Camavinga Son: The prophecy of his father! Eduardo Camavinga had an adventurous childhood. At the age of one, he fled Angola’s civil war to the French town of Fougeres. His mother tried to persuade him to try judo, but after he ruined everything at home, his father took him to Drapeau Fougeres, a small local football team. I had no idea what I was doing. My mother picked me up on the day I registered.
Camavinga said he juggled the ball until he tossed it over the fence. Camavinga was spotted years ago during a summer event by Julien Stephan, Camavinga’s current coach at Rennes. In 2013, as he was due to join the Rennes academy, the midfielder’s family home burned down. The Camavinga family needed assistance, so the club stepped in. Camavinga’s early coach, Nicolas Martinis, remembers the incident. “They lost everything; their house was a sea of misery,” the coach observed.
Camavinga’s father urged him to pursue a professional career despite the family’s misfortunes. “Don’t worry,” Celestino Camavinga said, “you’ll be a renowned footballer and build this mansion.” His journey to Rennes was delayed due to a fire that destroyed his family’s immigration paperwork. Due to lacking family IDs, they’ve had even more difficulty gaining French citizenship this year. Camavinga is a media snob who rarely speaks to the press, although he did tell the story. ” It isn’t only about money when it comes to family advancement.
He said that he could make his family even happier
“That’s what he said.” That was amusing when I was ten years old.” Camavinga explained, “With time and my mother reminded me, she realized they were serious and thought I could go far.” Camavinga is still haunted by the fire that destroyed his home. “We’d only been at my parents’ house for about a year when the fire started,” he explained. “From my school window, I saw firefighters.” After class, the teachers informed my sister and me. “My father tracked us down and drove us there, but everything was destroyed,” the midfielder explained.
Eduardo is a little boy who has the world at his feet
Eduardo Camavinga has only been playing professionally for three years, but he understands the importance of making a strong first impression. You may recall his debut for the French national team when he scored his second goal for Les Bleus by hooking the ball above his head and into the far corner. You may recall his Real Madrid debut when he side-footed a parried Luka Modric shot into an open net just six minutes after onto the field.
A childhood spent in the midst of battle
Camavinga’s ascent to the top has been exhilarating and quick. He was born to Congolese parents fleeing conflict in an Angolan refugee camp. When he was seven years old, his parents enrolled him in the local Drapeau Fougères squad. Mathieu Le Scornet, a regional scout, persuaded him to try Stade Rennais when he was ten years old. After a fire nearly destroyed his parents’ home, his new club stepped in to help them. The midfielder remembers the blaze as if it was yesterday. “My parents designed and built the house from the ground up.” “You’ll be a great footballer and refurbish this property,” my father said.
Breakthrough
Camavinga began his meteoric ascension at the age of 11 in Rennes, dazzling coaches with his technical ability and determination. Julien Stéphan, the B-team coach at the time, “discovered” a young Camavinga who was playing for the under-17s a year early. Everything changed in December of 2018. After Sabri Lamouchi was fired, Stéphan took over as interim manager at Rennes, bringing Camavinga with him. “Rumblings of another great talent emerging from the academy,” Rich recalls, and three months later, the player “became the club’s then youngest player to turn out for the club, going on as a substitute away to Anger – the same match Ousmane Dembélé had made his debut in four years earlier.”
Incredible Climb
After a string of impressive victories in the UEFA Europa League, Stéphan was given the job on a permanent basis, and he gradually integrated Camavinga. He got his first start in a 2-2 draw with Monaco not long after his maiden substitute appearance. “I had to keep reminding myself of his age since he seemed so at ease,” Rich recalls. It was the type of performance you’d expect from a four- or five-year-old. Camavinga completed 100 percent of his passes, made 60% of his tackles, and won 77% of his duels in 64 minutes. With an interception and an instinctive tackle, he also sparked both of his team’s goals. After the sub, Rennes “lost control of the game and conceded two goals.”
Style
Camavinga is a tireless, ball-winning midfielder who can play a variety of positions, indicating that he is a quick study. Camavinga was given more attacking flexibility by Steven N’Zonzi’s arrival to Rennes at the start of the 2019/20 season, according to Rich, allowing him to play a more box-to-box style. In terms of dribbles completed, progressive carrying distance carries into the final third, and fouls drawn, he was in the top 10% of all midfielders from Europe’s top five leagues last season. He’s a master at slalom-ing between challenges, seemingly playing his way out of any predicament, thanks to his tall, slender frame.
He is one of the top press-resistant midfielders in world football due to his high level of awareness, outstanding technique, and intelligent movement. Camavinga is one of Europe’s top defender’s thanks to his constant energy and desire to win the ball. Last season, he averaged four tackles per game in Ligue 1. He likes to work in the middle third, and any player who crosses the halfway line with the ball is snatched from behind. Camavinga’s combination of grace on the ball and physicality of it makes him well-suited to handle most midfielders, even at the age of 18.
Camavinga’s passing is also excellent, 90 percent accuracy Rate
With his concentration on the safe ball to the flanks, Rich admits that “greater responsibility in attack didn’t create the number of assists or goals we might have expected,” implying that his game could become “a little repetitive.” Camavinga’s shot creation numbers are among the best in Europe when it comes to winning fouls and dribbles, but they are average when it comes to passes. Carlo Ancelotti may encourage him to look for a defensive-splitting pass in the center. Toni Kroos, on the other hand, would be a good guy to ask.
Given his happy memories, an eight-year career at Stade Rennais, and all the fuss surrounding him, Camavinga’s humble retirement from French football may appear anticlimactic. Nonetheless, he would have preferred to slink to Madrid beneath a Kylian Mbappé cloak. “He’s close to his family, had a difficult background, but is always grounded and humble,” Rich remarked. The youngster’s form dipped in Rennes’ final months, possibly as a result of the departures of Julien Stéphan and Mathieu Le Scornet,
The two men who gave him his chance, as well as new agents and big-money transfer rumors. Rich wishes he could have stayed for a few more years. “A move at this stage risks him missing out on a crucial period of his development, losing that down-to-earth element that was so important, and getting lost in the glitz and glamour that a move to Real Madrid may provide.” I wish him well, but I’m concerned about something.
