tunisia)
From the Barbès district, he started at the Enfants de la Goutte-d'Or before joining Drancy.
Still U19, he started at 18 in N2 and was noticed by Arles-Avignon (then in L2).
“We had an eye on him, said the coach of Drancy at the time, Malik Hebbar.
But one day he came to see a training session and, as I was missing a player, I asked him to participate in the session.
He borrowed a pair of shoes.
I've seen youngsters pass, but it's the first one I see ready to play at this level.
In his head, he was armed for
Olivier Ntcham
Cameroon
Age:
26 years old
Passed by:
Chennevières-sur-Marne, Paris FC, US Ormesson, VGA Saint-Maur
Current club:
Swansea (England)
Son arrivée à l'OM en janvier en 2021 avait indirectement provoqué le départ d'André Villas-Boas de l'OM. Mais l'expérience n'a pas été concluante. Après Manchester City, Genoa, Celtic Glasgow, Olivier Ntcham évolue de nouveau à l'étranger à Swansea. Lors de sa jeunesse francilienne ( Ormesson, VGA Saint-Maur, le Paris FC), on lui prédisait une carrière encore plus brillante. «Sur le terrain, c'était un extraterrestre grâce à son envergure, son volume de jeu dans la récupération et la distribution. Il marquait également : c'est simple, il faisait tout ! Olivier avait un temps d'avance sur les autres, il était complet tactiquement, techniquement et physiquement. Il devait logiquement devenir une star du foot. Cela s'est gâté lorsqu'il est parti en Angleterre. C'était trop tôt, il aurait dû finir sa formation en France», regrette Patrick Gonfalone son sélectionneur en équipe de France des U16 à U19.
Pope Gueye
Senegal
Age:
23 years old
Passed by:
Le Blanc-Mesnil
Current club:
Marseille (France)
Avant de faire ses classes au centre de formation du Havre, le natif de Montreuil (Seine-Saint-Denis) a vécu dans le quartier des Tilleuls au Blanc-Mesnil. A 6 ans, il signe au club local et évolue au poste de milieu offensif. Doué, Pape Gueye intègre la section foot études dès son entrée en 6e au collège Nelson-Mandela. « Je lui avais tiré les oreilles plus d'une fois car il faisait preuve de nonchalance sur le terrain, confiait Philippe Lemaître, l'un de ses anciens coachs au Blanc-Mesnil, au Parisien en 2020. Pape possédait un pied gauche extraordinaire et une bonne vision du jeu. Humainement, c'était un gamin poli et correct.» Après avoir percé au Havre, l'ex-international français U19 (6 sélections) s'est engagé à l'OM durant l'été 2020 alors qu'il avait signé un précontrat avec Watford six mois plus tôt.
Randal Kolo Muani
France
Age:
23 years old
Passed by:
Torcy, Tremblay, Villepinte
Current club:
Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany)
Born like Kylian Mbappé in December 1998, a fortnight before the world champion, Randal Kolo Muani took his first steps in Blue during the last gathering in September during the last two Nations League matches.
The Bondynois, who never played for the local club, criss-crossed Ile-de-France during his youth playing in Villepinte, Tremblay then Torcy.
Asked about his dreams when he played at FC Villepinte, the current Frankfurt center-forward confessed his youthful ambitions.
“I wanted to play for the France team, one day for a big club, to go on TV.
There, I realize a dream.
I must have had a bit of luck and honestly I didn't think it would happen there.
I had it in mind that I would be in the France team in 2023. It was my little secret to me.
Raphael Guerreiro
Portugal
Âge :28 ans
Passé par : Le Blanc-Mesnil
Club actuel : Borussia Dortmund (Allemagne)
L'histoire de Raphaël Guerreiro commence en 2000 au Blanc-Mesnil. Né dans la ville du 93, ce fils d'un père portugais et d'une mère française, vit avec ses deux frères à la cité Casanova. Alors que son père évolue avec les vétérans du club local, Raphaël signe sa première licence à 7 ans. Malgré sa petite taille, il va rapidement être surclassé dans les catégories de jeune avant d'intégrer la section foot-études dès son entrée en 6e au collège Nelson-Mandela. « Il avait une excellente vision du jeu, et son pied gauche ressemblait à une main, indiquait son ancien entraîneur Philippe Lemaître dans nos colonnes en 2018. Je le sortais parfois en match pour le protéger car il mesurait 10 cm de moins que les autres de son âge et il était souvent ciblé par nos adversaires. » Après un passage d'un an à la JA Drancy, Raphaël rejoint en 2008 le centre de formation de Caen avant quelques années plus tard le prestigieux Borussia Dortmund (Bundesliga).
