Jade Le Guilly, Océane Hurtré, Hawa Sangaré, Laurina Fazer. Except for the connoisseurs of women’s football, their names and faces were unknown until December 10, 2020. They are between 16 and 18 years old and, except for the last one, which has already come into play against Issy in D 1, they have made their professional debut with PSG, that Thursday, during the success (2-0) on the ground of the Poles of Gornik Leczna, in the Champions League.
Excuse the little! If they did not participate in the victory (5-0) against Le Havre this Sunday in the league, we could well see them again this Wednesday (at 2:30 p.m., BeIN Sports 2) for the return match.
At PSG, “Tities” can therefore hide others. We already knew Grace Geyoro and Perle Morroni, 23, Marie-Antoinette Katoto, 22, or Sandy Baltimore, 20, who had become executives of the Parisian team while waiting to do the same with Les Bleues. “In Poland, there could have been eight players from the center on the pitch if Grace had not been suspended and if Marie had come into play,” said their coach, Olivier Echouafni. If they are there, it is because they deserve it. We send a message to the whole club and the trainers: today, at PSG, you can be 16 or 17 and play in the Champions League. »
If there is one educator to highlight, it is Pierre-Yves Bodineau. The former trainer of the reserve from 2010, then of the under-19s with whom he won two French championship titles, is at the origin of the pre-training and training project of the women’s section.
“There is such a breeding ground in the region”
“We must also involve all the leaders and coaches of the women’s section, as well as the boys’ training center, which has helped us a lot”, underlines the one who left the club in 2017, before returning to it in the role of technical director of the PSG Academy. “At the time, we sacrificed the reserve, which did not provide the first team, to give more resources to training and focus on talents, he explains. I was convinced that if we had the brothers at the club, we would have the little sisters. There is such a breeding ground in the region. “
PSG did not take long to reap the benefits. “In 2014, when we won the Gothia Cup in Sweden with the Grace, Marie and Perle, in euphoria, I said: it is with this generation that PSG will win its first Champions League. I have been criticized, but my predictions could well be verified, ”smiles Pierre-Yves Bodineau, helped by Farid Benstiti to bring out his talents.
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Arrived from Lyon in 2012, the technician launched the “Tities” in the deep end, like Marie-Antoinette Katoto, who started in the first team at 16 years old. “We fought to get them out of the Pôle France and integrate them into the pro group so that they could get tough,” says the coach of the American club OL Reign, bought by Lyon. The club did not hesitate to sign them pro quickly and do everything to keep them, despite the stiff competition. We weren’t too wrong by betting on them. “
A legacy that benefited Patrice Lair, when he succeeded him in 2016, also from OL. “For my first year in Paris, it was the young people who saved my day. Almost all of the foreigners had left. In the pre-season camp, I only had 17 players, almost only youngsters from the center. It allowed me to discover them and realize that we had a high level. When he became his deputy in December 2017, the former Parisian Bernard Mendy took the “Tities” under his wing.
“We send a strong message, in the sense that we are part of the big clubs while advocating training and taking young people to the high level, welcomes the right arm of Olivier Echouafni. The emphasis is on the dual project, school and sport. Its very important for us. “
“Lyon comes to look for our best young people”
“The Marie, Grace or Perle are pioneers who opened the door and who inspire many young girls”, greeted Pierre-Yves Bodineau. Jorge Quiroz, his successor at the helm of the Under-19s, enjoyed the same success. Last year, Maradona’s former partner at Boca Juniors took his very young group to the title of French champions, after outclassing the competition all season, and in particular Lyon in the final (5-1). “When there is such a pool, you have to take advantage of it. This title and the fact that Lyon are coming to pick up our best youngsters demonstrate the quality of our training ”, notes Olivier Echouafni, referring to the departures in the offseason for the Rhone club of Alice Sombath and the nugget Vicki Becho, both 17 years.
However, the handover of power between the two great rivals may already be underway. Impressive during their success (1-0) against the Lyonnaises, the Parisiennes have just finished fall champions. “It’s good for PSG to be able to rely on all these young people, while in Lyon some players are at the end of the cycle,” says Patrice Lair. And if the future belonged to PSG …
