Lorient: the dizzying rise of Enzo Genton

At 18, Enzo Genton invites himself to enjoy the mountain that stands before him. New addition to Olivier Pantaloni's group, who arrived this summer at the head of Lorient to replace Régis Le Bris, the central defender was able to play his first minutes in Ligue 2, which he did not necessarily expect, at least not as well quickly : “by joining the pro group in the preparation, I told myself that it would be a bit of a year of discovery, and that I would take everything there was to take. If I have to start, so much the better, if I'm on the bench for 2 or 3 matches, that's how it is. But now that we’ve tasted it, we’re sure we’ll want a little more of it.”he smiles. An appetite comes with eating, and his fantastic goal against Ajaccio, already one of the best of the season (Lorient won 3-0 on September 27), stimulated him further:

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“The emotions were very, very strong. After the goal, I had a thought for my deceased grandfather, to whom I dedicate it. And then I said that if I scored, I would go straight to see the supporters. What if I knew she would end up at the bottom? When you volley, you still have a little feeling which gives you a clue, and at that moment, I said to myself “ah, something could be happening there”. I felt it a little”he rewinds, with an ear-to-ear smile that you can even sense at the end of the line. After the match, his touching exchange with his uncle Florian, presenter of the Ligue 2 multiplex of beiNthen spread like wildfire on social networks. The video had been viewed by hundreds of thousands of people on X, something he still struggles to achieve today: “I didn't know that Florian was on the air, I had forgotten that there was the multiplex. In fact, I was focused because it was my second professional entry, and especially my first at Moustoir. But the reactions were a bit surreal. I discovered this mini buzz after the match, and I was really surprised. Afterwards, it’s not an end in itself, at that point, you have to switch, even if it’s good for your morale”recognizes the player represented by the Wasserman agency.

The duel against his dad checked off the calendar

If everything has accelerated in recent weeks for number 60 of Merlus, a number that he “did not choose” but which he now intends to keep out of superstition, he refrains from betraying what he is. His freshness, his carefreeness, and his humility have always characterized him, and he intends to keep that, to the great happiness of his dad Benjamin. His dad, whom he could also meet on November 9 against Guingamp, the club where he has been assistant to Sylvain Ripoll since this summer: “we'll see if I'm in the group, but the fact of having met him in preparation (Lorient had lost 2-0 in a friendly this summer), it was already strange. So in L2, it would be incredible. There would be a personal and sentimental aspect, beyond the collective objective. And it’s sure that things will calm down a little after the match”he jokes.

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A former professional player, who played for Créteil, Lorient and Le Havre, Benjamin Genton remains his son's major relay to this day. It is therefore common for Enzo to ask him when he lacks answers to certain questions: “I start from the principle that when you are the son of a professional footballer – it's like in any profession where there is a succession – you start one step ahead of the others. My dad was professional, and it's super beneficial to have himhe confides. He has experienced all my situations, and it feels good to talk about football with him, knowing that we play in the same position (central defender, even if Enzo's first professional appearances were at the 6 position). He understands how I feel, and even if we play for two different clubs, he will always be there to help me ».

He finally hooked Kroupi's wagon

Although he remains relatively young (18 years old), Enzo Genton is not a precocious phenomenon, like his classmate, Éli Junior Kroupi, who was identified very early and launched into the deep end at 16 years old. Moreover, frequently seeing his friend upgraded during their training was often a source of inspiration for him: “he arrived in U7 and I in U9 at the club. It's wonderful to find yourself as a professional todayhe smiles. Especially since he has always been outclassed. Sometimes I lost sight of him, but it stimulated me, I wanted to try to be with him. At the training center, I was happy to find him, but then he went to the reserves, then when I arrived to the reserves, he went to the pro. It’s always been a small personal goal to say to myself “come on, I’ll definitely join him and we’ll play together again for good this time. ”» After his marvel against Ajaccio last month, it was Kroupi who accompanied him to the microphone of beIN for his first media appearance. A role of “big brother”, also taken on by the oldest members of the squad, who are very quiet.

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“Katseris guides me a lot, but executives like Abergel, Kalulu or Laporte always welcome us very well when we arrive, they allow us to free ourselves. They've been there and give us a lot of advice. After Ajaccio, they gave me a good treatment, and the hazing with the Ultra was magnificent. I had already played a Lorient match with them when I was younger, so to take this supporter-player bridge, to the point of singing alongside them, was exceptional”remembers Genton. Today, those who worship Marquinhos “for his incredible leadership”and who is found in the profile of Barcelona's Pau Cubarsi, a year his junior, wants to continue paving his way. If he has already experienced a dizzying rise in recent months, from U19 to N2, including his first selections for the French U19 team, up to his first goal in L2, Genton does not set limits. He keeps his head firmly screwed on his shoulders, but wants more. “Sometimes I sit down and say to myself “everything went very quickly”, but I know there will be more complicated passages, and that’s where it will be interesting to see how I bounce back”.