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The story of a former pizza delivery man joining the French squad at the 2022 World Cup Pages all

KOMPAS.com – The story about the French squad at the 2022 World Cup does not only involve injuries. There is an interesting story about Youssouf Fofana, who has a background as a pizza delivery man.

Youssouf Fofana’s name appears in the French squad list for the 2022 World Cup compiled by Didier Deschamps.

The presence of Youssouf Fofana in the French squad for the 2022 World Cup is closely related to the injury problem that has befallen Didier Deschamps’ squad.

Yes, France left for Qatar 2022 without being strengthened by the two best midfielders who won the 2018 World Cup title, namely Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante.

Because Pogba and Kante did not recover in time, the door was opened for Youssouf Fofana to join the France squad for the 2022 World Cup.

Also read: Kolo Muani Replaces Chrisopher Nkunku in the French Squad

A great run for Youssouf Fofana, the 23-year-old AS Monaco midfielder who only received his first call-up to the French national team in September 2022.

“When I found out I was called, I said to myself ’10 years later I’m coming back through the Clairefontaine front door, having left the back door before’ and that was great!” said Fofana about his first call-up to the French national team last September.

Through his statement, Fofana wanted to remember about his ups and downs after leaving Clairefontaine, the French national academy which is also the headquarters of the Les Bleus squad.

Fofana Pizza Introduction

In 2014, when Fofana was 15 years old, he never found a club after graduating from the Clairefontaine academy.

Also read: Benzema’s condition is improving, positive news for the French national team

At that time, Fofana managed to work as a pizza delivery man to continue living.

“I need to find a good paying job. It’s hard to imagine now, but I was delivering pizzas back then. It was cute and ran for several months,” said Fofana.

“However, I like to remember it. It keeps me grounded,” said Fofana, who has Mali and Ivory Coast blood from her parents.

When his colleagues at Clairefontaine such as Moussa Diaby (now playing at Bayer Leverkusen) and Amine Harit (Marseille) immediately got professional contracts, Fofana instead plunged into amateur football, to be precise with JA Drancy in 2014-2017.

In fact, at one point Fofana almost gave up and left football. He had wanted to focus on his studies only.

“Six months before the preparatory exam for college, I said I was quitting. I focus on school,” said Fofana as quoted Sports.fr from The team.

Also read: World Cup 2022: With Defending Champion Status, France Undergoes a Not Easy Mission

When he was determined to hang up his shoes and focus on gaining knowledge from books, an opportunity came for Fofana.

He received an offer from Strasbourg in 2017.

“The owner of Strasbourg said ‘We will include a package of train tickets so your family can come often’. However, I emphasized to them, ‘No, thank you,’ said Fofana.

“They will come and see me when I sign a professional contract, not before that,” said Fofana, who grew up in Paris.

Lesatan career Fofana

Sure enough, Fofana’s determination and determination paid off. He got his first professional contract in September 2018, aged 19.

Since then, Fofana has experienced a meteoric rise in her career. He spent approximately one year under a professional contract with Strasbourg, which he defended 41 times.

After that, Fofana moved to the established Ligue 1 club, the top caste competition of the French League, AS Monaco in January 2020.

Being in the midfield of AS Monaco, Fofana built a fine collaboration with Aurelien Tchouameni, a like-minded partner who then moved for an exorbitant transfer fee to Real Madrid in 2022.

Similar to Tchouameni, Youssouf Fofana is a midfielder who is equipped with qualified physical abilities.

He is a typical midfielder”box to box” who are skilled in exploring various fields.

On average, throughout last season, Fofana managed to make three tackles every match on the French League stage.

When he made his debut with France in the match against Austria in September 2022 yesterday, Fofana won 12 of 14 duel moments.

Fofana has the potential to go beyond just being a fixture in the star-studded France squad at the 2022 World Cup.

Judging by the history of good collaborations with Aurelien Tchouameni while at Monaco, Fofana could become a surprise starter for France at the 2022 World Cup.

This is because the 2022 World Cup is only about a week away from the final matches of the five major European leagues.

Automatically, Deschamps didn’t have much time to experiment with finding the best formula in midfield that could fill Kante-Pogba’s absence.

That is the reason why the duo Tchouameni and Fofana have the potential to emerge as the best solution for Deschamps.

Playing on the highest stage like the 2022 World Cup is definitely an achievement. However, his background as a pizza delivery man ensures that Fofana’s feet will continue to step on the ground.


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