Meet the man behind the making of Martial
Anthony Martial’s bright start and swift
acclimatisation to life at Manchester United may
have surprised many, but for those responsible
for nurturing the most expensive teenager in
world football, it was only a question of when, not
if.
Martial returns to United this week having dazzled
in his first start for France’s national side. Olivier
Giroud may have stolen the headlines as his
fortuitous early double ultimately won the game,
but make no mistake, it was the young newcomer
who was Denmark’s biggest tormentor with his
constant bursts of pace, close control and direct
approach.
The 19-year-old shares his foundations with one
of the most experienced players currently in the
France squad, Patrice Evra, as well as Thierry
Henry, the predetermined benchmark for Martial’s
career, by starting out at Les Ulis.
But unlike Arsenal’s all-time record goalscorer,
Martial’s initial progression was the result of a
surprise rejection.
"A scout in Paris told us to come to the academy
at Clairefontaine for Anthony’s trial. He wasn't
even 13, we liked him straight away, but he was
too young,” Gerard Bonneau, who has been
Lyon’s head of youth recruitment since 2003,
explained to Goal .
"We thought he’d make it into the academy and
we’d start monitoring him every week, but
Clairefontaine didn't take him on. So, we made a
deal with his parents - one more year at Les Ulis
and then join us at Lyon."
Quickly, it became clear that the traits Martial has
immediately shown since moving to Old Trafford,
the ice-cool composure in front of goal, the ability
to effortlessly adapt to new surroundings, were
evident from an early age.
"He was player with a lot of strength and quality,”
said Bonneau.
"To start off with, he did not like doing the
defensive work but he quickly understood that it
was needed in a successful football team.
"You had to be behind him, to push him to make
the effort. He was a very quiet boy, very much
like now. He rarely felt under pressure but he
knew how to prepare properly for matches. He
was taught at our training centre to become an
athlete.
"Early on, we saw that he was not only skilful in
front of goal but he linked up well with his team-
mates. At the time, I said he will be in French
national team by the time he’s 21, he’s done it at
19, so I was almost right!"
Bonneau was also responsible for the latter
stages of Karim Benzema's development in
Lyon's youth team and believes that there are
similarities between the pair, who could be
spearheading France's attack when they host
Euro 2016 next summer.
"Anthony is a player like Benzema, he likes to
participate in the attacking build-up," he said.
"He likes to play and he needs to have the ball,
that's what he loves. He is not a player who likes
to play out wide and cross for the other."
But how does a player who has, in just over the
space of a month, moved to United for a fee which
could climb to £58.8 million and made his senior
international debut, have the natural ability to cope
with such pressure?
"His attitude is very calm," Bonneau replied.
"People mistake it for nonchalance, but it helps
him a lot. He doesn't really bother about what's
around him. He just wants to play football. This is
a key strength and it’s because of the way he’s
been brought up. His parents were very cool.
Always being there for him but they never came
to my office asking about his situation.
"Nowadays, we wish all parents were like that,
give their son the time to became a man. That's
what they did with Anthony and that’s helped get
him to where he is.
"In Lyon, we were sad when he left for Monaco,
but the club needed that money [€5m]. But we
knew he will become a great man."
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