Aurélien Tchouaméni: Meet the French soccer star everyone is talking about
It’s no secret that French soccer star Aurélien Tchouaméni is one of the most exciting young talents in Europe.
Tchouaméni, who plays for Olympique Lyonnais in Ligue 1 (French second division), is one of the most promising young talents in the world. But his career has not been without its bumps and bruises. And it has been made worse by a series of incidents he says he has been the victim of in recent years.
When we meet the 28-year-old outside the offices of a law firm in the upscale Quartier Voltaire, he is sipping coffee with a small-fry smile as he recounts them.
We set up a few minutes’ walk from the gates to the Lyon stadium, on the banks of the Saône River. A few minutes earlier, a group of reporters had arrived, so I thought it would be best to get this interview out of the way. I had been in touch with Tchouaméni after an article on him in French news magazine L’Equipe (The Sportsman) and was intrigued by his story.
The interview began with questions relating to the incident where he was allegedly attacked by two French football fans who were drunk. He was taken down a short flight of stairs where it is understood that he was violently beaten before being left on the doorstep of what is described as a bar in the suburbs. We were not at a football match, and it was not our intention to set the match in motion, but the fact of Tchouaméni’s attack in Paris, at an Olympic cauldron, was a surprise to me.
He was taken to St. Vincent de Paul Hospital where his injuries were described as “a lot of scratches on his back, his face, and his hands,” but he was said to be “fine.” When we had a further conversation, he told me that his injury was “a bad break,” and had nothing to do with playing the match last weekend.
The article in L’Equipe got me wondering just how good he really was. It is not