Month: February 2023

Marseille will be looking to put their poor run of form – just the one win in six games across all competitions – behind them tonight as they hosts Tottenham Hotspur in their most importan game of the season so far.

Igor Tudor looked to have cast off initial suspicion among his squad after taking over from Jorge Sampaoli with a swashbuckling start to the season that saw them emerge as the clear favourites to challenge Paris Saint-Germain in the league.

Now, though, reports of discontent among the team have resurfaced at the worst possible time, with the Croatian manager’s choices being once again called into question by his players, some of whom look set to leave in January after seeing their playing time decrease. 

Only a win will do for Marseille, who sit bottom of the table on six points, while the Premier League side are top on eight. The players can look for inspiration back to 2011, when the team came back from two goals down on the final day of the group stage campaign to win in Dortmund, notably thanks to Mathieu Valbuena’s late winner. This time, OM will have the 12th man with them, and will have to set aside their misgivings with their manager to put in another big European performance.

Marseille predicted lineup vs Tottenham Hotspur:

Pau López – Chancel Mbemba, Eric Bailly, Leonardo Balerdi – Jonathan Clauss, Valentin Rongier, Jordan Veretout, Nuno Tavares – Mattéo Guendouzi, Amine Harit – Alexis Sánchez. (via L’Équipe)

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Speaking after Paris Saint-Germain’s 2-1 win against Lorient on Sunday, Christophe Galtier said that he believes that Neymar (30) is in the finest patch of form of his career in Ligue 1. 

The Brazilian forward scored in the fixture and set up the other. He now has 11 goals and nine assists in 13 Ligue 1 matches. He also has two goals and three assists in five Champions League matches. He has already bypassed last season’s goals and assists total (13 goals and eight assists). 

In a post-match press conference, transcribed by L’Équipe, Galtier said, “Neymar is playing for the team. This is maybe the best Neymar we have seen at PSG.”Galtier has previously described having Neymar, Lionel Messi, and Kylian Mbappé as having “the holy grail.” 

Since his move from Barcelona for €220m in 2017, Neymar has 115 goals in 163 appearances for the reigning Ligue 1 champions. 

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Without a club at the age of 15, Youssouf Fofana almost quit football entirely on two occasions at the age of 17, and only signed his first professional contract at the age of 19. Until September this year, the now 23-year-old had never been called up to the France squad. Not only will he now travel with Les Bleus to Qatar, he could start.

In the words of Fofana, he left through the “small door” of France’s national academy, Clairefontaine, and returned through the “big door”. At 18, the Monaco midfielder left INF Clairefontaine with his dreams of becoming a professional footballer in tatters. Retrospectively regretful of his misplaced assumption that, by virtue of where he was, he would make it in the game regardless of the work he put in, his World Cup call-up is a recognition of a hard but ultimately fruitful self-reflection.

Having delivered pizzas to make money as a teenager and having devoted himself to his studies since leaving Clairefontaine three years prior, Fofana was given a second-chance at Strasbourg. Following a trial at the Alsace club, he was offered to play with the reserve side, an opportunity he steadfastly seized. However, in that moment, there was a newfound determination – a result of his previous squandered opportunity. “The owners at Strasbourg told me: “We’re going to put in place a train ticket system so that your family can come often.” But I told them very clearly: “No, thank you. They’ll come and see me when I’ve signed a professional contract, and not before,” Fofana told L’Équipe earlier this year.

Since, Fofana has enjoyed an incremental rise, firstly at Strasbourg where he spent just one year with the professional squad, racking up 41 appearances, and then at Monaco. Since joining the Principality side in January 2020, Fofana has made 115 appearances, and is now enjoying his best season yet. Last season, Fofana was overshadowed by his midfield partner Aurélien Tchouaméni, whom he is now set to play alongside for France. But, following the former Bordeaux midfielder’s €100m move to Real Madrid, Fofana has flourished, or perhaps more accurately, he is being increasingly recognised.

