How Lilian Thuram Skilfully Guided His Son Marcus' Career

Lilian Thuram closely follows the careers of her two sons, Marcus and Kephren.

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• Marcus Thuram could well celebrate his first selection for the French team on Wednesday night against Finland in a friendly.

• If he owes his selection only to his talent and his merit, Marcus Thuram does not forget how his father Lilian was precious in his career choices.

• Indeed, he and his brother Kephren (OGC Nice) have benefited from the precious advice of the dad since they were old enough to kick a ball.

Without going so far as to speak of cockroach, seeing Didier Deschamps call Marcus Thuram for the first time in the French team, twelve years after the international retirement of the father, still gives us a little bit of old age.

Not just to us, for that matter.

Present at a press conference on Tuesday before the Finland match (which could be the opportunity for the former Guingampais to celebrate his first selection), Steve Mandanda remembers: “I had the chance to play my first match with Thuram in Grenoble, it was against Ecuador in 2008, that's for sure that doesn't make me younger!

".

Seeing him land at Clairefontaine with such blase on the jersey is obviously not trivial.

“But he's used to being talked to about that,” deschamps downright.

That doesn't give him a shadow, it's his life, his career ”.

And if ever Marcus Thuram still had doubts, the coach wishes to reassure him: "If he is there it is only thanks to his merit".

However, the dad is never far away.

With his younger brother Kephren, defensive midfielder trained in Monaco and now holder in Nice, Marcus Thuram was able to benefit from the advice and experience of one of the very best defenders in the history of the Blues.

All without spending a single kopeck, skillful.

Marcus Thuram follows in the footsteps of his father, Lilian Thuram 🤩 pic.twitter.com/jESBIvKAjo

- Vines Foot (@vinesfoot) November 5, 2020

"Everything was centered on the well-being of Marcus"

Sporting director of AC Boulogne-Billancourt, Gilles Bibé remembers his first meeting with Lilian Thuram, when he was looking for the ideal club to start his kid.

“It was a mutual friend who made the link between us.

Lilian came to the club, we showed him the facilities, we talked about our project.

I had to be very careful what I was saying because we already felt that he was not taking the question of Marcus' future club lightly, ”laughs the one who is still in regular contact with the 98 world champion.

"He is someone very attentive to the career choices of his children," confirms Eric Hély, director of the Sochaux training center at the time when the striker joined the Doubs.

“What interested Lilian was knowing where her son was going to be the best, where he was going to be trusted the most, where he was going to be able to progress the most.

Everything was centered on the well-being of Marcus and on the sporting project, nothing else was involved, neither the money nor the prestige of this or that club.

It is true that at the time, in addition to Sochaux, Nantes, PSG and Monaco are also in the ranks to train the son.

Marcus Thuram won the Gambardella in 2015 with FC Sochaux.

- FRANCK FIFE / AFP

But Lilian Thuram knows the job.

This is not the kind of house to give in to the false promises of clubs, however prestigious they may be.

What he wants is something concrete, with the only guideline being the playing time that we can guarantee to his son.

“When he left us to sign at Guingamp, continues Eric Hély, again he could have gone to more upscale clubs, but the important thing for Lilian at that time was that Marcus played.

"

The disagreement with the coach of the U14

All those who have crossed the path of the Thuram clan assure us, the former defender of Juve is not the type to put his nose in the current affairs of the coaches of his children.

Finally, with a few exceptions all the same.

Gilles Bibé: “He was there every Saturday to see Marcus play.

He was very attentive to the choices of the coach.

In 14, for example, he didn't like the way the coach played the team, he didn't have the same playing philosophy as him, and he asked for Marcus to be upgraded to 15. years.

We accepted, not because it was Lilian Thuram who asked, but because we also believed that he had the capacity to play a cut above.

"

At that time, there was no lack of debates between Thuram and ACBB educators.

“He's someone who really likes to discuss the field, the role of the players, their positioning.

There were times when we didn't agree at all.

I remember one day, in a match, the ball was opposite Marcus and Lilian wanted him to stay off-center while we were asking him to come inside.

At the time, he was a young retiree from Barça and it is true that the playing philosophy there was to use the full width of the pitch.

We, with our young people, it was different, we wanted to try to keep a tight block.

But there was some truth in what he said obviously.

"

The father negotiates the transfer of the son from Sochaux to Guingamp

A little later, when the kid joined the pro Sochaux group, history repeats itself.

"He is not an interventionist but when he noticed that Marcus' progress was likely to be blocked, he did not hesitate to tell us, rewinds Hély.

During his last year at Sochaux, he found that Marcus did not have enough playing time with the pros.

They then decided it was time to leave.

"

Lilian then takes matters in hand.

Chairman of Guingamp at the time of Thuram's signature for 600,000 euros, Bertrand Desplat confirms: “We absolutely wanted to bring him to Guingamp because we considered that he had great potential and that his personality was not at all a handicap, contrary to what the coach of Sochaux thought of him.

As part of the negotiations, I was in regular contact with Lilian.

He had a very active role in getting him out of there.

"

Marcus Thuram played for one season at Guingamp under the orders of Jocelyn Gourvennec.

- FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP

When Thuram advises Gladbach to his son rather than OM

In Guingamp, the international with 142 selections continues to follow the son very closely, through Jocelyn Gourvennec with whom he played for the France Espoirs team.

“We had good relations with Lilian, I sometimes had him on the phone, during the week or after the games, confirms the current consultant of Canal +.

I liked keeping him up to date with what Marcus was doing during the training weeks, it gave him points of reference other than the games.

He is someone that I saw a lot behind Marcus but without being omnipotent either.

He's just good advice because he knows football well.

"

It is also at this time that the father's paw on the son is most visible.

Desplat: “When he wanted to leave the club, OM offered him slightly better conditions than those offered by Mönchengladbach, but Lilian thought - and we joined him behind because he had argued the thing extremely well - that the project German was more interesting for his son, than Mönchengladbach and the Bundesliga were a great gateway to the very top level.

The sequel proved him right.

"

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