Made In Le Havre: How France’s Best Come From The Same Place.
Le Havre, or “the port”, it is a small city two and half hours west of the Paris. It is not popular for its cuisine of or its culture, and unless you work in the transportation industry, you’ve probably never heard of it neither. It is the second largest port in France, shipping hundreds of containers to American docks in Virginia and New York on a monthly basis.
The city is also home of Le Havre AC, the local club which is known for manufacturing world class players. It is the french La Masia — Barcelona’s youth Academy, which has produced the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, and Fabregas — and much like the 2008 Spanish National Team midfield, France’s midfield will have come from the same place: Le Havre, France.
It all began with Dimitri Payet, who played for Le Havre youth teams from 1999–2003 before making the move to AS Excelsior, another second division team from Ligue 2. Payet is now considered one of the top midfielders in the Premier League, and has West Ham on the verge of qualifying for the Europa League for the first time in 10 years. Payet was a highly touted talent when he arrived at Le Havre, but because of immaturity issues, he left the club ion bad terms in 2004 without making a difference on the field. Dimitri’s character issues are likely the reason he’s not playing for a major European club right now. He conflicted with managers in Nantes, and it wasn’t until his move to Saint-Étienne when top teams started to realize his potential. However, because of disagreements with management and refusing to show up to training he was demoted to the reserve team and eventually transferred.
Pogba, on the other hand, dominated while he was at Le Havre. So much so that Manchester United signed him under dubious circumstances as Le Havre complained to FIFA about the English club tactics to sign the player. In the end, United was acquitted of any wrongdoing and Pogba joined the club in 2009. At Manchester, Pogba continue to show his talents while playing for the reserve team, but he was not happy and demanded first team action. He felt he was ready, but coach Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t agree and was not willing to drop veteran Paul Scholes from the starting role for an inexperienced 19 year old. United let him go on a free transfer to Juventus in 2012. Today, Pogba is one of the best midfielders in the world, and helped Juventus reach the Champions League final and dominate Italian football, whereas United midfield lacks exactly what Pogba’s offers and the team is struggling for a place in Europe.
Then there’s the case of Lassana Diarra whose performances for Le Havre earned him a transfer to Stamford Bridge in 2005. Diarra went straight to the Premier League but only made 14 appearances for Chelsea before moving to Arsenal in a bizarre move during the final day of the transfer window. But it wasn’t until Diarra moved to Portsmouth that he started to regain the form he displayed at Le Havre, where he helped the team win the FA Cup and prompting the big boys from Madrid to make the call for his services. While at Madrid, “Lass” — as he was known to the locals- made 84 appearances and was a constant in Madrid’s midfield for the next four years and despite not being considered part of the new Galacticos, Diarra helped Madrid win the league title before his departure. After an unsuccessful stint in Russian Football, Diarra moved back to France and signed with Marseille where he has regained his form and has been called back to the National Squad. It is not a guarantee that he will make the team for the Euro Cup, but considering the inexperience of France’s current squad, Lassana Diarra can provide some security for a very inexperienced French team.
It is not coincidence that Le Havre is a footballer machine calibrated to produce high quality talent every couple of years. Their scouts and the training program are second to none, and even though management has not been able to capitalize economically for some of it’s brightest pearls — the latest being Leicester City winger Riyad Mahrez, who was born in France but decided to play for Algeria- Le Havre AC continues to breed some of France’s best footballing talent and we will be able to witness the fruits come together for the first time during this summer’s tournament.
