Name: Raphael Varane
Age: 19
Club: Real Madrid
Nationality: French
Position: Centre-back
Who is he?
Born in Northern France, Varane joined Ligue 1 club RC Lens’ youth academy aged 9. After working his way through the youth ranks alongside Eden Hazard’s brother Thorgen and Sevilla midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia, he finally made his first-team debut in October 2011.
Varane made an instant impact and by the end of that season some of Europe’s biggest clubs formed a not-so-orderly queue for his signature.
France legend Zinedine Zidane – who was an adviser to Real Madrid at the time – convinced his young compatriot to choose the Spanish capital. Varane took Zizou’s suggestions on board and signed for Real Madrid for €10 million in June 2011.
The teenager made his La Liga debut against Racing Santander in September 2011 and made 15 appearances in his first season at the Bernabeu.
Achievements
Although a backup for most of his Real Madrid career so far, he has seen increased game-time recently due to a defensive injury crisis which has put Sergio Ramos and Pepe on the sidelines.
That left Jose Mourinho with no choice but to throw Varane in at the deep end two weeks ago and the world finally witnessed his considerable talent.
During the El Clasico match against Barcelona in the Copa Del Rey, Varane put in a masterful display at the back for Real Madrid outshining both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, winning the Man of the Match award and scoring the equaliser.
After winning so many plaudits he could be an outside bet to start against Manchester United in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Although uncapped for the French national team, he has received call ups to the squad.
Attributes
Varane has been described as the new Laurent Blanc. Blanc of course is a World Cup winner who also starred for Inter Milan and Manchester United.
The young Frenchman allies excellent defensive awareness with composed tackling. He also has the ingredients needed for the modern centre-back, namely comfort on the ball and impressive distribution from the back.
At 1m91 he also has a considerable presence and is strong in the air.
Potential
His performance against Barcelona suggests that he can already mix it at the highest level. It is perhaps too early to say that he will achieve what Laurent Blanc did during his career but if he follows his current trajectory he could well become one of the best defenders of this current generation.
