From pizza to the World Cup final: who is Fofana, in Juve’s sights

Twice he wanted to quit. And the second was the right one, but to continue and take flight. That of Youssouf Fofana, Monaco’s midfielder who Juventus likes a lot, is a story of resilience and a bit of luck, which however he was able to exploit to even become Kanté’s heir in pectore in the national team. That is, Deschamps’ France with whom he went to the World Cup in Qatar, also playing in the final. A dream for a boy of Ivorian origins who at a certain point started delivering pizzas to earn some money. While today he is the starter in the Principality club, enjoying first place in the standings after five days of Ligue 1.

PIZZAS

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Born and raised in Paris, in the popular 19th arrondissement, Fofana quickly rose to prominence in the Esperance neighborhood team. There he was intercepted and taken to the federal pre-training center in Clairefontaine. In short, a destiny traced at first sight. But not so obvious, given that at the end of the three-year period, Fofana was not chosen by any club and had to resign himself and return to his neighbourhood, to high school, like everyone else, dealing with disappointment and the idea of ​​quitting football. He was saved by Drancy, on the outskirts of Paris, where he continued to play, but for fun with his friends, without ever managing to earn a place in the first team. And between one training session and another, Fofana earned some money by delivering pizzas: “It lasted a few months – he later explained to L’Equipe – but remembering it helps me keep my feet on the ground”.

OVERTAKING

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Also because in that period, if the call from Strasbourg had not arrived, the midfielder would have decided to stop playing football definitively, to concentrate on his studies. And instead a second chance presented itself, after the wasted one at Clairefontaine where Fofana admits that he didn’t do what was necessary to impose himself. In Alsace, however, everything went very quickly. A first contract with the reserves, then the debut in Ligue 1 within a year, in 2018, and the first as a starter a few weeks later in the League Cup, with a first goal and therefore the coveted professional contract: “That I cried that day,” he later recalled. The beginning of a career in the fast lane, with the move to Monaco in January 2020 together with Tchouameni, the new Pogba, later transferred to Real Madrid, but with whom he now often teams up in the national team.

CALL

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A return to the Bleu which materialized in 2022, to make up for the absences of Pogba and above all Kanté, with his debut from the 1st minute in the Nations League and then the call for the World Cup. In one year, the midfielder has already played eleven matches and shows off good recovery and attacking skills. A revenge for a player who seemed destined for oblivion but who instead knew how not to give up and not miss the second opportunity with which he won Monaco and France. Perhaps waiting for the call from Juventus.