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At 21, Selma Bacha is making a name for herself with the France team thanks to the Women’s Euro 2022. Already the winner of numerous trophies with Olympique Lyonnais, the young side has sparked in the quarter-final against the Netherlands. Facing Germany in half, the nugget hopes to shine just as much.
Elected best player of the quarter-final match against the Netherlands, Selma Bacha made a remarkable entrance on the hour mark. The Lyonnaise, without complex despite her young age (21 years old), warmed up Daphne’s gloves van Domselaar with heavy shots (65e73e). She also served on corner her captain Wendie Renard (66e90e+2), but the Dutch keeper relaxed perfectly to fend off the threat.
All fired up after qualifying, the young footballer announced the color for the sequel and the semi-final, Wednesday July 27, against Germany. “Of course there is still fuel,” she said. “We have to leave everything in England: our lungs, our hearts, our guts!”
“The atmosphere in the locker room is crazy, there were tears of joy. Germany are a big team, but first you have to recover well because we had a long match”, she also explained, already very focused on the next meeting.
“She set the fire”
While she has only ten selections on the clock, the side, a substitute in normal times, has already shown herself to be vital and could well reshuffle the cards within the workforce. Her performances since the start of the competition have impressed her teammates. “She’s a young player, who has a huge margin for improvement. She brings her youth, her passion, and that does us good in matches like yesterday. The Netherlands were starting to get tired, Selma came in and she set it on fire,” said defensive midfielder Charlotte Bilbault.
Coach Corinne Deacon also praised his talent. “She is part of this youth who gives a lot. Maybe a little too much sometimes. This passion does us good”, she commented on TF1.
Originally from Lyon, Selma Bacha was introduced to football very early on. “Her room overlooked the stadium. When she was 4 years old, she watched the seniors training from her window which was left open. One evening, she asked me: ‘Mom, do you think I will play on the pitch too one day? ‘”, had told his mother, Molka Aouni, to L’Equipière. Selma Bacha learned her skills at FC Gerland from the age of 5, before wearing the jersey of her favorite club, Olympique Lyonnais (OL), three years later. In 2017, at only 16 years old, she signed her first professional contract there.
Her career is launched at high speed. In 2018, she is already nominated for the UNFP trophies for best hope of the season. Despite her small size, she impresses with her speed and ball striking. She thus quickly integrates the teams of France hopes. In 2019, she won the title of European champion with the U19s.
“A little crazy sometimes”
But the following seasons proved to be more complicated, marked by injuries and coaching changes. As L’Équipe explains, the young woman does not hesitate to get help from a mental coach. “Maybe sometimes my management of emotions is not very good. I work on this on a daily basis. When you chain every two or three days, it feels good to have someone who follows you at home. outside, to whom you tell yourself“, she confided to the sports daily.
Nicknamed “Brutus”, Selma Bacha is indeed known for her explosive temper on and off the pitch. “She is happy, funny, a little crazy sometimes. That’s what we like. She brings joy, a lot of good humor. She’s a little ray of sunshine”, summed up her teammate Kadidiatou Diani with The Team.
“She does everything thoroughly, it comes from very good feelings, but sometimes she rushes. She will channel it all and in a few years, she will understand. Selma has a great character, but you don’t become a champion without character”, had also told L’Équipière her captain Wendie Renard, who plays for her the role of big sister at OL.
With such a model, Selma Bacha gradually learned to control her temper and improved her game even more. Her last season proves it. With OL, she won her fourth French championship and her fourth Champions League. “This year in Lyon has allowed me to take certain steps. I’m very proud of it, but now I’m focused on Euro 2022. I had a good season, but we have to confirm now,” she said. declared at the microphone of RMC Sport before the start of the European competition. His future German adversaries have been warned.
