Through Victor Massias
Published on
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When a young footballer enters the training center of Havre AC, he knows he’s in the right place. The club is known to serve as a giant springboard for French football talent. The following list proves it, listing a host of internationals, world stars passed through Real Madrid, Chelsea or AC Milan and even a few world champions …
Steve Mandanda, «El Fenomeno»
In 2000, Steve Mandanda arrived at the HAC training center. Aged 15, he quickly won in the Sky and Navy cages of the reserve team in CFA 2 before being thrown into the deep end, in the Coupe de France against theUS Quevilly. Despite the defeat, at not even 20 years old, Mandanda shows that he has a future and doubles Olivier Blondel, the holder so far.
The career of the goalkeeper born in Kinshasa (Zaire) then propelled towards the Olympique de Marseille, where he is now part of the furniture – the supporters nickname him “El Fenomeno” -, then the French team, with whom he lifts the World Cup in 2018.
Edouard Mendy, a future great
Native of Montivilliers, Edouard Mendy discovers the football fields with the club of the district of Caucriauville, at the age of seven. A few years later, he caught the eye of HAC recruiters. But Mendy is not happy, does not play enough and goes to the Municipal CS, in the same city.
He must then leave his region to join Cherbourg and start a life as a professional caretaker. Today, Edouard Mendy is at Chelsea, one of the flagship clubs ofEngland which he joined in 2020 for 25 million euros.
Benjamin Mendy, the ascension
At only 16 years old, Benjamin Mendy already signs his first professional contract with the HAC. In 2011, he played his first match with the first team, against Amiens in the Coupe de France and quickly established himself as a holder on the left side of the defense.
The rest of its trajectory will amaze the whole world. First to Marseille, then to Monaco, Mendy succeeds in conquering Didier Deschamps, the coach of the France team. He lifts the 2018 World Cup in Russia, a year after being crowned French champion and signed with Manchester City for 57 million euros, a record amount for a defender at the time.
Ferland Mendy, under the wing of Zizou
His name is Mendy, left side player, is trained at HAC, now plays in a big club and in the France team, but it is not Benjamin.
Ferland joined the HAC in 2013, won over by the quality and reputation of its training center. Excellent choice. Two years later, he started in the first team and established himself as the left-back position. Tracked by the biggest clubs in Europe, Mendy decides to stay in France, at theOlympique Lyonnais, another institution praised for its training. There, he passed a course and, after two seasons, joined Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid, the most successful club in the world, for more than 50 million euros. He becomes indisputable holder ahead of the Brazilian Marcelo, second captain of the team.
Riyad Mahrez, from city stadiums to City
The course of Riyad Mahrez is totally atypical. He did not go through a training center. This is also seen in his style of play, oozing asphalt and city stadiums.
Before signing at Le Havre, the twirling winger was playing in Quimper, in the CFA (fourth division). He was unprofessional. After a year with the reserve at HAC, he seized his chance in the first team. His technique and creativity fascinate the trainer Erick Mombaerts which makes Mahrez its centerpiece. In 2014, the Algerian international could not resist the call of Leicester and some Premier League (England), the most attractive championship on the Old Continent. It was in 2016 that he achieved an unprecedented feat in the history of this club accustomed to the middle of the table: winning the title. The same year, he finished 7th in Ballon d’Or.
In 2018, Manchester City extends nearly 70 million euros to secure its services. The following year, he led his selection to the title of African champion.
Paul Pogba, never seen before
When we mention the name of Paul pogba, we talk more about haircuts than balloons. However, the French has a dozen titles, including a world champion (2018), a Europa League (2017) and four Italian championships (from 2013 to 2016).
To say that this player went through the HAC training center… Ciel and Marine supporters may regret never having seen him at the Jules-Deschaseaux stadium (the old arena). In fact, he arrived in 2007 in Le Havre, shining in the youth teams, before Manchester United do not take it, more or less according to the rules of the art, for its own training center.
Guillaume Hoarau, crescendo
The beginnings of Guillaume Hoarau at HAC have been laborious. The fault, in particular, in a Norman climate far from the thermometer of Reunion, his native island. The club then decides to lend it to Gueugnon, where the native of Saint Louis flourishes.
When he returned to Le Havre in 2007, he was another striker. He planted 28 goals and finished best director of the championship. At the end of the season, he leaves for Paris Saint Germain, where there are five years left, totaling nearly sixty goals. Today, at 37, Hoarau plays in FC Sion, on Suisse.
