It all started with a fascination with goalkeeper gloves. He made his debut on the Cartierville soccer fields. After a year or two as a striker and defender, he wanted to become a goalkeeper.
I wanted gloves. It’s ridiculous like that. I went in goal because I wanted gloves. This is how I literally fell in love with the goalie position.
, says the one who is now 20 years old.
At 11, he started playing with the Braves d’Ahuntsic. There was no doubt about his talent and quickly he stood out from the crowd.
My goalie coach told me about an academy in Italy that gave players from Australia, the United States or Canada a chance.
, he recalls.
He was therefore 13 years old when he flew to Genoa to participate in an exhibition match bringing together the academies of Juventus, Genoa, Inter Milan and Spezia.
He was able to attract the attention of the leaders of Spezia, who invited him to a week of testing. Shortly after returning to Quebec, he received a call and was asked if he wanted to join the team’s academy.
The decision was not easy for my parents, but it was for me. I wanted to play in England and I didn’t hesitate for a second. I miss my brothers, my family, but it’s part of the sacrifices I’m willing to make.
If his mother accompanied him at the very beginning, the footballer quickly found himself alone in Italy. Seven years later, he is still there and has never regretted his choice.
He was part of the academies of Spezia Calcio until the age of 18, before making the jump with the first team in Serie B, last season.
La Spezia is an Italian town of around 93,000 inhabitants which is particularly popular with tourists. And the locals are passionate about their soccer team.
<q data-attributes="{"lang":{"value":"fr","label":"Français"},"value":{"html":"Les fans are very intense. Italians have nothing to do with fans of the Canadian. When the stadium is full, there are about 10000 people. During the playoffs, the fans were not admitted due to COVID. The whole city was waiting for us outside the stadium. It was crazy! “,” Text “:” The fans are very intense. The Italians have nothing to do with the Canadiens fans. When the stadium is full, there are around 10,000 people. During the playoffs, fans were not admitted due to COVID. The whole city was waiting for us outside the stadium. It was completely crazy! “}}” Lang = “fr”>The fans are very intense. Italians have nothing to do with fans of the Canadian. When the stadium is full, there are around 10,000 people. During the playoffs, the fans were not admitted due to COVID. The whole city was waiting for us outside the stadium. It was completely crazy!
New start
The club won the playoffs to make the jump, for the first time in its history, to Serie A. If Axel Desjardins considers himself lucky to have lived this moment, the promotion of the team has on the other hand come to spoil his shots from a more personal point of view.
Serie A also means more resources to hire players. The managers therefore acquired Jeroen Zoet, a 30-year-old Dutch goalkeeper who played in the Champions League. They also got their hands on a goalkeeper who had experience in Serie A.
There were too many goalkeepers. And besides, they had more experience than me. I understood that I was not going to play. So I chose to leave.
Axel Desjardins then found himself in Novara, in Piedmont, a town located about thirty minutes from Milan. The club, Novara Calcio 1908, plays in the third division. The Quebecer does not have the impression of having experienced a demotion, on the contrary. What matters is having the chance to play.
It’s a club that has played in Serie A and Serie B almost all the time. It’s a good club. They have great facilities. The complex is more beautiful than that of some Serie A teams.
A lot of the youngsters from the big teams come here on loan to play and gain experience before returning to Serie A or Serie B. It’s not tactically good like Serie A, but it’s very good. to grow. It’s more of a development league
, he adds.
What about Canada?
Despite his career, Axel Desjardins has only been contacted once by the Canadian soccer team. It was in 2018 for a camp.
Of course I’m surprised, he said. I think I left Quebec too young. I never made the Quebec teams and that’s probably why they didn’t know me.
If the opportunity presented itself, he would not hesitate for a second to go and represent his country. He would agree to return to North America to play for the national team, but doing so to join an MLS team is not in his plans.
It is not my goal in life. If I have a better deal in MLS, I won’t say no. But at the moment, that’s not my goal. I prefer Europe. My goal is to stay here
, he says.
Axel Desjardins does not close any doors. He’s only 20, which is still young for a keeper. All he wants is the chance to play and show off.
He still has the same dream he had when he left Montreal. His goal remains to reach the Premier League one day.
In the meantime, he continues on his way to Italy. But even if he is now trilingual and loves his European life, he will always remain a foreigner.
I don’t look like an Italian, both physically and in my style of play. My home will always be Montreal.