Earlier in the season, Monaco sporting director Paul Mitchell reflected on Fofana’s performances, telling Get French Football News’ Luke Entwistle, “I think Aurélien was rightly recognised for some really big and important performances with us last season, and maybe the shadow was cast too much over the quality of Youssouf’s performances for this club, not only last season but the season before.” Tchouaméni is undoubtedly a world class player, and his enormous transfer fee is a testament to that, as is the way in which he has quickly become irreplaceable, not only on a domestic level, but also internationally. However, as Mitchell told GFFN, “there was always a second actor in that midfield configuration.”

This season, in Tchouaméni’s absence, Fofana needed to step up, and he has. Throughout last season, and the start of this, he has taken on the mantle of being Monaco’s progressive force from deep in the midfield. In that sense, in a midfield pivot, he’s the perfect compliment to a more traditional number six, a role Tchouaméni can play and one that Mohamed Camara has been seen in since his arrival from RB Salzburg this summer. That stability playing alongside a well-performing number six, has allowed Fofana’s quality to shine. Like all players to an extent, Fofana is a system player, whose slick functioning is contingent upon the correct pieces being placed around him.

Tchouaméni and Fofana can certainly be described as mutually complementary pieces, and that’s why they will likely start together at the World Cup, representing a stratospheric rise for a player whose career was almost over before it ever began. There is a certain well-founded logic in reconstructing last season’s Monaco midfield pivot in the World Cup. With a limited time to construct automatisms, Fofana and Tchouaméni aren’t building up from ground-zero. Didier Deschamps’ tactical decision to revert back to a four-man defence means that another player will be added to that midfield mix. Given that that area of the pitch has been haphazardly reconstructed following injuries to Paul Pogba and Ngolo Kanté, it will be important to establish some kind of continuity, the tested formula and the former Monaco teammates represent that.

From out of the blue, Fofana has therefore found himself in what would have seemed like an improbable scenario even just a few weeks ago, of being a likely and deserved starter at the World Cup. Given the speed of his emergence as an international-level player, it would be reasonable to assume that Fofana got carried away when hearing his name during Deschamps’ televised squad announcement. But his irregular pathway has taught him to react differently. “I told myself that, in a career, you can’t aim higher than playing in such a big competition like the World Cup with the French national team. I thought about everything that I came through to get here. That allowed me to come back down to earth and keep clear-minded,” said Fofana following his selection.

Whilst Fofana believes that his selection perhaps changes people’s perception of who he is as a player, he says that that doesn’t bring added pressure. In such a whirlwind environment as a World Cup, blocking out external and internal pressures will determine whether or not he’ll be a success. Fofana isn’t going to Qatar as a passenger. France desperately need him to perform.

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Luke Entwistle | GFFN

As contacted by RMC Sport, the entourage of Paris Saint-Germain forward Lionel Messi has denied any contact with MLS side Inter Miami, and by extension any possible agreement with the Americans.

The Times had reported earlier today that the Argentine was on the verge of a move across the pond for next season, with the deal to be signed after the World Cup.

Messi, who in Florida could be joined by former teammates Luis Suárez and Cesc Fàbregas among other potential arrivals, will only make a decision on his future after the tournament in Qatar. His contract with the Ligue 1 champions expires at the end of the season, having signed an initial two-year deal when he arrived as a free agent in the summer of 2021.

RMC Sport, on their end, say that Messi is indeed in talks with Inter Miami despite PSG’s best efforts to hold on to the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner. and that the situation will accelerate after the World Cup ends.

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According to Le Parisien the Stade Rennais fan who was slapped by Neymar in 2019 and then harassed online after his identity was revealed on Twitter, had filed a complaint in October.

The fan had filed a complaint for collecting personal data by fraudulent or unfair means and moral harassment. He based his complaint on an article in Mediapart according to which Paris Saint-Germain had commissioned a communications agency, Digital Big Brother (DBB), between 2018 and 2020 to create fake Twitter accounts to conduct hostile campaigns against targets of the capital’s football club, which the latter disputes.

An ‘exempler’ Twitter account was found which posed itself as a group of PSG fans, yet ‘Paname Squad’ was the main culprit following PSG’s defeat to Rennes in the 2019 Coupe de France, having revealed the identity and date of birth of the fan on Twitter.

The claim says that following the disclosure of his identity, the Rennes supporter was “stopped in the street, the clientele of his restaurant decreased, people passed by his home and threatened him“.

