TALE NT HOT SPOTS
We turn the spotlight on the areas of
Europe that are fertile breeding grounds
for the game’s brightest stars
WORDS: Nick Bidwell and Gavin HamiltonWhere would the all-
conquering French
national team be without
the huge contribution
of its numerous
Parisians? The
obvious answer is in
tremendous difficulty.
Their World Cup-
winning squad last year
contained no fewer than
eight players either born
or brought up in the tower
block suburbs of Ile-de-
France (Greater Paris) and
it was the same story at Euro
2016, with nine players from
the environs of the capital city.
France’s triumph in Russia was
essentially built around a Parisian
core of midfielders in Paul Pogba,
N’Golo Kante and Blaise Matuidi, plus
attacking boy wonder Kylian Mbappe.
Indeed, the banlieues, as these satellite
towns are known, might have figured
even more prominently at Russia 2018.
Bayern Munich winger Kingsley Coman
was in line for selection until struck down
by injury, Paris Saint-Germain schemerAdrien Rabiot scuppered his chances
with diva-like demands, and forward
Anthony Martial paid the ultimate price
for falling out with his Manchester United
manager Jose Mourinho.
The direction of travel is clear. The
France side that won the 1984 European
Championship featured just one Parisian
in the squad – Bordeaux left-back
Thierry Tusseau. As for their triumphant
World Cup group of 1998, only three
were from the Ile-de-France: Thierry
Henry, Patrick Vieira and Lilian Thuram.
“Around 65 per cent of current French
professional footballers hail from theParisian region, so it’s normal that they
make up a strong proportion of the
national team,” says Jean-Claude
Lafargue, the director of the locally
established INF Clairefontaine, the
national academy.
A region of 12 million people –
representing 18 per cent of the entire
French population – Ile-de-France has
also nurtured a plethora of non-French
internationals: Portugal wing-back
Raphael Guerreiro, Algeria front-runners
Riyad Mahrez and Yacine Brahimi,
Morocco centre-back Mehdi Benatia
and Central African Republic defensive
midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia.
Not so long ago, PSG, Nantes, Lille,
Rennes, Monaco, Caen, Le Havre and
Lens basically used to do as they pleased
in this particular recruitment market. Now
they face competition from all over, with
Parisian players targeted at increasingly
tender ages. No longer is talent-spotting
a slapdash word of mouth operation. It’sstructured, it’s meticulous, it’s serious.
“We don’t just have teams from this
area and France scouting here,” says
Franck Scanvic, a coach with amateur
outfit AC Boulogne Billancourt.
“Clubs from the big European leagues
are very active, as are Belgian and Dutch
sides. We even have interest from more
exotic countries like Macedonia, Turkey
and Azerbaijan.”
There are several reasons behind
Ile-de-France’ emergence as the most
prolific of football incubators. In such
disadvantaged estates, where amenities
are often thin on the ground, football
is an activity that can still be actively
pursued. And for the preponderantly
immigrant populace the game is
extremely popular.
Kids can be seen kicking a ball inthese parts morning, noon and night.
Young banlieusards see a football career
as one of their few escape routes from
a life of marginalisation and poverty. The
dream is to have the scouts come calling,
turn pro and find fame and fortune.
“Youngsters from around here are
more motivated than elsewhere to
become professional players,” says Jamel
Sandjak, the president of La Ligue de
Patis Ile-de-France.
Amateur clubs in the area, and their
benevolent band of dedicated coaches,
do wonderful youth-development
work – and equally significant is the
abundance of football pitches.
At the last count, they numbered
a whopping 4,500.
“The quality of the Greater Paris talent
pool effectively stems from the extreme
density of its popular quarters,” explains
Nantes head of recruitment Matthieu
Bideau. “The youngsters there are
immersed in street football.”SPECIAL
FEATURE“Youngsters from around here are more motivated
than elsewhere to become professional players”
Jamel Sandjak, president of La Ligue de Paris Ile-de-FranceChampions...(from left) Paul Pogba, Blaise Matuidi and Kylian MbappeParis Suburbs
FRANCE