A low-resolution video shows how a small rookie soccer player sticks out his tongue and smiles, celebrating a goal in a match with his friends. Is about kylian mbappe a young man who started his career to stardom in the most unlikely way and who today is the jewel of the France national team in the World Cup Qatar 2022.
Kylian Mbappe Lottin, was born in Paris, France, on December 20, 1998, into a family of immigrants from Cameroon. After a childhood marked by deficiencies and a whole adolescence struggling to stand out on the pitch, the French player not only reached the professional pitches, but also debuted with the French National Team in March 2017, at just 18 years oldbecoming the second youngest player to defend the team.
Only one year later, that playful boy was summoned to his first Soccer World Cup for Russia 2018. His performance was key for the French team to beat Croatia in the grand final, bringing the World Cup to his country that year.
Currently, at 23 years old, Mbappé is one of the most valuable and best paid footballers in the world, he plays as a striker in the Paris Saint-Germaine (PSG) beside Lionel Messi and he still has time to give France another World Cup victory.
Soccer was his passion since he was a child.
The small Kylian Mbappe Lottin was forged on the courts of Bondy, one of the furthest French suburbs from the best-known Parisian beauties. 10 kilometers from Paris, the streets of this neighborhood are full of violence and poverty for the community mostly immigrant that inhabits it
A traveler from Cameroon named wilfred He decided that this violence would never touch his son Kylian, whom he trained in soccer to keep him away from bad influences. His wife Fayza Lamari, Of Algerian origin, she had been a handball player so she understood the importance of sport in the formation of a child.
Kylian became part of the usual landscape in the stadium Leo Lagrange, where from the age of four he practiced at the slightest opportunity. A video captured him when he was celebrating a goal in a match with other children and since then a different ability can be seen in him.
At the age of six, Mbappé was already recognized as France’s most prominent footballer child. His parents decided to enroll him in a special school for hyperactive children with attention problems, but he always found a way to vent his energy on the courts.
mbappe qHe wanted to play like the great soccer idols and now he is one of them
Throughout his adolescence, Mbappé trained to imitate his idol Cristiano Ronaldo without knowing that a few years later many analysts would consider him as the possible successor of the former star of the real Madrid. One day, he was sponsored by himself Zinedine Zidan to fulfill his dream. Mbappé traveled with his father to Valdebebas, the club’s training ground, where he was finally able to meet the Portuguese striker.
Although the merengue club wanted to sign the young Kylian in its basic ranks, his father considered that the best thing for his son was to mature and make his entry into professional teams.
At 16, Kylian Mbappé debuted with AS Monaco. In this team he would make a great pairing with Radamel Falcao Garciaa duo that would lead his squad to the semifinals of the Champions League with 57 goals.
Shortly after, Mbappé was hired by PSG for 180 million eurosa team where its collaboration with neymar Y edinson cavani.
Russia 2018, when he knew how to take advantage of his great opportunity
The young Frenchman arrived at the World Cup in Russia as part of a generation of children of immigrants (What Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante, Blaise Matuidi Y Benjamin Mendy) who sought to restore glory to the French team. The bet paid off as the French squad only tied one of their matches (when they were already the leader of their group) and won all their matches until they reached the final.
Mbappé was chosen as the best young footballer of the tournament. His participation in the World Cup was one of the most outstanding, along with that of Luka modricthe Croatian striker who has also shone in Qatar 2022. He played such a good role in that tournament that the greatest soccer legend, Pele“threatened” to return to the courts to prevent him from breaking records.
If Kylian keeps equaling my records like this I may have to dust my boots off again… // Se o @KMbappe continue to equalize my records as well, I want to shoot at the poeira das minhas chuteiras again…#WorldCupFinal https://t.co/GYWfMxPn7p
— Pele (@Pele) July 15, 2018
Almost 15 years after the video that showed a little Bondy celebrating a goal in a match between his friends, Mbappé celebrated the goals scored in the World Cup in Russia that would lead France to be crowned world champion.
And in his neighborhood in Bondy there is a huge mural with his image that reminds us that dreams can come true. Not bad for a young man of just 23 years old, who grew up in a marginalized area and clung to the ball until he reached the top.