Aurélien Tchouaméni: Meet the French soccer star everyone is talking about
1 April 2016
In the early weeks of 2012, Aurélien Tchouaméni was just another footballer out on the field. It was his first professional season in Ligue 1 in France, and he was just another footballer.
The 23-year-old midfielder had signed a one-year deal with Nice. He was playing his first games in the top-flight, and he was excited.
“I was like, ‘Why should I be satisfied? I haven’t done anything yet!’” Tchouaméni said. “I was happy, at the same time I didn’t really want to play. I didn’t feel like my game was ready. I would feel a bit overwhelmed, a bit insecure, a bit nervous – even when I wasn’t playing.”
Despite that, Tchouaméni was enjoying his time in the top flight. The team he played for – a team that included seven- time world champions France – was the perennial French champions, and as such Tchouaméni had been at the club since he was young.
Now, though, the midfielder was having an even bigger impact on the team, and he knew it.
For one reason or another, Tchouaméni had been left on the bench in Nice’s 2-1 victory over Stade Rennais on 8 July. But he had taken a chance to play up front. And, with the game tied, he scored one goal, a header, which went in as a shot, a header in the corner of the net.
“It started like that. It was a good way to start. The game was tied, and I scored the only goal, so I tried to score the second goal,” Tchouaméni said, smiling. “I didn’t win anything with that one.”
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