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Young French players to watch this season

3.9K views 73 replies 30 participants last post by  Jern Lizardhous  
#1 ·
I'd like to make this thread in which i will be listing all the young French players that are expected to make a big impact on the French League which is about to start today. During the course of the season, if any other players make an impact, they should be also added into this list. This way, we could have a very good idea potential new players for Les Bleus in the future, both short and long term.

The first name that comes to mind is Jean-Alain Boumsong, the tough, solid and reliable stopper of Auxerre. He is 22 and people are saying in France that he could be the new Basil Boli or Marcel Desailly. :) Quite a compliment for him!

Next in line, we have Mathieu Berson, the player who never gets tired. He plays in Nantes as a central defensive midfielder and is tipped to be the new Deschamps. :) He is also 22 years old.

Pierre-Alain Frau of Sochaux is a deadly forward who made his impact last year. This year he is expected to reiterate his performance of last year and even do better. 22 years old.

Jérémie Bréchet is one of the brightest talent in France. The 22 years old left full back from Lyon is already an established player in France and is tipped to be the next Lizarazu.

Mickaël Landreau: the very talented young keeper of Nantes (23) is already the keeper of the Under 21 France team and is expected to replace Barthez once Fabulous Fab retires.

Olivier Kapo of Auxerre is an electrifying player. The 21 years old offensive midfielder with his magic left foot is one who can do it all: assist, scores and has a very silky ball control. His partnership with Cissé last year did wonders and this year, it will be time for him to confirm his grest talent. A future great...

Sydney Govou of Lyon is one of those jewels of French football. The young 22 years old forward from Lyon has been determinant in last season Lyon's run for the championship. He is in the same line of the Thierry Henry, Nicolas Anelka and Djibril Cissé type of player: extremely mobile, fast like ligthening, great ball control and is truly a poison to mark for any defence, ask Bayern Munich 2 seasons ago where he single-handedly destroyed them. Another future great...:)

Camel Meriem: He has everything that reminds us all of a certain ZZ. Originally from Algeria just like his great idol, he has a mesmerizing ball control and vision of the game. He also plays for the team that made Zidane explode, Bordeaux. He's a great playmaker who has a big influence on the game of the team. His left foot control reminds strikingly the magical style and allure of the best player of the world. He is 22 and is expected to soon make his debut for the French A team. A future world class player.:)

Philippe Mexes: What else can we say about him? He's been on every big club's short list for about 2-3 year and he just turned 20 a few weeks ago!!!!:eek: Mexes is a perfectly balanced and cool headed libero with a great vision and lots of influence in the team. Reminds of the great Laurent Blanc and Franco Baresi. Tipped to be a future French A team member soon, he has everything to become one of the best defenders in the world. Watch for him. In 2-3 years, he will be a starter in France A team and more than likely in a great club. A future World Class for sure!

So any other young French prospects that could be added in this list? These are the future of France and the stars of this year's French League. The up-coming season appears to be very exciting. Auxerre will be in my opinion, the team to watch. With all their great youngsters now more mature than a year ago, they can challenge for the title. :)
 
#2 ·
San_Siro_1 said:
I'd like to make this thread in which i will be listing all the Mickaël Landreau: the very talented young keeper of Nantes (23) is already the keeper of the Under 21 France team and is expected to replace Barthez once Fabulous Fab retires.
i seem to remeber this kid....Sebastian...something............FREY!

The silver FOX...does he still have platinum hair? :D ;)

that kid is gold and showed it in the seria a .

Should replace Fabien Butterfingers


Lav
 
#5 ·
Little brother Dalmat is back at Nantes...

Lav, San_Siro talks about young players in Le Championnat! Frey is as you know with Parma in Italy.

but if we ad Sébastien Frey we must also ad Fulham star STEED MALBRANQUE!!

some guys that also are players that will be great stars soon is:

Nicolas Penneteau
Gaël Danic
Grégory Vignal
Benoït Pédretti
SYLVAIN ARMAND

+ more
 
#6 ·
Also...

Bruno Cheyrou
Julien Escudé
Mathieu Delpierre
Lionel Mathis?
Anthony Reveillère?

:)

I absolutely want Cheyrou in the NT. I just love the guy. Hopefully he'll get the necessary mediatic exposure he hadn't prior to his summer move to Anfield - the only thing that was missing to his personal file. Mexès, Kapo and Meriem are my other soft spots. But as far as Mexès is concerned, he just turned 20 and I doubt he would be called by Santini at this stage. Let's also keep a close eye on Le Havre's Le Tallec and Sinama-Pongolle, they're said to be France's biggest prospects...

