What does a career mean? Maybe a sauna session. 2022-2023 season. In Ligue 2, but not yet at the bottom of the abyss as currently, the Girondins de Bordeaux are trying to stay the course. At the start of the year, with almost no money left in the bank, the Girondins give full confidence to their youngsters. Among them, Dilane Bakwa, barely 20 years old. After 93 minutes accumulated in 13 entries into Ligue 1 between 2020 and 2022, here he is finally with long-term playing time. And performances (5 goals and 8 assists), but also the first moments of doubt. Vital Nsimba, his teammate, turns into a psychologist: « When he was having a hard time, I took him aside, in the sauna, and we talkedreveals the full-back who plays today in Israel, at Maccabi Haifa. We talked about what he could do, his potential. We did three or four saunas and, each time, it was decisive in the following match. It served him quite a bit… but that’s not why he’s where he is now! »
PSP, Robinho and hat-trick at the Vélodrome
Facing PSG like Saturday evening at the Parc des Princes is necessarily special for the twirling Strasbourg winger, described as « fou » by numerous witnesses. Because it is in Île-de-France that we must return to understand its history. Direction Boissy-Saint-Léger (94), and the Haie-Griselle district. The city stadium and the little Dilane which takes shape on the asphalt. But not on grass. « We played club football, he didn’t.says Sylla, a lifelong friend. We saw him alone with his ball. Sometimes I told him to go up and play the PSP. He replied to me: ‘No, come down and play football!’ He was really crazy about football. But we didn’t understand why he didn’t do it. Especially since we saw that he was strong. » His mother, with whom he grew up alongside his sister, sees her son’s passion. The license is signed in Boissy at 9 points. « We got him to sign up…and it was crazy!Sylla continues. He was upgraded straight from his first year. » A fan of Real Madrid, young Dilane looks with envy at Robinho, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo. Julien Hungrich trained him in U11 at Boissy-Saint-Léger: « From a young age, he had this extra somethingjure-t-il. I think it’s innate. »
The doctor told him that he had a 90% chance of not becoming a professional footballer. Even he believed that football was dead.
Attached to his neighborhood and his club, he does not dare set foot in the leisure center he frequents when he decides, in U13, to leave for Lusitanos Saint-Maur. « He thought I was going to catch him »laughs Hungrich. He reached the national final of the Danone Nations Cup at the Vélodrome in Marseille. With a legendary hat-trick in the semi-final against Lens. « It was shockingpromises Madou Touré, lifelong friend and present at his side that day. There were plenty of professional clubs. We lost in the final against Bordeaux. It was from that moment that the club really saw him. »
The Girondins brought him to Haillan in 2015. He was 13 years old. And he is on a mission. « Its objective was: ‘I want to be a footballer,’ says Sylla. Even when he started in Bordeaux, he said: ‘Don’t worry about me, I’m going to sign pro.’ He was really determined. He knew what he was doing. » Two entries into the Youth League at 15, a first friendly with the pros at 16, a discovery of Ligue 1 at 18 and one month (September 2020). The trajectory is straight, nothing can stop it. Or almost.
Jacques Ekomie arrived at the Girondins in 2020, and discovered the predispositions of “Dikso”. « He had the talent that made us believe he would get where he is todayrecognizes the current Angers SCO defender. We can see straight away, he has the vice of a pro player, he decides when he wants to. » But the playing time does not take off. Just 50 minutes between September 2020 and early February 2021. « He knows how to work when necessarycontinue Ekomie. But since we don’t give him a chance, it influences his behavior. He is a little nonchalant, his head elsewhere. While in training, he demonstrated that he could be a starter. » But something is missing.
« Yes, he almost died »
Everything changed, dramatically, at the end of February 2021. Found unconscious in his room, Bakwa was rushed to hospital. There are two weeks left. « Yes, he almost died »we are told. A (very) big youthful mistake. An operation. Two weeks of hospitalization. The young Bakwa, 18 years old at the time, must ingest vitamin B12, essential for the functioning of the body. « He was scaredunderlines Sylla, the childhood friend. The doctor told him that he had a 90% chance of not becoming a professional footballer. Even he believed that football was dead. » With his professional career on standby, it’s time for physical and sporting reconstruction. « It was realizing what he could have and what he could missnote Julien Hungrich. Let him stop his stupidities and get back into football. » It really takes him a year to be ready to conquer the high level. This period also coincides with a change in entourage, which many witnesses indicate as having been essential. « He had very little chance of returning to a correct levelcontinues Sylla. He had the doctor’s words in mind. He said to himself: ‘The remaining 10% chance, I will do everything to achieve it.’ It was the turning point of his life. »
His natural madness, a bit of a daredevil, must give way to maturity. At the start, he forgets the ball and runs 14 kilometers a day, goes to Marbella on vacation, is constantly followed by those around him. « It was real work »we hear. Holding on is not easy every day. But Dilane Bakwa learns from this ordeal. And quickly. « Listening saved him », this witness still promises. « He realized that it was quite serious. He became a little calmer »argues Jacques Ekomie.
