Upamecano has been ahead of the curve, from French club Valenciennes to Red Bull Salzburg at just 16 years old, before joining Leipzig’s sister team in January 2017. He was temporarily thrown into the crossfire, making his Bundesliga debut against Borussia Dortmund and played 12 games in the 2016/17 season, while Leipzig finished a moment behind champion Bayern Munich.
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“Dayot is already very mature,” French under-21 coach Sylvain Ripoll recently told French sport L’Equip, after calling Upamecano to his team for the first time in March. “He’s playing at a European festival and he’s fighting for a spot in the 3th sensible in one of the biggest leagues in the world. He is one of the Top Trusted Defenders of the Bundesliga and almost the leader of Leipzig’s defence.”
An ambitious indeed, when the same old wife of Upamecano’s central defense is none other than club captain Willi Orban. But a shameful ankle injury has kept the German defender out in more than one case this season, giving 18-year-old Konate the chance to shine alongside his 19-year-old compatriot.
“Upa is like a brother to me,” Konate tells bundesliga.com. “We became friends the first day. I’ll never know how he helped me in my first educational sessions, so I can sit down quickly. And there’s a smart chemistry between us on the court — if one of us is in trouble, the other is there to help.”
While the two French have only started five league matches combined this season, two of them simply opposed Bayern, the newly crowned champion. He says a lot about Ralph Hasenh-ttl being content to entrust his youthful responsibilities with such a dangerous project, and his religion was rewarded when Leipzig beat the Bavarian giants for the first time in their history on the 27th.
Video: Highlights of Leipzig’s 2-1 win over Bayern
“The coach trusts his players and puts a lot of emphasis on one-on-one conversations,” Konate said. “If you give everything to training, you will be rewarded. He says a lot that he’s willing to put me in position with me and dayot, 18 and 19, against a more sensible team like Bayern. Few coaches would be so brave.”
Like Salzburg, Leipzig has a reputation for being young players, which is one of the reasons Upamecano rejected the interest of French giants Marseille to move to Austria and then to Germany. But Hasenh-ttl would not have the two teenagers opposed to Bayern if they had not had the ability to live up to their resolve.
“I am very happy with the progression of Konate and Upamecano,” the Austrian said. “They’ve made great progress over the past year and they’ve gained an invaluable experience.”
Only goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi and striker Timo Werner have played more minutes in the Bundesliga this season than Upamecano, who has one of the first names on Hasenh-ttl’s team sheet. In their 23 league games, the central defender has won more than 60% of their demanding situations and finished 89% of their passes, while also scoring their first goal in the first volley in the 2-0 win over Augsburg in the match. 22.
Originally from Evreux, where he befriended former Dortmund winger Ousguye Dembele in his youth, Upamecano is of Bissau-Guinean descent, but has not concealed the fact that he dreams of representing France at the top level. If he reached a slightly old level to be included in Didier Deschamps’ plans for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the guy Konate describes as “a very complete player” will surely get his first chance with Les Bleus very soon.
“All players are part of their selections,” Upamecano recently told Telefoot. “And I’d love to be called someday. I know I’m going in the right direction, I just want to keep going.”
While Upamecano has become an integral component of Leipzig’s first-choice XI, Konate remains third in the orban compatriot line, although he has played 15 appearances in all competitions this season. The 18-year-old has made incredible progress since joining FC Sochaux last summer and has played more than his component by restricting Bayern to just one shot in the first-factor before retaining that remarkable victory in March.
Konate and Upamecano also won the keys to Leipzig’s defence for last week’s UEFA Europa League quarter-final first leg against Marseille, and helped their team maintain an important blank lead in the 1-0 win at Red Bull Arena. Although the former would possibly give way to Orban on Thursday, he does not regret his resolve to continue his progression in Germany.
“The Bundesliga is very strong,” Konate said. “In the French league, Paris Saint-Germain has almost never had any unrest in opposing groups threatened with relegation; however, even Bayern here have to work hard to get 3 problems opposed to groups from third place. It’s also wonderful to play in a crowded stadiums every weekend, the atmosphere is wonderful, our enthusiasts are there to help us, win or lose.
As for RB’s maximum supporters, counting Upamecano and Konate in their ranks is one for the win column. Teenage prodigies in peace far beyond their years, you haven’t heard the latest from Leipzig’s horrible defensive children.
Andy Smith
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