According to a September report by the Directorate General of Internal Security (DGSI), after the match the PSG communications director asked Malik Nait-Liman, then the club’s supporter referral agent and a former DGSI agent, to find information about him. Malik Nait-Liman then asked a police officer still on duty to consult the files on criminal records.

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This is taken from the GFFN 100, our leading 150-page FREE publication ranking the best 100 players in France, see the full list and read every profile right here.

Nicolás Tagliafico suffered through a difficult couple of years at his previous club, Ajax. As he approached the last year of his contract and the Amsterdammers looked to move on from their 2019 Champions League semi-final team, there was a feeling, on both sides, that it was time for the Argentine to get the move he had been after for some time. However, after a tumultuous couple of years of failed transfers, notably to Chelsea, and his place as a starter no longer guaranteed, Tagliafico’s previous list of suitors had weakened. In search of a dependable option at left-back, after loans and failed acquisitions, this presented a sizeable opportunity for Ligue 1 club, Lyon.

A signing which has gone somewhat under the radar, Lyon were able to acquire the services of the Argentine international for just under £4m. As the World Cup approached, life in Lyon couldn’t have been better for Tagliafico. He’s nailed down the starting spot at OL and has dramatically impacted the defensive security down Lyon’s left flank. Alongside providing some much-needed defensive relief, he’s also making an impact in forward areas, the former Banfield and Independiente man providing three goal contributions in his first 13 appearances.

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Questioned were raised by many when the defender arrived in the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region over whether he still possessed the same quality which saw the now 30-year-old labelled as one of the best full-backs in Europe, Tagliafico has proved his doubters wrong as one of the signings of the season in France.

Tagliafico has arguably been the best defensive full-back in Europe this season. No full-back in world football beats him for tackles won per 90 minutes this campaign, with an impressive 2.52 by the start of November. He’s also difficult to beat one-on-one, with almost two dribblers tackled per 90, while also only being dribbled past less than once every two games. He also ranks in the top three per cent of all full-backs in Europe for tackles and interceptions per 90 minutes.

Beyond boasting impressive defensive numbers, his overall impact on the OL defence speaks volumes. Featuring predominantly on the left side alongside teenage centre-back Castello Lukeba, who, despite displaying tremendous talent for his age, can be naïve at times, Tagliafico has brought calmness to the Frenchman’s game. As a result, Lyon’s number four looks more comfortable than ever at the heart of the defence and the left side of the back line has become an area of strength rather than a weakness for OL.

During Lionel Scaloni’s tenure as Argentina coach, La Albiceleste have often been criticised for being rather top-heavy and fragile in the defence. Considering their immense quality in midfield and attack, before the World Cup their defence was often blamed for their downfall. Tagliafico, however, can be relied upon to match the world’s best forwards while bringing a sense of resolve.

The roles of a team’s full-backs have changed in the modern game and, if top teams are to have any success, attacking prowess from their full-backs is likely to play a part. In his successful, but brief, time at Lyon, Tagliafico has had a decisive impact in the attacking phases of play.

Tagliafico’s full-back counterpart on the right at OL, Malo Gusto, has garnered plaudits for the number of chances he creates with his crossing ability but this is something that Lyon have been able to benefit from on both flanks thus far since the Argentinian’s arrival and the 30-year-old ranks in the top nine per cent of full-backs for assists so far this season with 0.21 per 90 minutes. Alongside his assists, he is also creating lots of chances with 2.58 shot-creating actions per 90per cent2 passes into the penalty area. This overall support play in attacking phases of play has ultimately seen Tagliafico be lauded as OL’s standout performer in what has, so far been an underwhelming season for Les Gones.

This combined with his aforementioned defensive quality makes him a man for the big moments. Much of the focus will be on Lyon’s attacking options under new coach Laurent Blanc as Ligue 1 resumes from the World Cup break, but, if his early season form is anything to go by, Tagliafico could yet be a difference-maker too.

Liam Wraith

RMC Sport report this afternoon that after his return to training this morning, it now appears increasingly likely that Kylian Mbappé will be in action for Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, as they host Strasbourg for the return of the Ligue 1 season.