« I thought he was going to get a big head »
Not let go by the Girondins, who kept him in the pro group, Bakwa played 43 minutes in Ligue 1 during the very difficult 2021-2022 season, where the Bordeaux club was relegated. David Guion is appointed in February 2022. He does not bring Bakwa in until May. « When I arrive, it’s the young person who doesn’t yet have the awareness of the professionexplains the technician. He’s under the influence, completely. He doesn’t choose the right players to learn from. Due to the sporting situation, the place for young people is less open. He lacks standards a little, but in training, we see him liberated. » Cataclysmic for his training club, the plunge into Ligue 2 is in fact the other turning point in his early career. « I give him responsibilities, graduallyagrees Guion, who insists tactically with him. He is much more concerned. He is someone who needs to rely on camaraderie, who wants to have a little clan with him. With Junior Mwanga and Malcom Bokele, I relied on their enthusiasm, their joy of playing. It was a big breath of fresh air in our situation. »
Arriving in Gironde in August 2022, Clément Michelin has not forgotten his first training session. « I don’t know him. The first thing he said to me was: ‘Be careful, I have both feet, it’s going fast.’ Laughing. Dilane is a character. It’s a crack. » And it’s off to a strong start, with two goals and two assists in the first month of competition. With, around him, a whole squad that suits him perfectly. From Vital Nsimba and his saunas, to Josh Maja for the field connection. Guion: « They were very interesting together. Being surrounded by a boy like Josh did him good. » Nsimba continues: « He needed to be told that what he was doing was right. He was very talented as a youngster, he rose quickly and stagnated. Unconsciously, he asked questions about himself. He really became aware of his talent in Ligue 2, and this playing time completely freed him. »
He was always clowning around. In a team, he brings this joy of living. Even in complicated moments, he will have this thing of disconnecting to bring a little lightness.
His record of service does not go unnoticed. In perpetual search of finances, the Girondins announce that it is already worth 10 million euros after six months of competition. « It started to work on himremembers David Guion. We always had to discuss and be attentive. With him, it was real post-training work. » 36 games, a full season, and a narrowly missed promotion. He leaves the Girondins in Ligue 2 to finally put this talent to fruition. Despite desires for Germany and other courtiers like Rennes or Lens, direction Strasbourg (transfer of 10 million euros). Three goals and six assists for his first season in the elite, named player of the season by his supporters. And, above all, a calm and serious player in his personal and professional life. Sylla, his childhood friend, recognizes him without problem: « Honestly, I thought he was going to get big-headed or angry about this life. But, in fact, not at all. »
The comedian can see very far
Junior Mwanga, member of the gang of three with Malcom Bokele, confirms: « I feel it well. He takes it all in the right way. He continues to grow, to gain maturity. He is sunny, pleasant… and crazy. » The entire Strasbourg locker room will confirm it to you: if you hear a guy laughing, screaming or running after someone in the corridors, it’s definitely Dilane Bakwa. « He’s a comedianlaughs Jacques Ekomie. Above all, he is crazy. But a smart fool. He has no limits when it comes to jokes. » Clément Michelin starts to smile: « He was always clowning around. In a team, he brings this joy of living. Even in complicated moments, he will have this thing of disconnecting to bring a little lightness. She is a very beautiful person. » Contagious madness all the way to the field. David Guion: « He is very happy when there are goals, but also when there is real collective action. He wants to share things. I don’t feel he’s selfish at all, not self-centered. He is very expressive. » His friend Junior Mwanga speaks of a “madness » which is found in “his way of playing”and a man “capable of gestures that many people would not have imagined”.
Admirer and defender of Kylian Mbappé at the heart of heated football debates with his former Bordeaux friends, Dilane Bakwa was recently rewarded for his efforts with a call-up to the France Espoirs team. Waiting for the sequel. « He might be the most talented kid I’ve ever played with.termine Vital Nsimba. But what we see there is not even the real Dilane yet. It can still be much better. He will end up, I think, in a big European club if he continues to be serious. That’s a certainty. » And all this, without a sauna session.
Bordeaux: better to return than to perish
