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00:00He was born in Paris, in January 1999. Yusuf was born on the 10th.
00:07Two weeks after his birth, a sign of fate, Milan was in Paris,
00:11to play and win a triangular at the Parc des Princes in January 1999
00:17against Paris Saint-Germain and Anderlecht.
00:20For Yusuf, the first moves of that month would soon be transformed
00:24into the first moves of the team of the 19th arrondissement of Paris,
00:29the Esperance Paris.
00:31Zone 19 is the north-east limit of the city,
00:34at the border with other municipalities,
00:36but not a problematic zone from a social and territorial point of view.
00:41A zone in which Fofanat started to play football,
00:44a zone in which there is a musical vocation,
00:46there are Jets events, there are parks and green areas.
00:51At the age when football starts to be a serious thing, at the age of 18,
00:56Yusuf moved away from all this.
00:59Here he is, in Strasbourg, in Alsace, from one Notre-Dame to the other.
01:05And right in the shadow of the European Parliament,
01:07he makes his debut in Ligue 1.
01:09This is also a sign of fate,
01:11for a footballer who would have become the football symbol of a historic principal
01:15and then a long-term football goal,
01:18in a traditional and global club like AC Milan in Milan.
01:22A continuous growth.
01:24In 2019, Fofanat won the French League Cup with Strasbourg,
01:28in 2021 he played the European U21,
01:30in 2022 the World Cup in Qatar with the French national team,
01:33world champion in charge,
01:35and in 2024 the European.
01:37A player of resources and balance,
01:39but also of ideas and vertical football.
01:42The summary, the day of his presentation,
01:45from the lively and enthusiastic voice of Zlatan Ibrahimović.
01:49With Yusuf Fofana we looked for a midfielder
01:53who brings balance on the pitch,
01:56who keeps the team stable,
02:01a complete player, a player who breaks the lines,
02:05a player who can score goals,
02:07can also make assists later,
02:10it depends on the role he will play.
02:13I must also say that this was one of the longest treatments,
02:19but as I said, finally here and we are all happy.
02:26So Yusuf, with a surname, Fofanat,
02:29which is part of a world like football,
02:32in which surnames sometimes resemble each other,
02:35make strange turns and then run back.
02:38How many Camaras, for example, in European football?
02:41As well as how many Traore,
02:43as well as in Italy the Bresciani,
02:46the Pellegrini and other recurring cases.
02:50In the case of Fofanat,
02:52here is Milan passing from Seco to Yusuf.
02:56Just like that, Seco Fofanat
02:58had been approached by the Rossoneri by voice,
03:01in journalistic discretion,
03:03and media scenarios of the market,
03:05at least in three different market windows.
03:08The last one of 2023,
03:10when Milan had to replace Sandro Tonali.
03:13A summer in which Seco Fofanat,
03:16former midfielder of Udinese
03:18and ex-captain and idol of ONS,
03:20went to play in Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia,
03:23in Al-Nazr, the same team of Cristiano Ronaldo.
03:27In Monaco he played his homonym, but not relative,
03:31Yusuf Faliku Fofanat,
03:33season 1966,
03:36who in Europe also wore the jerseys of Cannes and Bordeaux.
03:41But many years later, in 2024,
03:44not Seco, but Yusuf.
03:47A French national Fofanat at the Milan court.
03:51From Monte Carlo,
03:52the Golden Gate Theatre of the Champions League,
03:55to Milanello,
03:56where the Champions League is embedded
03:58in the grass and on the walls
04:00of the Rossonero Sports Centre.
04:02A horizon, a vertex,
04:04from which Milan wants to return to belong.
04:07And that's why players like Fofanat
04:09are followed and searched,
04:11with conviction, with a lot of will,
04:13with great intensity.
04:15All situations that Yusuf has been able to perceive.
04:19So much to declare,
04:20on the day of his presentation at the Milan house,
04:23that this will of Milan to have him
04:25had a great weight
04:26when he had to make his decision.
04:30In addition to the fact
04:31that Milan's ambitions were perfectly in line
04:34with his goals.
04:38When Yusuf Fofanat was introduced to Milan,
04:41the first evocative names,
04:43the first almost inevitable comparisons,
04:45emerged immediately.
04:46Marcel Desailly,
04:47one of the best Milan players in history.
04:49Franck Essay,
04:50from the very recent Rossonero past.
04:53But the story of the 25-year-old
04:55former Monaco midfielder
04:56is his and only his,
04:58with few points of contact with those of others.
05:01After the first games played in Parisian clubs,
05:04not only at the Espérance,
05:05but also at the Red Star,
05:07a French football club
05:09based in the Banlieue Nord
05:11of the urban area of ​​Paris,
05:13Fofanat has continued his career.
05:16Fofanat had attracted as a boy
05:18the attention of the French federal center
05:20of Clairefontaine,
05:22the Academy of the Transalpine National Football.
05:25Great dreams, great pride.
05:27But here,
05:28the events begin to temper
05:30the character of Youssouf.
05:32Because,
05:33while all the talents from there
05:35were selected by the best
05:37French and European companies,
05:39he ended his experience in Clairefontaine
05:42in 2014,
05:44without being called
05:46by any big club.
05:48It could also have been a negative sign,
05:51perhaps the final point of his career.
05:53And instead,
05:54Youssouf starts again.
05:56But of course,
05:57he starts again from the periphery,
05:59from the small Drancy.
06:01Good choice this club,
06:02good choice not to give up,
06:04since after two years,
06:05he draws the attention of the youngsters
06:07of Strasbourg.
06:08And here we are today,
06:09a moment of his career,
06:10in which,
06:11with education,
06:12he reaffirms himself,
06:13presenting himself as Fofanat,
06:15not as the after that.
