the boundless ascent of Randal Kolo Muani

A game-changing World Cup final

Kolo Muani had flair since he is now considered one of the very best players across the Rhine. And this budding notoriety also had a boost with the last World Cup, where “RKM” burst the screen in the jersey of the Blues, especially in the final. While Didier Deschamps’ team was absent from this big meeting against Argentina, Bondy’s other child, with Kylian Mbappé, sounded the revolt. He could even have had an even more fabulous destiny, with this famous strike at the end of extra time, diverted by Emiliano Martinez. “In my head, I said to myself ‘you have to shoot’ and I try to shoot at the near post but the goalkeeper makes a great save. I could lob the keeper or find Kylian because he’s on a good angle, but I don’t see him on the spot. When you see the video, it’s too late, you can’t do anything anymore, ”he analyzes on beIN Sports.

While some could have gamberger and dwell on this occasion, Randal Kolo Muani went ahead. Since the resumption with Frankfurt, he has scored seven goals and is preparing to challenge Naples this Tuesday evening (9 p.m.) in the Champions League. To understand the phenomenon, you have to start from the side of the US Torcy, where Randal Kolo Muani arrived on tiptoe in 2011. Yann Lecoq, his former educator in U15, remembers for Point of a player already ready to bounce back: “Mentally, he knows how to recover from failure. He has already gone through moments of doubt to perform better, but he does not dwell on it. For example, Gignac had admitted to having taken time to recover from his post in the final of the Euro. Randal quickly moved on. »

Same story with Vincent Santos, who was also able to lead the young player when he was still far from the spotlight. Before experiencing a dizzying exposure with the Blues, the young striker first had to go through the Ile-de-France grounds, where competition was fierce. “Randal had this little extra something but it was not the same player profile at the time. He was morphologically late, we saw him a little frail, but he already had this explosiveness, someone decisive who loved dribbling and provocation. In the Paris region, there were good sizes, but he took his time to develop athletically. »

“I often take him as an example for my other young people”

Ironically, this lack of growth probably even helped him to stand out from the crowd, he who joined FC Nantes late, at 17 years old. “He was stubborn at work, says Yann Lecoq, someone who perseveres. We knew he would stand out sooner or later, even if it might take longer. He was not a boy who was in the small papers, who was predestined for leading roles. But in the end, it’s the best course: the truth for a football player is at 18-19 years old. I often take him as an example for my other young people now: it’s not because you don’t sign in a training center at 13 or 14 that you won’t get there. »