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We continue the series of articles about the most promising European players, and this time we will review the talents competing in France, who have caught the attention of official UEFA website reviewers.
For the past few years, the level of the French "Ligue 1" championship has been rising steadily. French teams, once in the shadow of European giants, are becoming a bigger challenge for the big clubs of the old continent, and the abundance of young talents is perhaps the most important reason for this.
One of the teams that can boast the most about their talents is the "Marseille" club. In this team, there are three contenders for the title of the best young French footballer.
One of the brightest among them this season is the 22-year-old midfielder Franck Ribery. Arriving from the Istanbul club "Galatasaray" in the summer, Ribery immediately became the leader of the Marseille team, helping the team win the Intertoto Cup and compete successfully in the UEFA Cup.
In addition, the young Frenchman helped his country's youth team (under 21) defeat their peers from England in the European Championship qualifiers and is already knocking on the doors of the national team.
Another talent from Marseille is the 18-year-old midfielder Samir Nasri, who helped the French U-17 team win the European Championship gold in 2004. In the main Marseille team, the midfielder made his debut just last season and after a great individual performance in a match against "Lille," he signed a professional contract. This year, he is already a key player in the Marseille lineup, demonstrating excellent ball control and shooting technique, giving hope to French football fans to regain their former glory in a few years.
The third Marseille talent is the 20-year-old Nigerian Taiwo Taye. This left-back defender finished third in the Best Player voting at the World Youth Championship last summer and is now being compared by Marseille fans to the former French defender Bixente Lizarazu.
Another team with equally talented young players is the last season's "Ligue 1" runner-up, "Lille." The Lille team once again surprises football experts this season by leaving behind the famous club "Man Utd" in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League and securing the right to play in the UEFA Cup.
One of the players who contributed the most to this success for Lille is the 23-year-old midfielder Mathieu Bodmer. The tall and athletic midfielder joined Lille in 2003 when coach Claude Puel noticed him playing in the 'Caen' reserves. The player quickly adapted to the team and by attracting opponents' defenders to himself and making precise passes, he won the sympathy of the fans.
Another Lille player who gained a lot of fans' sympathy last season is striker Matt Moussilou. The 23-year-old striker scored 16 goals in the last season of "Ligue 1" and set the record for the fastest "hat-trick" by scoring three goals in 5 minutes against "Troyes" goal. This season, however, the player doesn't score as many goals, but with his speed and technique, he is an indispensable player in the main team lineup.
Moussilou's "hat-trick" improved the achievement of another young talent, "Sochaux" forward Jeremy Menez, who managed to score three goals in 8 minutes against "Bordeaux" at just 17 years old. "Scoring three goals in 'Ligue 1' when you are only 17 years old is amazing. I had to wait until I was 28 to score my first goal," joked Sochaux coach Guy Lecombe.
However, the most famous youth academy in France for many years belongs not to Marseille, Lille, or any other club, but to 'Nantes.' Having produced players like Didier Deschamps, Marcel Desailly, or Christian Karembeu for Europe, the 'Nantes' academy is ready to unleash another star into the wide football oceans - Jeremy Toulalan.
The 22-year-old midfielder was voted as the best young player in "Ligue 1" last season and continues to impress football experts with his excellent performances, attracting the attention of the big European clubs.
