It seems a long time ago when Waldemar Kita, the president of FC Nantes, considered that Randal Kolo Muani was not a great striker because he scored less than 15 goals per season in L1. These words were not prophetic for the French striker, who has changed in size in the space of a few months: now all the big clubs are fighting for him.
Having left the Canaries free at the end of last season, the 24-year-old decided to join Eintracht Frankfurt and a championship, the Bundesliga, conducive to the development of young talents.
Kolo Muani had flair since he is now considered one of the very best players across the Rhine. And this budding notoriety also had a boost with the last World Cup, where “RKM” burst the screen in the jersey of the Blues, especially in the final. While Didier Deschamps’ team was absent from this big meeting against Argentina, Bondy’s other child, with Kylian Mbappé, sounded the revolt. He could even have had an even more fabulous destiny, with this famous strike at the end of extra time, diverted by Emiliano Martinez. “In my head, I was like ‘you have to shoot’ and I try to shoot at the near post but the keeper makes a great save. I could lob the keeper or find Kylian because he’s on a good angle, but I don’t see him on the spot. When you see the video, it’s too late, you can’t do anything anymore, ”he analyzes on beIN Sports.
?? ??? Randal Kolo Muani spoke exclusively to Bel Abbes Bouaissi! ?? He evokes in particular his terrible face to face with Dibu Martinez… ?? Tomorrow from 7 p.m. in the Football Show on beIN SPORTS ???? pic.twitter.com/JxIxi37YlS
While some could have gamberger and dwell on this occasion, Randal Kolo Muani went ahead. Since the resumption with Frankfurt, he has scored seven goals and is preparing to challenge Naples this Tuesday evening (9 p.m.) in the Champions League. To understand the phenomenon, you have to start from the side of US Torcy, where Randal Kolo Muani arrived on tiptoe in 2011. Yann Lecoq, his former educator in U15, remembers for Le Point a player already ready to bounce back: “Mentally, he knows how to recover from failure. He has already gone through moments of doubt to perform better, but he does not dwell on it. For example, Gignac had admitted to having taken time to recover from his post in the final of the Euro. Randal quickly moved on. »
Same story with Vincent Santos, who was also able to lead the young player when he was still far from the spotlight. Before experiencing a dizzying exposure with the Blues, the young striker first had to go through the Ile-de-France grounds, where competition was fierce. “Randal had that little extra something but it wasn’t the same player profile back then. He was morphologically late, we saw him a little frail, but he already had this explosiveness, someone decisive who loved dribbling and provocation. In the Paris region, there were good sizes, but he took his time to develop athletically. »
Ironically, this lack of growth probably even helped him to stand out from the crowd, he who joined FC Nantes late, at 17 years old. “He was stubborn at work, says Yann Lecoq, someone who perseveres. We knew he would stand out sooner or later, even if it might take longer. He was not a boy who was in the small papers, who was predestined for leading roles. But in the end, it’s the best of times: the truth for a football player is at 18-19. I often take him as an example for my other young people now: it’s not because you don’t sign in an academy at 13 or 14 that you won’t succeed. »
If the French international was able to get there, his two former educators assure him: his entourage was essential. “We know that a football career can go very quickly. He kept this hardworking attitude at each stage, the choice of Frankfurt was wise, his relatives gave him good advice, “says Vincent Santos. “He’s well supported by his family, it’s a stable circle and he’s had the same agent since he left Torcy. To be a good player, that’s also the key. Even when he wasn’t playing much, no one came to complain,” concludes Yann Lecoq.
For the first time in his young career, Randal Kolo Muani will play a Champions League knockout match. So far he has shattered every glass ceiling he has faced. Even the formidable Neapolitan armada led by Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has been warned: the frail player from US Torcy has definitely grown up.
