“We are the locomotive of the U17 in the region, and this is not normal,” summarises coach Luca Martin. Because there is no longer a professional training center in Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The bankruptcies of Girondins de Bordeaux and Niort have taken down structures that cost around three million euros per year, in facilities and staff, an expense that Pau FC, the best regional club in Ligue 2, does not incur.
Only three clubs in U17 plus Poitiers in U19 represent the Aquitaine colors nationally. Next year, Girondins de Bordeaux in U17 and SA Mérignac in U19 are expected to join the elite. A good thing, but it does not solve the problem: the best young players, from U15 to U17, leave for professional opportunities outside Aquitaine. “Today, we are in regular contact with clubs that never used to come, Nantes, Montpellier, Toulouse, Lorient. Even Monaco, we have them on the phone more than Girondins, they recruit a lot in the region,” testify the co-presidents, Sébastien Paulin, Adrien Liégeon, and their coach.
Luca Martin during the pre-match talk. GUILLAUME BONNAUD / SO
The best players go towards the highest level, Girondins are no longer there but they persist “thanks to their strong image,” says Luca Martin. But they need to relearn to work in their region, when they had their training center, three-quarters of their players came from the Parisian region. “We would prefer a hundred times over that the conditions are met for our players to stay at home.”
