Football. Avant AS Nancy Lorraine

Nancy – Versailles

This Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Stéphane Guivarc’h (33 matches in the national team)

Before becoming world champion in 1998 and entering the history of French football despite his missed opportunities in the final against Brazil (3-0), Stéphane Guivarc’h cut his teeth as a scorer in National in particular. The former centre-forward played a season in the third division with Guingamp, in 1993-1994. The championship then had two groups. Guivarc’h finished top scorer in Group A with 25 goals in 33 games.

Steve Savidan (118 matches en National)

Bartender and garbage collector before becoming a professional footballer, “Savigoal” had an atypical career, a career that saw him roll in National for a long time. With Angers, Angoulême and Valenciennes, the former Valenciennes striker played 118 National matches for a total of 47 goals scored.

Franck Ribéry (46 matches in the national team)

Third for the Ballon d’Or in 2013 after winning everything with Bayern Munich, Franck Ribéry started in L1 at FC Metz but, before that, it was in National that he cut his teeth. The man with 81 selections for the Blues played 46 National meetings with Boulogne-sur-Mer, Alès and Brest.

Mathieu Valbuena (55 matches in National)

Failed at the Bordeaux training center, Mathieu Valbuena took an alternative route to reach the top, passing through Libourne and the National championship from 2004 to 2006. It was there that he exploded, being elected best player of the National in 2005-2006 under the orders of coach Didier Tholot. The ex-Marseillais, also famous for the “sextape” affair which caused so much harm to Karim Benzema, still plays at 38, on the side of Olympiakos.

Laurent Koscielny (33 matches en National)

For him too, the National Championship was a great springboard. The former defender of the France team and Arsenal in particular spent a season in the third division, on the side of Tours. He moved up to L2 with the Tourangeau club in 2008 and everything then accelerated for Laurent Koscielny.

N’Golo Kanté (37 Nationals)

Few people know it but N’Golo Kanté launched his career by being named best player of the National in 2012-2013 under the colors of Boulogne-sur-Mer. The current Chelsea and Les Bleus midfielder was then spotted by Caen who offered him a first professional contract.

Olivier Giroud (33 matches in National)

Here is another 2018 world champion who owes a lot to the National Championship. The AC Milan striker, top scorer in the history of the French team since the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, began his irresistible rise by scoring 14 goals with Istres in 2007-2008. His performances allowed him to join Tours before breaking everything with Montpellier.

Emiliano Sala (37 Nationals)

The late Argentinian striker, who tragically died in a plane crash in 2019, was loaned out by Bordeaux to Orléans in 2012-2013. In 37 National matches in the Orleans jersey, Sala found the net 19 times.

Whabi Khazri (34 matches en National)

Scorer against the France team with Tunisia at the last World Cup, the Montpellier striker also went through the National at the start of his career. He played one season in the third division with SC Bastia in 2010-2011.

Azzedine Ounahi (28 matches en National)

The Moroccan international, one of the heroes of the Atlas Lions at the 2022 World Cup, is the very last great player who has revealed himself in National. In failure on the side of Strasbourg who did not want to offer him a professional contract, Azzedine Ounahi finally had to go through Avranches, in 2020-2021, to show all his talent. His 28 National matches with Avranches attracted SCO Angers who sold him 10 million euros to OM in January…