The forward’s return to the Camp des Loges training ground, just three days after scoring a hat-trick in the World Cup final, had been kept a secret, with the tournament’s Golden Boot winner looking to move swiftly on after coming agonisingly close to a second title.

The PSG management have been all too happy to welcome Mbappé back into the fray, with the forward deciding to skip the holidays he would have been allowed to take. After the match against the Alsatians, the league leaders face a daunting trip north to take on second-place Lens on New Year’s Day.

Other World Cup participants such as Pablo Sarabia and Carlos Soler are likely to be involved, while there is uncertainty over when those who went further in the competition – notably Lionel Messi –  will return to the French tapial.

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As reported by various outlets including La Provence, World Cup finalists Mattéo Guendouzi and Jordan Veretout have returned to training with Marseille, just over a week after the end of the tournament in Qatar.

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Both midfielders made just the one appearance across the tournament, with Didier Deschamps selecting them to start in the final match of Les Bleus’ group stage campaign, a 1-0 loss to Tunisia. It was the former Arsenal man’s seventh senior cap, while Veretout, an unexpected addition to the squad, was honouring his sixth appearance for the national team.

OM return to action on Wednesday night as they host Toulouse, with Igor Tudor’s men looking to claw back an eleven-point deficit on leaders Paris Saint-Germain, having been within touching distance in second place for much of the first half of the season before slipping down. They then travel along the coast to face Montpellier at the turn of the year.

Speaking ahead of AS Monaco’s Ligue 1 fixtures against AC Ajaccio, Alexander Nübel (26) has said that he is happy at the Principality club, adding that the club doesn’t want to let him return to Bayern Munich this winter. 

Nübel is 18 months into his two-year loan deal from the German champions. However, following a season-ending injury to number one goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, it had been reported that Bayern Munich were keen on repatriating their player. 

Reacting to the rumours that he would return to Bayern Munich this month to deputies for Neuer, Nübel said that all of his energy and focus is on Monaco. He added, “In the end, the decision [to return to Bayern Munich] lies with Monaco. They have the right to decide this winter and they told me that they don’t want to give me up. I haven’t really had any conversation with Bayern. That’s why I’m here and I’m really happy that I’m still here.” 

Responding to a question from Get French Football News’ Luke Entwistle about his long-term future, and the possibility of remaining at Monaco beyond his current loan deal, Nübel said, “The next weeks and months are more important than what comes after. The focus is still on the season. It is important to keep my thoughts on this. For sure there will be some conversations here with the club and also with Bayern Munich as well as other options. My agent is doing this. The most important thing is Monaco and nothing else is on my mind.”

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This is taken from the GFFN 100, our leading 150-page FREE publication ranking the best 100 players in France, see the full list and read every profile right here.

David da Costa, RC LensBorn in Portugal, da Costa has been with Lens since 2013, his family having moved to France when he was just nine, and his slow-burning improvement has continued apace this season, having signed his first professional contract in 2019. Now an undisputed starter for a team who have been impressive front to back this season, having displaced Gaël Kakuta, the diminutive da Costa is comfortable pulling wide or driving at players centrally, at once supporting the team’s attackers and creating space for them. With pace to burn, his flashy, high-energy style is a perfect complement to the team’s approach.

Anthony Rouault, Toulouse FCThe youngest member of the promoted side’s back four, Rouault has often been its most impressive, having notched more than sixty appearances for the club since making his debut in 2020. A foot injury slowed his progress towards the end of 2021, but this year, he’s barely missed a match, showing himself to be a commanding presence in the air, and a canny operator in the tackle — he has yet to receive a booking this season. Relatively fleet of foot for a centre back as well, Rouault also has shown an impressive range of passing, and looks to be one of what’s fast becoming an impressive crop of young French defenders.

Farès Chaïbi, Toulouse FCSince returning from an appendectomy in late August, Chaïbi has been integral to Toulouse’s attacking play, despite having just turned twenty. A creative player with a deceptive level of strength, even as Les Violets have struggled at times to adapt to life in the top flight, he has scarcely seemed out of place. For a player whose professional debut only came at the beginning of the season, he has been mightily impressive, notching two goals and adding four assists, his ability to play in multiple positions helping the team manage a variety of absences. Expect plenty more to come from Chaïbi, particularly once the team’s top flight survival is closer to being sealed.

