Dimitri Boudaud discovers Ligue 2 with Dunkirk -

USLD

  • At 33, Dimitri Boudaud, midfielder from Dunkirk (Ligue 2), has just signed his first professional contract.

  • An atypical course for a player who has combined for more than ten years the double cap of footballer and bus driver.

When some players take the highway to reach the professional world, Dimitri Boudaud has made several detours and a few stops to reach his dream.

The 33-year-old midfielder signed his first pro contract just a few months ago with USL Dunkirk, promoted to Ligue 2 this season, which is traveling to Chambly this Saturday.

Until now the neo-pro had a double life: footballer in the evening and… bus driver during the day.

The consequence of a winding course.

“I devoted all my youth and my training to football to become pro.

But I didn't have the chance to sign pro at Sedan, my training club.

So I returned to the amateur world in CFA where I spent two seasons in Epernay, another in Montceau-les-Mines before arriving in Dunkirk in 2009, ”says the player.

[ITV 🎥] #USLDHAC Dimitri Boudaud's reaction after this match against Le Havre!

#TeamUSLD 🔵⚪👊 pic.twitter.com/P8Ke2K2r5E

- USL DUNKERQUE (@usldunkerque) October 24, 2020

Bus driver at 23

Coming to player the rise in National with the northern club, Boudaud will live a nightmare because the USLD is relegated to CFA 2 at the end of the season.

A level that no longer allows the player to live on his passion.

“I didn't see myself doing football in CFA 2 so I wanted to work.

Jean-Christophe Géhin, president of Dunkirk at that time, ran a bus company [DK'Bus].

Buses, it was never a vocation at the base but it allowed me to sign a CDI with advantages such as a 13th month or 8 weeks of paid leave.

And signing a CDI at 23 allowed me to buy a house, which you cannot do when you have a CFA player salary, ”explains Dimitri Boudaud.

Wake up at 5 a.m. every day of the week

For more than ten years, Boudaud will therefore indulge in a busy rhythm of life.

Got up at five in the morning, he will drive the Dunkirk network buses until the beginning of the afternoon before going for a one hour nap and then heading to training at the end of the day.

Without ever complaining about his situation.

“The schedules are a bit complicated.

There is also mental fatigue because you have to be focused all the time.

But I put on my little radio while listening to RMC podcasts like the

Moscato Show

 or

L'After

.

I was doing eight hours of duty, but I was not unhappy.

It was not easy but it also helped me as a man to know something else.

You hang out with people like everyone else.

Humanly, it makes you grow, ”recognizes the footballer.

Discovery of the professional world at 33

Full-time driver when Dunkirk was in CFA 2, Boudaud sees his schedules evolve as the club accessions.

Half-time in CFA and National, he will only work two days a week when the USLD was playing the climb.

Until the promotion in Ligue 2 this spring and the signing of a first professional contract at 33 years old.

Like the feeling of living a daydream.

“This contract allowed me to take unpaid leave at work and to invest myself fully for the club in Ligue 2. Now we play on beautiful grounds with beautiful balls.

Sometimes we even take the plane to get around.

It's a change from van trips to Drancy to play on old grounds in front of 100 spectators, ”smiles the one who is entering his twelfth season on the coast.

A post-career considered with serenity

Arriving late in the professional world, Dimitri Boudaud knows that his career is already approaching fast.

The midfielder hopes to enjoy another two or three years at the top level before hanging up the crampons.

But not necessarily to get back behind the wheel of his bus.

“When I finish my career, we'll see if I go back to the buses or if I want something else like becoming a coach for example.

At least I know I have that security.

I have a driver's CDI that I can take back whenever I want.

When you only play football from 18 to 35, it's very hard to return to a classic life by getting up at 5 am every day.

Me, I'm already prepared, ”smiles a player who already knows well behind the scenes.

Sport

Coronavirus in Ligue 2: How the Covid decimated the workforce of Dunkirk in a week

Lille

North: Dunkirk introduces free public transport every day for everyone

  • Sport

  • Soccer

  • Bus

  • Lille

  • USL Dunkirk

  • Dunkirk

  • League 2