FEATURE | AS Monaco’s prestigious academy celebrates 50-year anniversary
FEATURE | AS Monaco’s prestigious academy celebrates 50-year anniversary “Above all, AS Monaco made me into a footballer, because a football player isn’t just a football player, it isn’t just about scoring goals, it is above all about being a man,” said Kylian Mbappé, one of the most renowned graduates of the Principality club’s renowned academy. The France captain is one of 149 players to have graduated from La Diagonale to play for the first team; 19 have gone on to play for Les Bleus. On Sunday, one of the most prestigious institutions in French football celebrated its 50th anniversary.
There were more than 200 involved in those celebrations, including the legendary Jean-Luc Ettori, as well as Bruno Bellone, Gael Givet, Sébastien Squillaci… even current OGC Nice manager Claude Puel put his current allegiance aside for the occasion. There were six graduates on the teamsheet, too, including Maghnes Akliouche, the most recent player to make the step from academy to first team to the national team. There were plenty of legends from La Diagonale who were absent, too, including the second-most capped player in France’s history, Lilian Thuram, as well as Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet, and Emmanuel Petit, who, like Mbappé, came through at Monaco and went on to become World Champions with the France national team.
Former player and manager Claude Puel, alongside Monaco’s current crop of academy players / Photo credit: AS Monaco It is La Diagonale that set them all on that path. “La Diagonale prepared me to speak multiple languages easily and allowed me to get my degrees. They were hard with me when they had to be, showed me love when I needed that, too, and I think that they perfectly continued the education that my parents started,” said Mbappé.
The staff at Monaco’s academy building, which sits in the shadows of the iconic arches of the Stade Louis II, talk about “creating men” as much as they do creating world-class footballing talents; never one without the other. Why is Monaco’s academy so successful? That is part of the success of one of the most renowned academies in French football.
There are other reasons. Les Monégasques’ catchment area is small, due to the Italian border to the East and Nice just 20km to the West. It is the latter who sweep up much of the local talent.