Désire Doué, Stade RennaisThe youngest player on this list, Doué is also the one from whom the most is expected. Just 17, he’s already scored three times for Rennes this season, an impressive return given the collection of more established attacking talent at Bruno Génésio’s disposal. There is still much to be fine-tuned about his game, but his versatility and eye for goal mark him as one for the future. Comfortable anywhere from a box-to-box role to playing off of a central striker, Doué has creativity and fearlessness to spare, and has become an increasingly important option for Génésio off the bench, a trend which should continue apace in 2023.

Kamory Doumbia, Stade de ReimsA product of the same Malian academy, JMG, that has also produced Cheick Doucouré and Hamari Traoré, Doumbia has impressed for Reims despite his youth and having to play in a rather thankless position, although the latter of these could be changing. In the early part of the season, he played behind the duo of Junya Ito and Folarin Balogun, and was often forced to spend more time pressing than using his ability on the ball. However, since the start of Will Still’s tenure as head coach and the attendant switch to a 4-2-3-1, he has prospered as an orthodox ten, linking play and showing his ability on the ball more readily — there’s more to come from Doumbia.

Lucas Chevalier, Lille OSC Ligue 1 is currently home to a pair of goalkeepers known for their extreme precociousness in Alban Lafont and Gianluigi Donnarumma, still both just 23, but in a position not known for young players breaking through, Chevalier could be making a go of joining them. Since his replacing Léo Jardim in goal for Les Dogues, the team have repositioned themselves as a bona fide European contender, losing only to Marseille, Lyon and Lorient. Some of this is down to the team’s attacking prowess, of course, but Chevalier’s saves and sense of occasion will have played their part as well.

Wilson Odobert, ESTAC TroyesMight Odobert be another of the seemingly legion number of players who fall under the category of the one who got away for PSG? Despite playing in a rather moribund side, in terms of their attacking prowess, the winger, who was just 17 when the season started, has flourished, not only becoming Troyes second-youngest goalscorer but regularly displaying an uncommon ability on the ball. With five goal involvements in just under 700 minutes — no mean feat given Troyes’ tactics — he has even kept players like Rony Lopes and Renaud Riaprt out of the team, underscoring that he is a player for the present and the future.

Maghnes Akliouche, AS MonacoA regular presence in Monaco’s squads and indeed even starting eleven at times since the arrival of Philippe Clement, Akliouche can play either wide on either flank or centrally as a number ten. Gifted with a fine eye for a pass, and a deceptive strength despite his wiry frame, he has been helped by injuries and fixture congestion for the Monégasques this season, but there’s no doubt he’s coming into his own, having scored four times and added three assists for France’s U-20s as well. Another player who could perhaps do with a loan spell in Ligue 1, his creativity could help any number of struggling sides.

Théo Le Bris, FC Lorient Given Le Bris almost made the 100, he was one of our easiest choices to make for the ten to watch. The nephew of manager Régis Le Bris, he has impressed in a number of positions, filling in for Gédéon Kalulu when the former Ajaccio right back was injured, and more recently on the left wing. A precocious talent who was a regular for the reserves at 17, he’s a willing runner, an adept tackler and inventive with the ball at his feet. He still needs a bit of polish, especially in his defensive positioning, but he has all the makings of an archetypal live-wire fullback.

Matthis Abline, Stade RennaisAbline is a player who’s been threatening to break through at Rennes for some time, having made his professional debut just weeks after his 18th birthday. The arrivals of Martin Terrier, Arnaud Kalimuendo and Amine Gouiri have blocked his path, but he sparkled in a loan spell with Le Havre last season, scoring six goals in sixteen matches. After impressing with the U-20s as captain, he’s also been capped for Les Espoirs, netting in his first start and has scored for Rennes as well, including in the Europa League. A skilled dribbler and an astute finisher, Abline could well be in line for a loan to a Ligue 1 club this month, as he looks increasingly a complete attacking player.

Eric Devin | GFFN

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