Ciao.
 
#7 ·
We've got a lot of good young players in France (Thank you Bosman ! :rollani: )

I'd add to your lists :

Zoumana Camara (Lens)
Pascal Johansen (Strasbourg)
Benoît Pedretti (Sochaux)
Fabien Laurenti & Michel Gafour (Marseille) :)
Squillachi & Givet (Monaco)
Sylvain Armand (Nantes)
Anthony Reveillere & Olivier Sorlin (Rennes)

Anyway, watch Auxerre & Nantes if you want some good young players ! ;)
 
#13 ·
Look what I found... :)
> uefa.com
Fulham's trusty Steed
Friday 2 August 2002

Transformed man
It is just a year ago that the playmaker sealed an €8m switch from Olympique Lyonnais to west London; yet the French public can expect to see a very different player on Wednesday to the one left the Stade Gerland bemoaning a lack of first-team opportunities.

Grown in stature
Malbranque has grown in stature after an impressive debut season in England and is finally fulfilling the potential that was so apparent during his formative years as a youth international. Nevertheless, the 22-year-old admitted that switching from Le Championnat to the FA Premiership at such a young age was far from easy.

'I was nervous'
"Adapting to a new country is hard for anyone, but even more so when you are young," explained the softly-spoken Frenchman. "I was nervous because there were so many people telling me I had made a mistake in leaving Lyon. But I stayed very single-minded and worked hard to fit in at Fulham. I tried to learn the language and adapt to the culture as quickly as possible and that is why, I believe, I have been accepted by my team-mates."

Pires the model
Malbranque's strong running and intricate passing made him an instant hit with the Fulham supporters last season, but the ambitious youngster is convinced he has more to offer. "This season I want to take my game to a new level," he said. "I look at the way Robert Pires performed in his second season at Arsenal [FC] and think 'that is the sort of impact that I want to make'. He was magnificent last year, but even he took time to adapt to English football."

Splendid season
The diminutive midfield player capped a splendid season with Fulham by starring for his country as they reached the final of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in May - and earned special praise from the coach Raymond Domenech. "Steed has been a revelation," he enthused. "Since he went to Fulham he has improved enormously in terms of his aggression."

Santini link
And with France having struggled for creativity at the FIFA World Cup finals, Malbranque could hardly be knocking any louder on the door of the newly-appointed national team coach Jacques Santini. "I feel as if I'm ready to make that step," he continued. "I played under Santini at Lyon, so he knows my game well."

'I am still learning'
But the Fulham ace was quick to play down suggestions that he is being groomed as a replacement for Zinedine Zidane. "I have worn the No10 shirt for France at every level since I was 15, so it is natural that people talk about me stepping into Zidane's boots. But asking anybody to replace such a wonderful player would be unfair. Zidane is world class and can do things with a ball that I will never be able to do. But I have different qualities and, importantly, I am still learning and still improving." Sochaux, you have been warned.
 
#15 ·
He's topnotch. :star:

However I don't know whether Santini would call him right away since the older Carrière will most definitely rejoin the selection as Zidane's backup. You don't need to bring more than 2 playmakers with you when you play a single match. On the other hand, Santini has to notify the French people and dignitaries of his intentions and a gesture towards youth might be necessary.

On verra bien... :)

Ciao.
 
#17 ·
San_Siro_1 said:
I'd like to make this thread in which i will be listing all the young French players that are expected to make a big impact on the French League which is about to start today. During the course of the season, if any other players make an impact, they should be also added into this list. This way, we could have a very good idea potential new players for Les Bleus in the future, both short and long term.

you forgot letallec and sinama pongolle .....world champion under 17.....
 
#19 ·
stephañho said:
But I didn't... :)
sorry :)


i think letallec is more complete than sinama pongolle ( who looks like sony anderson) :)
 
#20 ·
Anthony Le Tallec is going to be a great star for us in the future!!

saw him and Sinama Pongolle crush different teams in a youth tournament last year!!
winning over England 4-0 and Le Tallec scoring 2 was a good match to remember... remember us loosing to Spain 1-0 after a Torres penalty! that was the Euro U 16 tournament or something...


Kevin Lejeune is also a good junior player!
 
#23 ·
Wow. :cool: Debut in the 1st Division and team of the week. I will be paying closer attention to these two Liverpool-bound prospect this season after witnessing them destroying opposition in last year's U-17 WC.

OT: Are there any Le Havre websites in English around?

paw;)
 
#25 ·
stephañho said:
One in French would be nice to begin with... :D
It would, except that je n'comprende Francaise.

paw;)