big clubs are looking for French goalkeepers

by time news

To see two French goalkeepers gaze at each other 100 meters apart on either side of a playground, you have to go down the hierarchy of matches. If they are still the heyday of Ligue 2 teams or the bottom of the Ligue 1 table, French goalkeepers are becoming increasingly rare at high level. Gone are the days when the golden generation of Lloris, Coupet, Barthez, and further Lama, held the upper hand in the penalty area of ​​the big teams.

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The flagship teams have holders or even first substitutes born outside our borders. In Paris, an Italian and a Costa Rican fight over the Argentine coach’s good graces. The pattern is identical to Lyon, Nice, and even more so to the reigning French champion, Lille, where the rectangle is defended alternately by a Croatian-Brazilian duo. In Monaco, it is a Pole, a German and an Italian who put on the gloves.

A “general phenomenon”

Half of the goalkeepers during the 27e day thus had a foreign passport, not very far from the record of last November 20 with a score of 14 out of 20 non-national goalkeepers. “Is it any wonder that in a league where owners and coaches are increasingly foreigners, goalkeepers follow suit? We talk about a shortage in France, but the phenomenon is general,” explains Laurent Chatrefoux, responsible for the file at the national technical direction of the French Football Federation.

Except in Germany, where clubs manage to find gloves to their measure at home, the other four major European championships (England, Spain, Italy and France) are experiencing the same fate. “The South Americans are popular, they are cheaper and have arisen thanks to the distribution of videos of their matches around the world”, emphasizes Philippe Bergeroo, former goalkeeper and coach of Paris SG and the French women’s team.

Lack of interest from young players

The word “rating” is well chosen, because football is a globalized market where each player must, in addition to holding his place, promise a nice capital gain on resale. Like Chelsea goalkeeper Édouard Mendy, bought for nothing in Le Havre where he was born, and who today is worth an unexpected fortune. In reality, market observers pay little attention to the performance of goalkeepers during their tours of the field to unearth nuggets. “It’s a very technical position, and they don’t always have the sensitivity and skills to judge. As a result, young talents often pass through the racket,” continues Laurent Chatrefoux.

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The French shortage is also explained by a lack of interest from young French players for this position. “Before, we put in the cages those who did not have the qualities to play in the field, continues Philippe Bergeroo. Now, we are training kids capable of reading the game, of throwing with both feet, of cutting trajectories and angles, even of taking penalties. As a result, we find ourselves with young people who play football very well… and who want something other than to keep goals! » Especially since the position of guard is generally paid between 20 and 30% less than the others.

Revised workouts

The Federation has taken the measure of the danger, multiplying awareness-raising actions to attract children to the goals who may one day make the heyday of a big club. “In addition to the technical qualities, we also come up against a size problem, the trend today is for goalkeepers over 1.90 m, this further restricts the sample”, explains Laurent Chatrefoux.

Young people no longer want the fate long reserved for budding porters: very quickly finding themselves face-to-face with a specialized coach who bombards them with shots while the others are having fun on the field. “We cannot ask goalkeepers to participate in the game, to perform well in all areas and leave them out. Today, we recommend a 50/50 split: 50% of specific training time and 50% with the rest of the group,” explains Laurent Chatrefoux, who refuses to indulge in gloom: “We talk about a generational gap, but I think we are exaggerating. We have good goalkeepers in France, even if it must be recognized that there is not abundance… ”

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Blue gloves do not work abroad

If foreign goalkeepers are popular in France, the reverse is not true. While France is recognized for its training and places many players in the big European clubs, in particular attackers, French goalkeepers find few takers. Currently, only Hugo Lloris (Tottenham) and his potential successor in the France team Mike Maignan (AC Milan) defend the cages of a major European club. Born on the heights of Le Havre, Chelsea goalkeeper Édouard Mendy is Franco-Senegalese, but defends the colors of Senegal in selection.

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