Despite having a shy and likable personality and a dislike for the limelight, the presence of midfielder and 2018 World Cup champion N'Golo Kante of France on the pitch is unmistakable due to his movements, ball interceptions, and presence in every corner. He will attempt to replicate this in one of his most important appearances when his team, Chelsea, faces Manchester City in the English final of the UEFA Champions League tomorrow, "Saturday", in Porto.
Fans of the French national team composed a song for him that summer during the World Cup in Russia, to the tune of the famous song "Les Champs-Élysées" by French singer Joe Dassin from 1969. The clever translation of the song goes, "He’s small, he’s cute, he stopped Leo Messi," the star of the Argentine national team during the round of 16 in the World Cup.
It takes great effort to reach the top of football like Kante, who has won two Premier League titles, one European League title, and one FA Cup, in addition to achieving football glory in the World Cup, while the Champions League title remains absent from his accolades.
Nevertheless, everyone who has met Kante since the beginning of his career in the suburbs of Paris believes that no player is quite like the 30-year-old.
Kareem Al-Mu’aed, Kante's former coach, states, "Every time he returns to Paris, he comes to visit us," adding, "but he doesn’t just make a fleeting visit; he stays to eat with us, making sure to take pictures with everyone and play with the kids."
He mentions, "In the summer here, everyone wears shirts of Caen, Leicester, Chelsea, and the French national team."
Al-Mu’aed recounts, "He has never become arrogant, he has never changed; his siblings are the same. I would like to know how they managed to do that."
If you ask his former coach if he remembers Kante ever being angry during a match or showing any negative emotions, he replies, "I try to think of something, but honestly, I don’t remember any incident. I have never seen him get angry since I knew him."
He continues, "However, if anyone has the right to get angry, it would be him considering the number of fouls he suffered when playing in Suresnes."
There, on the banks of the Seine River, Kante played as a child. Unlike many modern football stars, Kante did not join an academy in any professional club. He had the talent, but his personality and small stature worked against him.
Pierre Phil, one of the officials at Suresnes where Kante played during his childhood and adolescence from 1999 to 2010, revealed, "N’Golo is not someone who stands out, so during tryouts, he wasn’t noticeable."
His career began to change when he moved to northern France to join Boulogne at 19 years old in 2010. He subsequently rose to the first team in 2012, which was then competing in the third division, and then to Caen in 2013 where he contributed to the team’s promotion to the top tier.
After only one season in France's elite league, Kante joined Leicester City in 2015 at 24 years old and was one of the standout players contributing to the historic title win for the team, their first in the 2015-2016 season.
The following year, he transferred to Chelsea, where he shone over the years, winning the Premier League, the FA Cup, and the Europa League, and being named Man of the Match in both legs of the semi-final of the Champions League this season against Spanish team Real Madrid.
Al-Mu’aed expresses, "As soon as he signed with Boulogne, I realized that his career had begun."
On the coast of the English Channel, Kante, who won the Best Player award in England for the 2016-2017 season, left beautiful memories.
Christophe Raymond, who supervised the French player in the reserve team of Boulogne-sur-Mer between 2010 and 2012, recalls, "What struck me was his desire to persevere and improve; he was like a sponge, absorbing all the advice from his coaches."
He adds, "We felt he had the talent, but I would be lying if I said we thought he would reach where he is now."
