Frankly, Leverkusen in February is not the first destination that we would have put at the top of our list of sites to visit. Wrong, surely. Just ask the thirty or so youngsters licensed at Espérance Paris 19e to be sure. Five teams (two U9s, two U11s and one U12), accompanied by coaches and parents, traveled to North Rhine-Westphalia on February 16 to attend the Europa League match between Bayer and Monaco (2 -3). All invited by Moussa Diaby and Youssouf Fofana, who play for the German club and the Rouge et Blanc respectively.
The two French internationals spent almost all of their childhood in this neighborhood club with which they are still very attached: “They have their life and their rhythm, but when we call on them, they respond present, says Morade Djeddi, president of Esperance Paris 19th. It’s their childhood club, where they grew up, their neighborhood club, their club where they bonded with their friends. »
A game against Leverkusen youth
“I spent ten years of my life there, so it’s quite natural to go see them, I don’t ask myself any questions, it’s like I’m going home, home to see my parents”, develops Youssouf Fofana to 20 minutes. So when the draw for the knockout stages of the Europa League brought the two friends face to face, they seized the opportunity to bring in the new generation of Esperance. “We immediately thought that it could be a good idea to organize that,” adds Fofana.
A year after Moussa Diaby had already invited around forty players to the BayArena to attend Leverkusen-Betis (4-0), the two players financed the two buses to take the little ones, educators and some parents. And, before attending the meeting and having Fofana and Diaby jerseys, small friendly matches were organized with the youth teams – “very very strong”, according to Morade Djeddi – of the German club.
“And, once in the stadium, the kids were shouting the names of Diaby and Fofana from everywhere, it was incredible, really a special moment, laughs Amadou, the U9 coach again. And, after Moussa’s goal, the atmosphere among the kids was crazy. They are not used to seeing big stadiums, and even me, it was the first time that I went to a big stadium outside Île-de-France. »
“Have you seen Diaby and Fofana, have you? »
After the match, Moussa Diaby and Youssouf Fofana came to meet the small band from the capital, for photo shoots. And, if the Monegasque midfielder had to slip away quickly to return to the Rock with the rest of the team, the Bayer winger took the time to chat with the kids from Esperance. “This meeting, they are still talking about it, laughs Amadou. After this trip to Leverkusen, we continued with a tournament on Sunday, and the kids went to see the other teams to ask them if they had seen Moussa Diaby and Youssouf Fofana? “No, well we do.” Frankly, it was a treat. »
This Thursday, two other U10 teams from Espérance Paris 19e will have the chance to attend the return match at the Louis-II stadium. “This time, there is no player funding, reports the club president. But, via Youssouf, a person responsible for the principality called us and will allow us to visit the Monaco training center, invite us to the match and, normally, we see the players at the end of the match. »
“It’s a bit of an educational outing”
A visit to the OGC Nice training center is also scheduled for Friday, as is a friendly match against U10 teams from Les Aiglons. “At that age, few leave their daily routine,” explains Youssouf Fofana. They go to school, they play football, but don’t necessarily manage to go out elsewhere. It’s a good idea to make them discover other things, even if it remains within the framework of football. It’s a bit of an educational outing. Bringing children of that age back to Monaco is going to be great. »
And it will be even better if the defensive midfielder of ASM scores a small goal to put even more madness in the Parisian ranks, while Moussa Diaby, uncertain for the meeting, had found the net in the first leg. “They didn’t really choose the team they were going to support, notes Fofana. But I hope to put one in the bottom. Afterwards, what’s good is that there were plenty of goals in the first leg and I wish them the same in the second leg, but with an easy victory for us. Be that as it may, we know teams that are likely to hear more about Youssouf Fofana and Moussa Diaby during the next tournaments in the Paris region.