This afternoon at the Bastide, two new recruits presented themselves to the local press. These are the two midfielders Gauthier Laurens and Brahima Doukansy.
What if he was the next darling of the Nîmes public? Gauthier Laurens, a good boil as they say, a pure Occitan with a little accent from the South-West. Joy of living and combativeness define the one who will turn 23 at the end of the month, ingredients that Crocos supporters appreciate. Born in Toulouse, Gauthier grew up in Grisolles, a small village in Tarn-et-Garonne, in a family of footballers. A sport practiced by his dad and his two brothers.
In 2013, the Toulousain joined the hope pole of Castelmaurou and signed in Montauban. Despite trials in Lyon, Valenciennes, Metz, Toulouse and even Bordeaux, the teenager failed for his height. A period marked by health concerns. “I was really handicapped because I didn’t grow naturally so I had a lot of joint problems. Sometimes I was away for six to eight months”, explains the interested party (see video below). Gauthier had to undergo hormone shots, his puberty was stopped.
Still an electrician a few months ago
A complicated ordeal from which he emerged stronger. “It’s a source of pride because I never gave up. Today I am aware of the luck I have but I worked for it”, he savors when he has just signed his first professional contract with the NO for three seasons. Before that, the environment also experienced the galley in N2 in Colomiers where the coach did not count on him. It was last year in N3, in Castanet, that the one who worked as an electrician with his father burst the screen. Yet positioned in the midfield, Laurens finished top scorer in his group with 17 goals in 24 appearances for six assists.
“Impossible is not Nîmes”, a motto that appeals to Gauthier Laurens • Photo Corentin Corger
From afar, in the area and even from the head, the nets shook. The Nîmes number 8 hopes at least to score between five and ten this season by betting on his explosiveness, his ability to make the difference with the ball in the small perimeters and his efficiency in the last gesture. The left-handed fan of Messi and Bernardo Silva will above all have to manage to win in this renowned physical championship that he is discovering. “There are many players at the top level who are very frail and very small but who manage to get by, even in the Premier League”he replies sure of his strength from the height of his 1.70 m and his 66 kg.
Positioned in the middle during the first friendly match lost 2-0 against OM, Gauthier also enjoys playing behind the striker and on the right side. Despite other requests in National, he did not hesitate to sign in the Gard and knows that the hardest part is yet to come.
“My journey is long! », loose with a smile Brahima Doukansy who will be 24 years old in August. The Parisian first played in the capital and in Amiens before stopping football aged 15 to 17. “I no longer had the head for football”he confides before having a little awareness ». Back at the club of his childhood (Solitaires Paris Est), he was recruited at the age of 18 to join the Olympique de Marseille reserve with a six-month contract as an aspirant and two years as a trainee.
“I was no longer going to training”
But the demands of the high level did not suit him and he left after six months. “I was not mentally ready yet, I was no longer going to training”comments on the slender midfielder of 1.92 m who will not succeed better on the side of AS Saint-Étienne without ever regretting, “If I hadn’t made all his mistakes, I wouldn’t be here. » He has “a tiny click in Niort where he played 64 Ligue 2 games in four seasons.
Brahima Doukansy, the Parisian who worked for OM • Photo Corentin Corger
“I was waiting for other clubs to come forward but no one came. I didn’t want to go a year without playing football.”, justifies the Franco-Malian to explain his departure from Ligue 2 in Aubagne in N2, last season. As early as January, Nîmes surveyed the player. “Nîmes wanted to give me a second chance, I didn’t want to stay in N2 and quickly find the professional world. I felt the club wanted me so I didn’t hesitate. »
This defensive midfielder, whose profile resembles Lamine Fomba likes to recover balls, duels but also has faults: “Sometimes fall into the easy. » Under contract until 2026 with the Crocos, the Parisian claims to be now ready to make sacrifices, “I know what I want now, to make football my job for as long as possible. » It remains only to concretize it on the ground.
Find the video presentation of Doukansy:
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