Former defender of the Senegal national team, Lamine Sané could have played for France. The former Bordeaux player received an offer from Jean – Louis Gasset to join the Blues but preferred the Lions.
In At the heart of the game, Lamine Sané went behind the scenes of his negotiations with Jean – Louis Gasset to join the French team.
“I had started playing a little in the league, Senegal thought of me to play on the right, since I could play both positions. Laurent Blanc and Jean-Louis Gasset left for the French team after Bordeaux, and I was their foal… What they did was that straight away during the following season, they came to see me. I remember, we were playing against Marseille, and Jean-Louis Gasset came to Marseille. He called me and asked me to come down. He told me ‘well, listen, we know you, we follow you, we would like you to come with us to the French team, etc’. There was also my little brother who was there (Salif, editor’s note), and he told me ‘he too, he will go to youth’.” reveals the former Girondist.
After reflection Sané finally followed his heart and wore the colors of Senegal. “I think about it, and I say to myself that Senegal called me just before… Me, I Senegal, since 2002, they made me dream… We’re not going to lie, I knew the competition there was in the national team. France… Koscielny was there, Rami… Machines. I told myself that God had given me the chance to be a pro, but you also have to be aware of things. I knew that if I went to the French team, it was going to be very complicated… And as Senegal has always made me dream… Everything was aligned. It’s certain that I refuse something that would have been something else, but I made this choice with my heart.”
Senegal