06:17No wonder,
06:18his words about it
06:19have been respectful and precise
06:21right from the start.
06:22What happened in the past,
06:25he is Fofanat,
06:26a player who defines himself
06:27as a modern midfielder,
06:28who has to work
06:29in all parts of the pitch.
06:38Fofanat was preceded in Milan
06:40by what he did in Monaco,
06:41but not only.
06:42In the team of the city
06:43of Princess Grace,
06:44for him,
06:45there were 175 appearances
06:47and 7 goals.
06:48But his turning point
06:49is called Didier Deschamps,
06:51the technical commissioner
06:52of the French national team,
06:53who calls him for the first time
06:55by calling him in September 2022.
06:58Didier has a wide choice.
07:00In France,
07:01there are many strong players
07:02and all of them
07:03of great character and experience.
07:05If the call is called,
07:07then it means
07:08that the level is already high.
07:10At the Winter World Cup
07:11in Qatar,
07:12Youssouf came on
07:13in 6 games out of 7.
07:15And also at the recent
07:16Euro 2024
07:17he made his appearances.
07:19The characteristics of Fofanat
07:20are those of a tireless,
07:21intense,
07:22very strong physically,
07:23skilled in the coverage phase,
07:25but never giving up
07:26and always propositive
07:27in construction.
07:29It is quite normal
07:30that an athlete of this type
07:32has earned the respect
07:33and consideration
07:34of all the other champions
07:35of the national team
07:36of the Bleu.
07:37To the point that
07:38when Fofanat
07:39tried to find confirmation
07:41to his red-black choice,
07:43among his teammates
07:44of the national team of France,
07:46he found only reassurance
07:48and encouragement.
07:51They all approved.
07:53Even the unsuspecting.
07:56Just at the time
07:57of his presentation,
07:58Youssouf Fofanat
07:59said that his teammates
08:00of the national team
08:01did not go to him,
08:02but he went to them.
08:04In short,
08:05everything was in favor
08:06of him going to Milan.
08:07Even the opinions
08:08of the French nationals
08:09who play with
08:10the Inter shirt.
08:11They too
08:12spoke well of him in Milan.
08:15Football,
08:16Youssouf's passion.
08:17For him,
08:18the ball,
08:19the pitch
08:20and the pitch
08:21are moments of life.
08:22Irreversible.
08:23To be filled
08:24and to follow
08:25with professionalism.
08:26There is a contract,
08:27there is a team
08:28and then the future
08:29can wait.
08:30First the commitment,
08:31then the choices.
08:32Fofanat arrived in Milan
08:33in August 2024,
08:34but already in August 2023,
08:35as everyone could hear
08:37at the time of his presentation
08:39directly from his
08:40live voice at Casa Milan,
08:42it appeared quite clear
08:43that he would not remain
08:44at Monte Carlo
08:45for the rest of his career.
08:47Yet,
08:48he never missed
08:49even during
08:50his last season in Monaco,
08:52his continuous performance
08:53at the Club del Principato.
08:55So much so,
08:56that in the season
08:572023-2024,
08:58Fofanat was the best player
09:00in Monaco
09:01for defensive recoveries,
09:02230,
09:03for attempts,
09:051,149,
09:06relevant figure,
09:08and completed
09:09894 savà sander
09:11in the opposing half.
09:13As he himself said,
09:14last summer
09:15he had already
09:16announced this departure.
09:17Then, however,
09:18everything went
09:19in the right direction.
09:27The size of French football
09:29is important
09:30for Youssouf Fofanat,
09:32inevitable for those
09:33who were called
09:34to the federal center
09:35of Clairefontaine
09:36when he was only 14 years old.
09:37A national dimension
09:38dreamed,
09:39touched,
09:40but not grasped,
09:41so much so that
09:42in 2014,
09:43football for him
09:44continued
09:45there and there,
09:46but for fun.
09:47He also had to
09:48pay for his studies,
09:49so he worked
09:50as a delivery boy
09:51in a pizzeria
09:52in the French capital,
09:53while in the afternoon
09:54he trained
09:55with the Drancy,
09:56a strong bond
09:57with the Parisian fabric
09:58and with the opportunities
09:59that came with it.
10:00So much so,
10:01that Fofanat,
10:02in the years
10:03when he had to
10:04make a decision,
10:05chose to represent
10:06France as a national team,
10:07and not the countries
10:08of origin
10:09of his family
10:10and his parents,
10:11Mali
10:12and the Ivory Coast.
10:13A France
10:14rich in talents,
10:15also in the Red and Black jersey,
10:16as Zlatan Ibrahimović
10:17underlines.
10:18We know that
10:19a country like France
10:20has a lot of talents,
10:21not quantity,
10:22but quality.
10:23I had the experience
10:24of playing
10:25in France for four years,
10:26I lived
10:27as a live player,
10:28I played against,
10:29and we know
10:30that there is
10:31a great,
10:32great,
10:33great
10:34school
10:35of talents
10:36where players
10:37from different
10:38countries
10:39grow up
10:40and develop
10:41and develop
10:42and develop
10:43and develop
10:44and play today.
10:45We would also have
10:46much more
10:47potential
10:48if we had
10:49French players
10:50in our position.
10:51Our players
10:52become top
10:53for us
10:54and having
10:55those French people
10:56in our team
10:57makes us happy
10:58especially when
10:59they
11:00bring results.
11:01Yusuf is another
11:02and he doesn't change
11:04me,
11:05for France,
11:06for Portugal
11:07for Italy
11:08it is important
11:09to have a compact
11:11.