His teenage face is on the front page of The Team, the day after Lille's historic victory against Real Madrid (1-0). Ayyoub Bouaddi, who started against the European giant on his 17th birthday, shone for 86 minutes. An oversight, a loss of ball, almost fatal a few minutes from a historic success had reminded us that Creil's child is not yet an adult. time to face Sturm Graz, Wednesday December 11 (at 6:45 p.m.), on the occasion of the 6th day of the Champions League.
Since then, theThe northern midfielder has proven that he knows how to make people forget his false notes. The response of No. 32 from Lille came in a month later, with man-of-the-match status against Juventus Turin. Leny Yoro gone, Lille supporters already seem to have found a new darling from the training center, capable of taking over a notch higher up on the pitch.
A notch higher, even above, is a bit of the great refrain of Ayyoub Bouaddi's life, and there is no question of talking only about football. A baccalaureate at 16, a year ahead of schedule, he obtained top honors in the scientific series. Proof that he is going well, he has since embarked on a degree in physics and mathematics, even though he has already signed his first professional contract in the summer of 2023, at 15 and a half years old.
Mocked in the French junior team by Rayan Cherki, who nicknamed him Einstein, the young midfielder explained his choice to pursue studies, despite a secure future: “It brings me something, it allows me to keep [mon] awakened mind. We know that today, in modern football, tactics are very important.”
@telefoot_tf1 “He is studying maths, at the same time, he is doing masterclasses in the Champions League”. ???? Rayan Cherki and the hopes of the French Team PLEASED us by making the official @Lucarne ???? A subject by @Saber_Desfa and @Seb Barniaud ♬ original sound – Telefoot
In addition to his baccalaureate and his professional signing, he won, in the summer of 2023, the first prize in the final of the eloquence competition of the training centers at the Elysée. A confident personality on and off the field which plays in his favor, as remembered in 2023 for the Voice of the NorthMickaël Delestrez, former director of the Losc training center. “We very quickly detected a very intelligent player, with a lot of humor, capable of joking with adults in situations where many young people of his age are very shy.”
Author of an impressive performance of serenity for his first start in C1, with 98% of successful passes against Real, the last diamond from Domaine de Luchin amazes and continues to confirm all the hopes placed in him. No surprise for Sébastien Pennachio, who coached him for a season in U19, when he was just 15 years old: “He's a special boy, mentally aheadhe confides to franceinfo: sport. He has very important athletic qualities and the ability to quickly absorb the advice given to him. He knows how to hide contexts to focus on what he must do. He has never been disturbed by the outside world and is accompanied by an extraordinary family. You can play him against Real, he is reliable, he gets up to speed quickly with the intensity.”
As soon as his candles were blown out, Bouaddi almost automatically inherited, beyond the status of nugget, that of savior of the Lille midfield, while André Gomes, Hakon Haraldsson and Ethan Mbappé were injured. But his repeated presence in the starting 11 and his remarkable performances should not make us forget his age.
The example of Warren Zaire-Emery, who is experiencing a period of stagnation, is still fresh, since both players made their debut and experienced their first cap in the European Cup and Ligue 1 before their 17th birthday. Even several months ahead of Lille, who became the youngest player in the history of European Cups and the youngest in Ligue 1 in the 21st century. On the international level, however, it is not certain that the two players will meet again because Ayyoub Bouaddi, who was in the last selection of the French team's Espoirs, is still hesitating between Morocco or the Blues for his future.
“It’s not easy to have a 16-year-old player capable of playing like he does”recognized, last January, Paulo Fonseca, the coach who launched Ayyoub Bouaddi professionally. “We are here to help him, guide him, support him when things are not going well”extended Bruno Génésio this summer, in tune with his Portuguese predecessor on the Lille bench. If he initially used his young talent sparingly, returning from a serious ankle injury sustained during preparation, the former OL and Rennes coach no longer hesitates. Extended in June 2024 until the summer of 2027, it is an essential link in Losc, in the near future, and no longer so.
