Lyon’s Bradley Barcola on playing with Alexandre Lacazette: “I had his posters in my bedroom.”

Having scored the winner at the Parc des Princes last Sunday, Bradley Barcola has emerged as the latest of a long line of talents churned out by Lyon, who have slotted straight into the first team.

The 20-year-old, who has stepped into the attacking vacancy left by Karl Toko Ekambi’s loan departure to Rennes, has been lining up alongside a forward who followed the same path as him over a decade ago, in Alexandre Lacazette.

Lacazette returned to his formative club this summer after a five-year spell at Arsenal, and has made an instant impact, scoring 21 times so far, taking his overall tally with the team to 150. For a feature in today’s L’Équipe about the veteran striker, Barcola has described his impression of playing with the player he idolised as a Lyon fan growing up:

“I was a fan, I had posters of him in my bedroom. When I went to the club store with my parents, they asked me what shirt I wanted. I asked for his straight away, of course – a purple one with the number 38. Honestly, it was weird when I saw on social media that he could be coming back. How would I behave around him? Would I be starstruck or normal? At the start, I was a bit starstruck, but he got me into the swing of things. […] After that, it was a special moment to be exchanging passes with him. I knew he was a great player, but seeing him live in the flesh is even more impressive. I understood that he was a great striker. And I’m the one that gave him his goal for the record [150 for Lyon] against Nantes with a header. How could I have ever imagined, as a child, being a part of his personal story? It’s a source of pride. Does he know it? I’ve never told him…”

Both strikers are expected to start tonight as Laurent Blanc’s men take on Nantes for a high-stakes Coupe de France semi-final clash, a cup win now being Les Gones’ only chance at avoiding a third straight season outside of Europe next year.

GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin