A goal for Diop, debuts for Babaï and Béry... The Academy looks sharp in friendlies
They are our pride! Considered one of the best training centers in France, the AS Monaco Academy is once again in the spotlight in this “preseason” ahead of the second half of the season. During the two friendlies against Empoli (1-0) and Fiorentina (1-1), Philippe Clement was able to rely on many young players from La Diagonale. Here’s a look back at some firsts for our youngsters.
A debut for Babaï against Empoli
They had flown to Benidorm, the day after the match in Brighton in the company of several of their teammates. During the training camp in Spain, Jules Béry and Nazim Babaï had the chance to train with the first team.
After their teammate Jordan Semedo Varela, who came on against Sevilla FC (1-1), the two defenders took advantage of the trip to Italy to be thrown into the deep end. Against Empoli on Friday evening, Nazim Babaï came on in the 67th minute of play, in place of his partner from the Elite Group, Edan Diop.
Béry in a 100% Academy-made defence
On the right flank, the Algerian U-20 international was making his debut with the first team after being on the bench during the first leg against Trabzonspor in the Europa League on October 6 (3-1). As for Jules Béry, the central defender celebrated his first start during a very tight encounter away to Fiorentina (1-1).
By replacing Cercle Brugge player Jesper Daland – who was taking part in the camp with AS Monaco – we had a 100% #MadeInLaDiagonale central defence with Benoît Badiashile, as the 18-year-old helped maintain a draw between the two teams.
A first (winning) goal for Edan Diop
Besides these two, the new professional Edan Diop distinguished himself against Empoli. Starting on the right side of defense, a player who had already participated in the pre-season training camp in Portugal this summer and even played a few minutes against FC Porto B, distinguished himself by scoring his first professional goal! It was a magnificent finish from a tight angle, and more important, it would be the only goal of the match (1-0), allowing the Rouge et Blanc to win against a side currently 13th in Serie A.
🎦🎙️ La réaction du buteur Edan Diop, après la victoire 1-0 de nos Monégasques face au @EmpoliFC !
Une première titularisation et déjà un but pour le joueur #MadeInLaDiagonale 🔥
0️⃣-1⃣ #EMPASM pic.twitter.com/IqfrdKRMHc
— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) December 16, 2022
Playing time for ten players from the Elite Group
These friendlies have therefore made it possible, beyond preparing the team for its return to competition, to see several players from the Elite Group in action. Against Sevilla, Empoli and Fiorentina, no less than ten players from Damien Perrinelle’s squad took part in at least one of the three matches.
Jules Béry, Nazim Babaï and Edan Diop were involved, but also Jordan Semedo Varela, Mamadou Coulibaly and Mohamed Bamba, in addition to a few regular players from the professional group such as Yann Lienard, Soungoutou Magassa, Félix Lemarechal, and Eliesse Ben Seghir. Daghe Munegu for these youngsters! 🇲🇨
