Gueida Fofana
Club:Olympique Lyon
Nationality:France
Age:20
Height:1.82 m / 5.97 ft
Weight:74 kg / 162 lbs
Position:Defensive midfielder
Gueida Fofana - The new Patrick Vieira
If one was to choose a single playing position that is most identified with the golden years of France`s National Team, it would probably be the defensive midfielder. A dynasty of tough leaders in the center of the pitch, players like Didier Deschamps, Emmanuel Petit, Claude Makelele and Patrick Vieira, led the Tricolor to glory, starting with the 98' World Cup win on home soil, through lifting the Euro-2000 trophy.
Even in a list of such quality players, Vieira stands out as one who combined athletic superiority, aggression and tactical responsibility with incredible technique, skill, elegance and leadership, becoming the heart and engine of his team and redefining the holding midfielder position.
In more recent years, France has still produced many quality defensive midfielders; Jeremy Toulalan, Lassana and Alou Diarra to name a few. But as the national side has had to deal with Zidane's retirement and conflicts between players and former head coach, Raymond Domenech, culminating in the infamous World Cup 2010 mutiny, France has been desperate to find its new leader. Taking a look at its class of 91' youth team's last 3 international campaigns, it seems they may have found their man.
Unlike France's senior squad, its youngsters have found glory in recent years. They reached the final of Uefa's U-17 European Championship in 2008, where they suffered a burning0:4 defeat to Thiago Alcantara's Spain. They soon got revenge, beating the same Spain in the final of Euro U19 2010, hosted in France. This past summer, in the U-20 World Cup held in Colombia, France once again reached the final four, losing to Portugal in the semi-final. During these tournaments they have shown off some of their great future talents, including Gael Kakuta and Alexandre Lacazette, but the one player who stood out above the rest was Gueida Fofana .
Wearing the no. 8 jersey and captain's arm band, Fofana played the full length of every match in these tournaments, except for one when he was given rest after securing qualification. A real rock in defensive midfield, he led his team with great physical ability, ball interceptions, precise tackles and clean short passes, but above all a true leader's traits. Add 2 goals to the list, including an extra time beauty in the 2011 quarter-final against Nigeria, which was later on the shortlist for goal of the tournament, and you've got one of French Football's most exciting prospects.
Fofana, who is of Malian and Guinean descent, has started his professional career with Le Havre, where he established himself as a first team regular when only 18 years old, after the club's relegation to Ligue 2. With over 60 performances for Le Havre and 3 impressive international tournaments in his record, he became one of the hottest names in scouts' notebooks around Europe this summer. His list of reported suitors included Fenerbahce, Tottenham, Aston Vila, Newcastle, Lille, Paris-SG and last but not least, Real Madrid. But it was eventually French giants Lyon that snapped him up, for a modest fee of 1.8m Euros (which could later become 2.6), as replacement for Jeremy Toulalan who left for Malaga on a 10m deal.
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