Ibrahima Konate lived almost in the shadow of the Stade de France, but it has been a long, tough journey to make his first appearance there.
The French defender is THE story of the Champions League final. The son of Malian immigrants to Paris, one of eight children, who used to play in the cages of the capital, sometimes using a ball made of paper and sellotape.
Now, he will be part of the Liverpool squad which takes on the mighty Real Madrid in the famous stadium which was built just a year before he was born, and he wants to be an inspiration to all kids from similar backgrounds, to show it is still possible to go from street football to stadium glory.
In Paris, the working class kids play in the cages, a fenced area of gravel or sometimes astroturf, and on his unveiling as the new number five of one of the biggest clubs in the world, he went back to his neighbourhood, to celebrate his rise to elite level with his friends and family.
They were evocative, emotional pictures. Konate was unaware he was born a year after the national stadium was built, for the 1998 World Cup finals, and he said: “Ah bon…Oh really?! I didn’t even know!” But he knows what it means to come so far on a journey which will end less than five miles from his childhood home. When it was pointed out, he replied with a huge smile: “Exactement! Exactly! A long, long journey.
“I remember six years ago when I had just joined Sochaux, there was this final. We made the journey to go to Stade de France to see the under 19s in the final. It’s incredible to think that I was watching a match at that level from the stands just a few years ago, my first time there, and now I’ll be on the grass…playing in a Champions League final there. It really is some journey, yes!
“I think it’s definitely going to be the best moment of my life – I don’t have any children yet so I can’t be sure – but I think it will be the greatest moment. The Champions League final. In Paris. My home. If I tried I couldn’t have dreamt of anything better.”
He admits he reminds himself of that journey every day. “I never would have imagined it. I knew I was coming into a big club that wants to win titles and is gonna win them. But this season is exceptional – and I think it’s a historic season as well for the club. To be in contention for everything across the board, in a position to win ever title; frankly I wasn’t expecting that. It’s exceptional and I say that everyday…I am living it every day and it is just remarkable!”
It is more remarkable when you consider his background. Konate had never played on grass when he had a trial with lower league Paris FC as a 10 year old, a short distance into the suburbs from his inner city home. He impressed as a striker, but his first coach felt his size meant he was more suited to a defensive midfield role, and after a couple of seasons in the youth ranks, he was snatched up by Sochaux, then a Ligue 1 club.
From there, he was snatched up by RB Liepzig after just 12 games, and the rest is history. But he knows it is a remarkable history. “Yeah, I played in the cages. I think that like most young Parisians we couldn’t get to see football in proper stadiums, we didn’t have the money.
“And we didn’t play on (proper) pitches, because we didn’t have those opportunities. But we found ways to play football whenever and wherever we could – even with paper! I remember at school - and he laughs uproariously here - we used Sellotape and paper to make footballs to play with, and of course, we really didn’t need much to be happy, we were happy playing in the streets.
“If it was a ball made out of foam or leather or plastic – it would keep us busy all day. We’d play in the street, those cages, me and my brothers, and that’s why, I think, we have these talents. Everyone knows that Paris is a ‘fish pond’ / hot bed (but in a positive sense) with a lot, a lot, of talent. Today, I’ve been lucky enough to reach this level but it’s not the end in itself – I’ve still got a lot of aims and goals behind all that to reach.”
Now, he wants to win with Liverpool - and the Champions League final will cap a remarkable, historic season for Liverpool - but he also wants to inspire. “Today, I’ve been lucky enough to reach this level – but that’s not the end. I hope that I’ll reach even higher heights and be a source of inspiration for young people, an inspiration for more people to come from the streets of Paris into football,” he said.
“It would be good to think I can inspire more young players, and show it is possible.” And he has a dream too, even if that dream seemed impossible as the son of Mali immigrants, in the poorest area of Paris. “My dream as a kid was simply to be a professional football player. Just a pro football player.
“When I was 14 I didn’t have in my head the idea of being in a top club – if someone had asked me then at what age will you be when you could maybe be playing for Liverpool I’d have said no. But now? “Dream or goal?! To be, one day, the best central defender in the world. And to win all the titles going. Every one. With Liverpool!”. And who would bet against it too?
