The Girondins de Bordeaux travel to Nantes this Saturday (1 p.m.) with the objective of permanently ensuring their maintenance in Ligue 1.
Holder for the first time at 18 in L1 and scorer, Sékou Mara is trying to make a small place for himself at the end of the season.
Spotted at the age of 10 by the Navy and White, the son of journalist Audrey Crespo-Mara is a pure product of the training center.
It's a well-known story! That of the kid who shines during his debut in the very media world of football and that everyone already sees the next day as the future Zinédine Zidane or Thierry Henry. France loves it. Imagine moreover that this same kid, who by the way did not ask anything of anyone, is a "son of". There, it's practically the assured buzz! And so we immediately understand better why Sékou Mara finished this Sunday evening in
Here
and
Closer
when these two celebrity magazines should not even know where the Matmut Atlantique is located and / or know the current situation of the Girondins de Bordeaux and more minus its team composition. But it's like that !
Indeed, beyond having brilliantly scored his first professional goal during his first tenure in Ligue 1 and at the same time offered a capital victory to the Navy and White in the race to maintain, the young Bordeaux striker of 18 years old is the son of TF1 journalist Audrey Crespo-Mara. So obviously his every move is likely to be scrutinized throughout his career. And this one could well be long and filled with success because the footballer Sékou Mara does not come out of nowhere. He is one of the most followed young French talents from the cradle. "He was a footballer before being born", laughs his dad Aliou Mara while according to the mother "he was born with a ball on his feet".
2007 - Scorer at the age of 18 years and 276 days, Sékou Mara is the youngest player to score with Bordeaux in Ligue 1 since Gabriel Obertan on November 11, 2007 against… Rennes (18 years and 258 days).
Baptism.
#FCGBSRFC
- OptaJean (@OptaJean) May 2, 2021
The young man of Senegalese origins is also spotted at the age of eight by Paris-Saint-Germain.
"He has always loved football, he's a real enthusiast and above all he understands very quickly when you teach him something", continues the father.
Fan of Ronaldo (the real one) and Didier Drogba, little Sékou will play four years for PSG before joining the ACBB to continue playing at the peak.
Spotted at 10 years old by the Girondins
In the meantime, the Girondins have already crossed the path of their future scorer. From the age of 10, he noticed it. Three years later when he joined INF Clairefontaine, the club made him sign a non-solicitation contract like many young people who enter the nursery of French football. The weeks are linked between the training center of the Blues and the ACBB. Audrey Crespo-Mara does not let go of her eldest on school either. Brilliant (Bac S obtained before a year in advance), Sékou Mara is also a faithful person, at the age of 15, he decides to take the TGV to the Girondins training center while Lyon, Monaco or Rennes make him the sweet eyes. “It was his choice, explains Aliou Mara, with his mother we never imposed anything on him, as for the signing of his first professional contract. And yet at that moment,a little less than a year ago, AC Milan did everything so that he did not sign it with the Girondins according to information from
20 minutes.
Not to mention that clubs like Everton or Arsenal remain on the lookout.
It must be said that the one who has attended the young French teams for several years has a lot going for him.
He is tall (1.84 m), powerful (79 kg) but very mobile, recalls one of his educators, he is a complete and modern attacker as there are very few today.
He has the almost perfect profile to succeed in Ligue 1. "
The young Bordeaux player has a remarkable game back to goal, for example against Aguerd and Da Silva, two experienced defenders of the championship, he was not shaken like others at his age.
He also has a physical bass drum that allows him to make counter efforts.
“I was a leading player and I have rarely seen such a strong player in the aerial game, it is a phenomenon.
If he has no physical problems, he will make a living with football.
At what level, Ligue 1, Champions League?
I do not know.
In any case, even the pros are starting to be surprised by its potential… It's a good sign!
“Said Yannick Stopyra, responsible for recruiting young players at the Girondins training center, a few months ago in
Le Parisien.
Head and legs
Jean-Louis Gasset, he praised his state of mind after the victory against the Bretons: “Since the start of the season, I told him to continue working, but there are a lot of players in his post and this it wasn't easy to get him to play. He never balked, we gave him the rab, we made him train with the young people of the center and he is rewarded on this match. “Until his entry on the hour mark in Lorient two weeks ago and then this first tenure, Sékou Mara had not really had the opportunity to show himself (24 minutes in three Ligue 1 games). It's done, now as often the hardest part begins, that is to say confirmed! But the kid is mature and even if he "was very, very happy after his goal", says his dad,“The next day he had already moved on to this very important Nantes match for the future of the club (Bordeaux is not always officially maintained with five points ahead of Nantes, 18th and barrage). "
Sékou Mara intends to continue to grow, and in Bordeaux.
Approached by Brest or Strasbourg last winter, the striker under contract until 2023 intends to "achieve a full season with the Girondins" before seeing further.
And if things should quickly ignite around him, dad installed in Bordeaux and mum who visits him every two weeks are there to keep an eye on the grain.
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