At OL Park,
“Nugget”, “crack” and diamond emoji, Malick Fofana was treated to a hell of a triptych on Sunday evening on the official Ligue 1 the decisive scorer for an eminently spectacular OL-Monaco (3-2). Because the story of the Belgian winger recruited this winter by Lyon (€17 million plus €5 million bonus) ticks a lot of boxes: he is just 19 years old, has braces, the face of a shy teenager, and he even just passed his driving test this week.
OK, so far this is the kind of story that you have enjoyed many times while sitting in front of it. Téléfoot. But with this Belgian international Espoirs revealed at La Gantoise, we are dealing with an introverted personality bordering on anachronistic in the world of football in 2024. “He is a young player who is at the same time very humble, very discreet and very few talkative,” summed up this way. Sunday evening his trainer Pierre Sage. It’s always difficult to pull the worms out of his nose, but as long as he provides practical answers on the ground, that’s fine with us. »
“I saw that the goalkeeper had anticipated”
And the boy is clearly more comfortable on the green rectangle than in front of the microphones, as he demonstrated brilliantly against Monaco. Used again as an offensive joker, shortly after the hour of play in Ernest Nuamah’s relay, he was quickly thrown twice in twelve seconds by Krépin Diatta. The Senegalese’s only response to the outbursts of the confusing winger. And then comes this 84th minute, when OL, on a defensive edge at 2-2, recovers a ball near their area, thanks to Alexandre Lacazette then Maxence Caqueret.
Malick Fofana immediately senses the golden opportunity and goes full ball from his camp. Ideally served in depth by his captain, the dragster from Aalst only needs a touch of the ball from 30 meters to ideally put himself in the direction of the goal and present himself against Radoslaw Majecki. The person concerned coldly recounts his choice for this decisive duel in the race for Europe.
“ You don’t have to think too much. I took a quick look and saw that the guard had anticipated it, that he was already in bed. So I wanted to take it in the opposite direction, and it worked well. You have to have cold blood. »
” He is patient “
In view of his clinical closed foot and full of security on Sunday, he does not seem to lack composure. Tense face, weak voice, contained joy and minimalist communication, Malick Fofana then struggled for 1’30” of a dull mixed zone in front of the journalists. Far, far from his liveliness and his refreshing dribbling since his arrival in Lyon, where he seems to be unanimously appreciated.
“He’s a very good player,” enthuses Corentin Tolisso. He is very fast and he has dribbling and finishing skills. I told him at the end of the match that he deserved this goal. He does really good training and he gets rewarded. He’s gaining playing time little by little, and one day he will be a starter, that’s a certainty. »
According to Pierre Sage, Malick Fofana (under contract until 2028) is not seeking to rush his full development at the high level and he accepts this current role of supersub. “I am very happy with his development because he is a young man who does not make any noise at all,” said the Lyon coach. He really comes to training to work and to progress. It’s good to have success and success, but there is often a phase of work that precedes it, and it is in this logic. If he can maintain this over time, the rewards will be more and more regular for him. »
“And if we work hard…”
Also the author of a crucial goal in Nantes on April 7 (1-2, 77th, 1-3 in the end), after all, he already displays as many stats in 14 Ligue 1 appearances (three starts) as in 41 Ligue 1 matches. Jupiler Pro League (2 goals). “I am very happy to score my first goal here,” says the player with a pocket size (1.69 m). I work hard every day, and if you work hard, you see the results on the pitch. »
Apart from a failed baptism of fire in an unusual left piston position, on January 26 against Rennes (2-3), the winger of Guinean origin shows that he is one of the most promising recruits in the dense Lyon winter transfer window (Matic, Benrahma, Orban, Mangala, Perri and Adryelson). Out of curiosity, we wanted to see if he had shown up more talkative on Prime Video. When asked to describe himself, Malick Fofana said: “I’m a very fast player, off the field I’m calm, and I think that’s it.” OK, the crazy stuff will be reserved for the field with OL’s new number 11, let it be said.