France is known for the production of top class top talent. Their products that come through the Academy Systems, or via Clairefontaine fill the top competitions throughout Europe. However, there is no one-size-fits-all route upwards. The story of Youssouf Fofana, who stopped from Clairefontaine, returned to Amateur Football and then built his way back to the top, first with RC Straatsburger, then as Monaco, and all the way to the World Cup finale, is a will.
There is a new route that has also been forged. Since 2010, the Champion's Cup Rekupo amateur clubs has given a look at the professional world. It can also offer access to Chelsea's Wesley Fofana, a remarkable graduate of the tournament, the final of which took place in the Allianz Riviera, Nice, this week.
“It gives them a glimpse into the highest level, in optimum conditions, in a large stadium. They know that there is still a long way to achieve the highest level, but it is good for them to catch a glimpse at their age and to understand certain things,” says the founder of the champion, the founder of the champion, Jean-Christophe Marquet, the French French.
“For them to play on this field where the pros are playing, I imagine that it is important to them,” added OGC Nice's Tanguy Ndombélé who came to the youth tournament. The sports director of Le Gym Florian Maurice also watched the procedure, just like former Olympique de Marseille manager Rolland Courbis, who spoke with aspiring coaches.
They watched while Montpellier HSC won the U11 tournament, AC Berthe won the U9 tournament, a RC Strasbourg as won the U13 Girls competition. For the U11S, however, there is a larger price that is offered, a place in Team France, under the supervision of former FC Nantes and SC Bastia player Sébastien Piocelle. Integration in the setup can help to forge a professional career, such as Chelsea's Fofana, Mohamed Simakan and more recently the Axel tape of Paris Saint-Germain.
Recording in Team France will introduce a series of Kampen in the course of the following year, as well as competitions against professional clubs. It is another means with which talent in France can be identified. “It is an era on which the best players are often at amateur clubs. We know that they work better in all amateur clubs, and there is a lot of quality. We benefit from Team France,” says Piocelle.
“We are in some ways of factory for boys who are perhaps the future Goldenboys of French football,” adds Marquet. The cup of the champion is a means to make the dream of making professional more accessible, but it is also a way to prevent excavated talents from sliding through the cracks in France; It is a competition that can soon be scaled up to prevent the same happening in countries throughout Europe.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle – reporting from the Allianz Riviera, nice