Jean-Alain Boumsong, the rock
Native of Douala (Cameroon), Jean-Alain Boumsong arrived in France at the age of 14. After having evolved toUS Palaiseau, he joined the HAC. There, his solidity and his reading of the game make him a very promising central defender. It was in 1998, a blessed year for French football, that he discovered the professional world with his first D1 match against theAS Cannes.
In 2000, theAJ Auxerre from Guy Roux, major club at that time, recruited him. Boumsong becomes the hero of the 2003 Coupe de France final against PSG by scoring the winning goal at the last minute. Subsequently, the French international (27 caps) defends the colors of Glasgow Rangers, from Newcastle, from Juventus, of the’Olympique Lyonnais and you Panathinaikos ; as historical institutions.
Pascal Chimbonda, the surprise
Footballers like Pascal Chimbonda, there are none wagons. The Guadeloupean became known when Raymond Domenech selected him for the 2006 World Cup to everyone’s surprise. Unknown to the battalion, the defender was entitled to a personalized song from the Guignols de l’Info and did not come far from being crowned world champion with only one cape.
Chimbonda is also a player who has played in no less than 15 different clubs. The first of them is the HAC, with whom he played his first professional match, in 2000, against Strasbourg, replacing Souleymane Diawara.
Souleymane Diawara and the legend of the pair of gloves
It was too obvious: the potential of Souleymane Diawara deserved to be exploited. A real physical monster, the Senegalese (born in Gabou) could not stay at Sporting Club de Frileuse, to the harbor.
In 1997, the HAC therefore immediately spotted him and integrated him into its training center. Less than two years later, the colossus begins in pro and shows that he already has the level. In 2000, against Marseille, not wishing to take off his rings and in the freezing cold, he puts on a pair of gloves. Le Havre AC won 4-1 and Diawara, superstitious, will not leave them for any match in his career, summer or winter. He played 113 matches under the Sky and Navy colors before flying to the other side of the country, to Sochaux, another club focused on youth development. The peak of his career, Diawara knows him at OM (2009-2014), where he notably became champion of France in 2010.
Lassana Diarra, the man who muzzled Messi
Lassana diarra is part of the very closed circle of players who knew how to “muzzle” Lionel Messi, The best player in the world. It was with the Real Madrid, during a match against the FC Barcelona.
Prior to that, Diarra had evolved into landmarks of English football such as Chelsea or Arsenal. He was quickly bombarded on the front of the stage thanks to a huge season in Ligue 2 with the HAC, synonymous with passport for Chelsea.
After the Spanish capital, the French international (34 selections) went through the Russia and Abou Dabi, but also the PSG and theIF. It is at Paris, his birthplace, which he retired in 2019.
Vikash Dhorasoo
In the world of the round ball, there is Vikash Dhorasoo And the others. The native of Harfleur has always stood out from his colleagues by his frankness and his personality.
On the field side, the one who grew up in the district of Caucriauville made his pro debut with the HAC in 1993, against theAS Saint-Etienne. He played 152 matches in five years in Seine-Maritime and go toOlympique Lyonnais, where he is champion twice in a row (2003, 2004). In 2004, he went to Milan AC and come a hair’s breadth away from lifting the Champions League, but Liverpool wins on penalties. Today, Dhorasoo is a consultant on Team 21.
Bonus : Michel Hidalgo
How not to pay tribute to this man, unforgettable in French football? It is about another time, other customs. You have to go back to 1952 to discover Michel Hidalgo, ball at the foot, under the colors of Le Havre AC. He then goes to Reims stadium, then to theAS Monaco, where he spends most of his career.
But Hidalgo was above all a national coach inhabited by a certain idea of football: romanticism. “I never spoke to my players about the result. Never ! I always told them to think about the game, the results then come by themselves, ”he once said. “I was a player, a coach and then a spectator, I have always had these ideas. And too bad if I pass for a poet or a nerd! He represented the time when the French team did not start their competitions among the favorites, delighted all the spectators during the tournament, but ended up losing. The Blues finished as magnificent losers.
Until Euro 1984 when they lifted the trophy, carried by the famous Carré Magique: Michel platini, Luis Fernandez, Jean Tigana and Alain Giresse. It was the coach’s last competition. Michel Hidalgo died on March 26, 2020, at the age of 87.
They could have been in the list: Pape Gueye, Rafik Guitane, Lys Mousset, Alain Casanova, Nicolas Douchez, Kévin Anin, Ibrahim Ba, Didier Digard, Yazid Mansouri, Charles N’Zogbia, Florent Sinama-Pongolle…
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