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Before the historic final, the attention of fans is turning to France star Kylian Mbappe, and his family – who have great contributions to the success of this player.
Kylian Mbappe, 23, will feature in the final between France and Argentina, with the opportunity to become the youngest player to win the World Cup twice since Pele achieved the feat. aged 21 in 1962.
Mbappe is co-leading the list of top scorers of the World Cup 2022 with 5 goals, equal to Lionel Messi of Argentina. With 9 goals in World Cup matches, he became the 15th highest scorer in the tournament’s history.
Both Messi and Mbappe will certainly be the focus of the camera lens before, during and after the final. But to understand Mbappe’s love for football, we need to look back from the early days.
Breathe, live and sleep with football
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The France number 10 player was born in Bondy, a small city in the northern suburbs of Paris. His family consists of father Wilfried, mother Fayza, adopted brother Jires Kembo-Ekoko and younger brother Ethan, who live in the house opposite the Bondy Club yard. Mbappe often plays for hours with friends on the pitch.
Ms. Fayza is a handball player who played for the French national team in the late 90s, while Mr. Wilfried and Jires are former players and now football coaches. The two often took Kylian to soccer games as children.
His father was always active in supporting local clubs. He participated in coaching and built a reputation in the Paris football village.
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Mbappe celebrates with his family after meeting England in the quarter-finals. Photo: Reuters.
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His son is also not interested in anything other than football. All Mbappe wants is a ball and playing around his father’s teams.
Football has become part of his family. They watch games together on television, compete with friends at school, at Bondy or anywhere else. Mbappe breathes, lives and sleeps with football. On the walls of his private bedroom, he hangs posters of his idol Cristiano Ronaldo.
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Obviously, the boy Mbappe showed his talent very early. When Mbappe was 10 years old, all over Paris, people were talking about the child prodigy from Bondy. The accolades quickly extended beyond the French capital. Most clubs participating in the French National Championship Ligue 1 and big teams in Europe are interested in this boy.
However, the Mbappe family always has a clear plan. They are adamant that in the next few years Kylian will be in France and not abroad, but they also want to see their son play against the best.
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So the family accepted offers from Chelsea and Real Madrid for Mbappe to attend a week of training at the age of 11 and 12. Both European giants are trying to convince the player and his parents to move to London or Spain. They are willing to provide almost anything.
But all the Mbappes want is to test their son’s abilities through short weeks of training. And at every challenge, Mbappe is always the best, even at the Clairefontaine academy – which trains elite young players in Paris.
After being selected from hundreds of 13-year-olds, cadets usually spend two years in the academy and play for junior or professional clubs on weekends.
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According to the BBC, at that time, clubs were “lined up” for Mbappe, but unlike other teammates, he waited until the end of two school years to choose the next step.
Mbappe then joined Monaco at the age of 15. In Monaco, Mbappe dreamed of making his debut and playing in the Champions League, following in Ronaldo’s footsteps.
Family
The support from the family contributes greatly to Mbappe’s success. They do everything together. Mbappe’s family quickly moved to Monaco to support the player.
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When they felt that he was not given the opportunity he deserved despite his excellent training, they protested. Then, coach Leonardo Jardim let him play in December 2015. At the age of 16, Mbappe has surpassed Thierry Henry’s record as the youngest player to feature in the official Monaco squad.
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Mbappe trains with teammates. Photo: Reuters.
In February 2016, he beat Henry’s record as the youngest player to score for the club in a match against Troyes. Since then, nothing has stopped Mbappe. He played for France for the first time on March 25, 2017 in a match against Spain.
Real Madrid did everything possible to entice Mbappe. They arranged many friendly matches, meetings and greetings with coach Zinedine Zidane and even Ronaldo, but it was still not enough.
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Mbappe chose PSG. He officially joined the club after the £130 million transfer was completed. In the five seasons after Mbappe joined, PSG won four Ligue 1 titles.
But Mbappe’s path is not always lined with roses. This player received a lot of criticism due to his unsatisfactory performance at EURO 2020. He failed to score a goal and missed a penalty in the penalty shootout that knocked France out, according to the Financial Times.
Tension was high when the bright star of the French team once intended to retire from the national team at the age of 23. However, the reason did not come from the criticism after the performance at EURO 2020, but from the disparaging words. racism that the public targeted him. “I can’t play football for people who think I’m a monkey,” said Mbappe.
Now, Mbappe is set to enter the World Cup final at the age of 24. He has scored 33 goals for France – just 20 goals behind teammate Olivier Giroud who holds the national team’s scoring record. .
But the most important thing for him is his love of the ball and the sport of kings. Since he was a kid, Mbappe has been friends with the ball and now his feet are speaking.