“Often, the social media generation quickly shows off in football. But Jules is against all this. I’m happy to see the career he’s having because he’s a really good guy. “Despite their thirteen year gap, Nicolas-Maurice Belay is full of praise for Jules Koundé.
The defender of Sevilla FC, who challenges Losc this Tuesday in the Champions League, has remained close to his former teammate of the Girondins reserve (2016-2017). Now retired from the field, the former striker remembers the time when he discovered the player. “I was recovering from a knee injury and played six months in CFA with him. He was not necessarily the most talented player but as he was rigorous and serious, he succeeded ”, assures
Maurice-Belay who often exchanges with the Sevillian defender on the NBA, their common passion.
A mind made of steel
This is a constant among everyone interviewed in this article. If Jules Koundé, holder of an ES bac, made a dazzling start to his career, passing in less than three years from a young hopeful in Bordeaux to an indisputable holder of the Sevilla FC and defender of the France team at only 22 years old, he owes it above all to his big mind and his good education.
“He is a boy appreciated by everyone who has values thanks to a big strong point: his entourage. His mother is very present, she takes good care of him. And that are often signs of success. Talent does things, but education is vital. For example, while he was already training with the pros in Bordeaux, he had to pass a school exam. He was told he didn’t have to do it since he hadn’t had time to revise. But no, he wanted to pass it when 99.9% of young people would have preferred to rest. That’s Jules, ”said Yannick Stopyra, recruiting manager for the Girondins de Bordeaux, who spotted the player in his teens.
“A very wise little kid, very well brought up, very polite and obedient”
Only son, Jules Koundé was raised by his single mother. Arrived as a baby in the small Gironde village of Landiras (2,300 inhabitants), he began his love affair with football. Mayor of the town, Jean-Marc Pelletant remembers: “At the time, I was president of a cultural association in which his mother was a volunteer. We organized lotos, parties and her mom took Jules everywhere with her. He must have been 4 years old but he still had his soccer ball bigger than him or almost under his arm (laughs). He was still teasing the ball but when told not to hit the wall with it, he would stop right away. He was a very wise, very well behaved, very polite and obedient little kid. “
A polite but also very reserved kid who quietly crosses the various stages towards glory. Child at the Fraternelle de Landiras, he will spend five years in this football school of which he has now become the godfather. Then, Koundé grew up and joined the La Brède club at the age of twelve where, as usual, he did not pose any problem.
Koundé in the footsteps of Montesquieu
“He was very discreet, very competitive. It always felt like he wasn’t there, but he was in fact. He stood out from the crowd by his intelligence, his way of playing, his good positioning. He was going fast and jumping higher than the others too. But whoever came to see him play could not say that this boy was going to break everything, ”recalls Tony Gomez, the president of the La Brède club, a small town in the Gironde, known until now to be the birthplace of Montesquieu.
But at 15, Koundé ended up catching the eye of the Girondins, his club of heart. Responsible for recruiting for the Bordeaux club, Yannick Stopyra goes into flashback mode. “In 2012, I headed the hope center of Castelmaurou. We have a friendly match against the hopes pole of Talence [où venait jouer Koundé une fois par semaine]. But I can’t tell you that I saw him there. I had other concerns. “The former international continues:” And then, the following year, I took the recruitment of the Girondins. And the head of the football school, Claude Petit, had seen him in La Brède. And there, the Girondins de Bordeaux play against the pole of Talence and I see him a second time. This is where it started it all. We invited him, he signed an amateur contract the first year and another contract the following season because he had shown good things. Then it was pretty fast. “
“Not the profile of a great athletic defender”
And for good reason, in the space of four years, Koundé joined the pro workforce after having proven himself among young people. Champion of France U19, captain of the reserve, the defender bangs very hard and very quickly at the door of the pros. But Gourvennec, then stationed on the bench, hesitates to launch it in the axis as recalls Nicolas Maurice-Belay.
“The idea of the coach was to bring down Toulalan, who had arrived from Monaco, in central defense. There was also Nicolas Pallois. And Koundé’s talent was not necessarily obvious. In CFA, we felt that he could turn pro thanks to his leadership qualities, seriousness which are very important for the position of defender. But there was always a question about his size [1,78 m] because he does not have the profile of a great athletic defender ”.
In order not to stay at the door indefinitely, Koundé began to work on versatility in the right lane of defense, in a position where he would also make his debut for the French team on June 2 against Wales. “He didn’t want to play sideways. It was Patrick Battiston, director of the training center, who insisted and told him to give it a shot in the right lane to win among the pros. Jules has very good relaxation, good judgment and he goes fast. He was able to compensate for the lack of size, ”says Stopyra.
Departure to Seville for 25 million euros
At the beginning of January 2018, the big day finally arrived. At 18, Koundé started… in central defense by Gourvennec in the 32nd round of the Coupe de France against the fans of Granville. Conclusion: a dismal elimination but nothing detrimental for the young player who will no longer leave the starting XI.
“He’s a boy who needed a lot of training and who did a lot of training with us before winning. When we started it, it was obvious. But that it is necessary so quickly on a rather short timing, it is impressive, is justified today the former coach of the Girondins now stationed at Losc. And even if Gourvennec will be fired two weeks after launching it, Koundé will win the confidence of his successors (Poyet then Ricardo) without worry and will no longer leave the eleven type until June 2019.
Biggest market value of the workforce, the defender then left the Girondins to join Sevilla FC for 25 million euros. Two years later, with a Europa League in hand and a starting place in the other, the former Bordeaux player seems to have clearly taken the right path. “He is a very intelligent, very structured, very mature boy. It’s nice to see that the kids we got to know when we were 17 manage to give themselves the means to play at this level “, appreciates Jocelyn Gourvennec.
“His choice to go to Spain was very judicious because his qualities correspond very well to La Liga,” said Nicolas Maurice-Belay. It’s a very cerebral championship. When I see the climbs he sometimes does with Sevilla on doubles or triples one-two, I think he projects himself like that because there is confidence but also because he has a technical quality and a way of playing that will allow him to get out of his defense zone. Now, he is one of the players we talk about the most so respect. “
Soon a rue Jules-Koundé?
To the point of having become untransferable for Andalusians. Despite a proposal of 60 million euros from Chelsea this summer, Sevilla FC did not want to let go. Even if he undoubtedly wanted to discover the Premier League, Koundé did not go to the clash publicly. A new proof of his good education praised by all his relatives.
“He is an extraordinary person who does not take himself for another. He stayed in touch with his former educators, ”insists Stopyra. “In La Brède, when he can, he still comes to see his friends play in the departmental C team. And his friends will sometimes keep his house for a few days in Seville when he goes on a European trip, ”says Tony Gomez, president of the Gironde club.
“He really didn’t take the big head. He kept it simple. I’m not very football but since Jules is there, I watch the matches of the France team. He is the little kid from Landiras, the godfather of the football school and the pride of the village, ”says the mayor of the village who“ is still waiting a bit ”to one day inaugurate rue Jules-Koundé.
But at the rate things are going, the Sevillian defender could soon become a fixture on the street signs of his childhood village. With a 2022 World Cup in sight, Koundé has all the cards in hand according to Maurice-Belay. “Varane is starting to get old. Kimpembe is less imperial than before, Upamecano makes mistakes so Jules has a card to play in the France team. But it will also go through a superior club in Sevilla which will be able to take it even higher and pass this milestone of player of world level. »One more step in a course so far immaculate, all without taking a head well anchored on the shoulders. Without doubt the secret of Jules Koundé’s success.