Timothy Weah
UNITED STATES
Age:
22 years old
Passed by:
PSG
Current club:
Lille (France)
Son of Georges Weah, a legend of PSG and now president of Liberia, Timothy started football in Florida at Rosedale SC before joining the young people of Red Bulls New York at the age of 13.
A year later, he joined the PSG training center.
“We made the decision with my mother to sign in Paris because my father had played there, because I had family there and because she knew that the president was a good person, explained the interested in our columns in 2019. I always wanted to play there.
When I arrived, there was Zlatan, Di Maria, Thiago Silva.
Players I watched on TV.
For me, they were role models.
He left PSG during the 2019-2020 off-season.
A paying choice since he became the following season champion of France with Lille.
Walid Regragui
Morocco
Âge :47 ans
Passé par : Corbeil, Racing CFF
Club actuel : Maroc (Maroc)
Découvert en équipe...3 de Corbeil par Rudi Garcia, Walid Regragui, qui a grandi dans la cité Montconseil à Corbeil, a débuté en DH à 19 ans avant de tenter sa chance au Racing CFF (National). Un passage qui lui a ouvert les portes du monde pro (Toulouse, AC Ajaccio, Santander en Espagne, Dijon, Grenoble) et lui a permis de devenir international marocain (45 sélections). A la fin de sa carrière, il a passé ses diplômes en France. « Il s’est fait tout seul, personne ne lui a rien donné, explique Eric Akoun, son ancien coéquipier à Corbeil. Mais il a été un peu déçu par le foot français. Il avait passé ses diplômes d’entraîneur mais il n’a pas eu d’ouverture.» Comme d’autres binationaux formés en France, il a dû retourner aux racines pour avoir sa chance et a tout gagné en clubs: la Coupe du Trône (2015) et le championnat (2016) au Maroc avec le FUS Rabat, le championnat du Qatar avec Al-Duhail (2020), la Ligue des champions africaine (2022) et le championnat du Maroc (2022) avec le Wydad Casablanca. La Fédération Marocaine l'a nommé en août après s'être séparée de Vahid Halilhodzic.
William Saliba
France
Age:
21 years old
Passed by:
Bondy, Montfermeil
Current club:
Arsenal (France)
Born in Bondy, William Saliba started playing football at the age of 6.
"Wilfrid Mbappé (Kylian's father) taught me everything and if I am here today, it is thanks to him, told Saliba in 2018 to the Limousin newspaper "Le Populaire" on the sidelines of a rally of the France U18 team.
As his father was my trainer, I often went to Kylian's.
When you see where he has arrived today, it makes you want to.”
The two boys, although three years apart, attended the same primary school.
At 13, Saliba left to play two seasons at FC Montfermeil where her coach Abdelaziz Kaddour decided to move her back to central defense.
A position he will then keep at Saint-Etienne, OM and now at Arsenal, which currently leads the Premier League.
Youssouf Fofana
France
Age:
23 years old
Passed by:
Drancy, Espérance Paris 19e, Red Star
Current club:
Monaco (France)
From the Orgues-des-Flandres district (19th century), Youssouf Fofana went through INF Clairefontaine and Red Star but was unsuccessful with Drancy where he only played with the B team in U17.
"This little one had a hard time, it was very little for him to stop football, says Himed Hamma with the U19s of Drancy.
He had lost his motivation and one evening I shook him in front of everyone and he must remember that.
I told him he had to fight and show everyone who didn't trust him that he wasn't dead.
He had to be made aware of it.
He gradually regained a taste for work.
He was staying late with me
Youssouf Sabaly
Sénégal
Âge :29 ans
Passé par : CS Cellois, PSG
Club actuel : Betis Séville (Espagne)
The native of Chesnay (Yvelines) will participate in his 3rd World Cup.
He won the U20 World Cup with the Habs in 2013 before playing the 2018 World Cup in Russia with the Teranga Lions.
What a long way for the right side who started football at CS Cellois.
“He was a very serious child, always diligent in training, remembered Weimpanga Makanda Liabia, his former teammate at the Celle-Saint-Cloud club, in our columns in 2018. Even at the leisure center, he played a match like if his life depended on it.
Then trained at PSG where he signed his first pro contract, Youssef Sabaly (29) played in Nantes and Bordeaux then joined Spain at Betis Seville since 2021.